Glassines Clearly Not the Best Storage

Question: My local stamp and coin shop tried to sell me a package of glassine envelopes, which are supposed to be safe for storage of stamps and old envelopes. But I have noticed that some glassines that I’ve had for a dozen years have become brittle and slightly yellow in color. Are these envelopes safe or aren’t they?

T.K.

Answer: Yes, for a few years, maybe not for long-term storage. Glassine paper is semitransparent, similar to wax paper, but less heavy. The trouble with glassine envelopes is that they often have a sulfur content that tends to discolor stamps that are stored in them for long periods of time. The Library of Congress paper-preservation experts recommend using envelopes or protective folders made of Mylar, a type of crystal-clear plastic that is apparently inert (harmless to things stored in contact with it). I have found that polyethylene bags are safe for stamps also. Local stamp dealers sell a variety of plastic storage envelopes and can recommend a type best suited for your collecting needs.

Q: How much is a stamp’s value reduced by a quarter-inch tear?

--T.A.

A: Often 80% or more.

Q: I have a 5-cent blue plate block of the Los Angeles Olympic stamp from 1932. What can I sell this for?

--R.E.S.

A: One New York City stamp dealer is offering $14 for a plate block of four stamps of this issue, first sold on June 15, 1932, in honor of the 10th Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Q: My mint set of Great Britain Queen Elizabeth stamps has four values, with the date 2 June, 1953, on the 1-shilling, 6-pence denomination. Can you tell me something about these stamps and their collector value?

--R.D.

A: Issued on June 3, 1953, in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, this set (Scott numbers 313-316) has a current retail price of about $25. Queen Elizabeth issues are popular both here and in England, and special albums for the stamps of her reign are available from stamp dealers.

Q: Can American stamps be used in foreign countries?

--R.T.

A: No. Only in U.S. post offices, as well as in Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, U.S. military bases and certain ships at sea.

Q: When I was in Russia I bought a lot of uncanceled stamps. Where can I have them appraised?

--W.A.G.

A: At any stamp shop. You can also use Scott’s catalogues in the public library. There are several volumes. Look under “Russia,” not “Soviet Union,” and remember that catalogue values are a rough approximation of retail price, not what the stamps are actually worth either retail or wholesale. Most libraries using the Dewey Decimal System classify stamp books under No. 383 in the book stacks.

Also, chances are that your Soviet stamps are not of great value. Modern Soviet issues are freely obtainable in America, and they are not as popular as the stamps from Western countries.

Q: I have three stamps from the United States: a 5-cent blue commemorative picturing a minuteman at Lexington-Concord; a 2-cent, red-and-black stamp inscribed “Norse-American Centennial, 1825-1925,” and a 17-cent black Woodrow Wilson issue with a full-face portrait. What are these worth?

--S.A.

A: All were issued in 1925. Your Lexington-Concord was part of a three-stamp set and currently catalogues at $50 mint, $20 used. The 2-cent stamp commemorated the centenary of the arrival in New York of the ship Restaurationen with the first Norwegian immigrants; catalogue value is $9 mint, $5 used. And the Wilson issue lists for $30 mint, 20 cents used. Retail prices are somewhat less than these catalogue values.

Q: Some years ago, while on a trip to Tahiti, I picked up a stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of artist Paul Gauguin. On the border of the sheet is the first-day cancellation: “24 Septembre 1953.” The French spelling is used. The death of the artist was actually on May 8, 1903. What does the difference in dates mean?

--P.L.S.

A: Nothing more than the fact that some stamps are first issued on dates different from the actual anniversary commemorated. Your stamp is not an error, and a nice first-day cancel might be worth about a dollar to collectors of Pacific Islands mail.

Q: How much are the first Olympic stamps worth?

--R.K.

A: I assume that you mean the Greek set of 12 values issued for the 1896 Olympiad (Scott numbers 117-128). Current catalogue value for a fine mint set is $936.

Q: What does “tied to cover” refer to? I received a couple of stamp-dealer price lists in the mail, and they describe some envelopes as having their stamps tied to cover.

--N.H.

A: A cover is an envelope (or a close approximation) that has gone through the mails; the word tied signifies that the envelope’s stamp is properly canceled with part of the cancel ink on the stamp and part on the cover’s paper. A tied stamp helps to ensure the cover’s genuineness. Many covers have fraudulently had their market values increased by the later addition of stamps that weren’t on them originally. Cancels can be forged too, but experts can often distinguish a forged cancel from a genuine one. The forger’s crime is made more difficult if he has to “tie on” a stamp because the cancel portions on the stamp and cover have to match, and this feat is not easily achieved for a lot of technical reasons.

Q: What are the best stamp tongs to buy? I’m getting more interested in expensive stamps for investment purposes, and I don’t want to damage them when I handle them.

--T.K.

A: Stamp tongs look like tweezers without any serrated rough edge on the grasping surfaces. The best tongs are made of stainless steel and are sold with a variety of points: narrow and pointed, spade shape and round. Personal preference determines what type is most comfortable for you. I use all types, depending on the nature of the job: Delicate stamps with brittle paper may require a wide-tip tong; modern cheap stamps are easy to pick up with narrow points that can damage a stamp’s paper if the narrow tips are pressed onto the stamp at the wrong angle.

Go to a stamp dealer’s shop and ask to see some tongs and ask how to use them. Cheap nickel tongs are fine for beginners and retail for about $3. A proficient philatelist can hinge a stamp into an album without ever touching it with the hands. Remember that stamps are fragile, and human fingers often have dirt and oils that can affect paper when touched.

Q: I have three airmail stamps showing a dove, map and the word RYUKYUS at the top. The denominations are 8 yen, 12 yen and 16 yen. What are these?

--T.S.

A: The first airmail issues of the Ryukyu Islands, better known to some people as Okinawa. These islands were seized from Japan by the United States in 1945 and were given back to Japan in the spring of 1972. Many collectors save Ryukyu stamps issued under U.S. postal authorities, and your set has a current retail price of $75 mint.

Stamp Calendar

Feb. 23-24--Cover Expo ’85 Stamp & Cover Show at the Quality Inn, 616 Convention Way (at Harbor Boulevard), Anaheim. Thirty stamp dealers will be present to buy and sell stamps and covers. A special U.S. Postal Service substation will offer current U.S. stamps for sale and cancel mail with a pictorial cancellation. Saturday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission $1 per person; free to senior citizens, children under 12 and Marines in uniform. Free parking.

Stamp News

First-day sale of Adm. Chester W. Nimitz 50-cent definitive stamp (regular issue), Feb. 22 at Fredericksburg, Tex. 78624.

First-day sale of bison-embossed stamped envelope at new 22-cent first-class postage rate, Feb. 25 at Bison, S.D. 57620.

Barry Krause, a member of several national stamp-collecting organizations, cannot answer mail personally but will respond to philatelic questions of general interest in this column. Do not telephone. Write to Your Stamps, You section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.