A great way to get stamps is from pieces of mail. Unless the envelope has a neat cancel you want to save, you’ll want to remove as much of the paper as possible.
The following steps are helpful for removing water-activated (“lick and stick”) stamps from paper.
1. Put 3-4 inches of cold water in a sink or other container. Do not use hot or warm water – some ink or envelope colors will run in warmer water.
2. Be sure to separate any stamps with heavy black or red cancellations along with those attached to bright or dark-colored paper. Because the inks and dyes may bleed, these stamps must be soaked individually and removed from the water promptly.
3. Place the stamps face down in the water. It’s possible to put as many as 50 stamps in the water at once. If you’re soaking sheets you can soak 20-25 at once, but place them in the water one at a time, making sure each one becomes thoroughly wet before adding the next one.
4. Spread the stamps out and gently press them into the water so that it will soak through the paper. Leave them to soak for at least 10 to 15 minutes – time will vary due to the differences in stamp gum.
5. After 10 minutes or so, check the stamps. The gum should have loosened and the stamps started to float off. Some stamps will sink and some will float. It is very important to remove the stamps promptly after they have come off the paper. If left in the water for a prolonged period of time the stamp paper may begin to weaken.
6. Gently remove the paper (pieces of envelopes) and look at both sides to make sure no stamps are stuck to it.
7. After you have removed all the paper from the water, most of the stamps will be at the bottom of the sink or container. Discard the blank scraps of paper.
8. Gently run your fingers along the bottom and come up under the stamps, catching them in a net fashion. Place these stamps in rows, face down, on blotters (waxed paper, white construction paper, paper towels or any other white, unprinted paper surface) being careful not to overlap them. (Overlapping stamps could cause them to permanently stick to each other, thus destroying them.)
9. Placing a heavy object like a book on top of the stacked layers of paper and stamps will help keep your stamps from curling. It will take a lot longer for the stamps to dry.
10. When this batch of stamps is done, start over with a fresh container of water.
Note: To remove paper from a sheet or strip of stamps, the entire item must be soaked. If the stamps have water-activated gum they will remain attached to one another after soaking. For self-adhesive stamps, we recommend you trim the paper to within about 1/8” rather than trying to remove the stamps from the paper.
By S Miller July 25, 2015 - 4:32 pm
thanks for this – my grandkids and I appreciate it
By Vernon O'Dell December 14, 2017 - 1:50 pm
I have tried soaking my pregummed stamps (peel and stick) in warm water for 15 min, 30 min, and even 1 hour. None of them released the paper they were on. I’ve wasted a lot of good stamps Could you please tell me what I am doing wrong?
By MysticStamp December 15, 2017 - 11:41 am
Some stamps can’t be removed from the backing paper by soaking. In those cases, the paper they’re on should be trimmed closely to the stamp. A few years ago, Scott started putting a red circled S next to stamps to indicated that they are difficult or impossible to soak
By J Doll January 5, 2018 - 10:13 am
Self adhesive stamps can be easily removed by using lighter fluid or magic citrus non-aerosol air freshener.
By John Sibley May 25, 2019 - 3:47 pm
WoW would really like to know how to remove adesvive stamps from envelope.. Have some US stamps but have ruined most of them in water.
By Matt Blaine August 13, 2019 - 1:06 pm
Any suggestions for old Netherlands stamp removal. They are from the 1950s on paper but do not come off easily. I have stamps from other countries in the same batch and they all soak off. They must have had some super glue back then in the Netherlands!
By william j. regan November 9, 2019 - 1:51 pm
will using lighter fluid to remove self adhesive stamps damage the stamp
By MysticStamp November 11, 2019 - 11:46 am
No, lighter fluid will likely not work. Some collectors use lighter fluid to detect watermarks and it doesn’t typically impact gum of water activated stamps. It’s very unlikely to work as a soaking agent for self-adhesive stamps.
By Maria L. Merola March 1, 2020 - 8:43 am
I am trying to assess the value of a friend’s stamp collection, as she would like to me to sell the stamps for her. She has stored them by the sheet in a White Ace Mint Sheet file. The individual files in this folder are wax, but the stamps have become stuck to the waxed paper files. In this case, would the file have to be soaked in water? (I hate to wet these stamps, as they have never been used and the glue on the back has never been wet.) I fear that simply pulling them away from the waxed paper will damage them. What do you suggest?
By MysticStamp March 2, 2020 - 8:23 am
Pulling the stamps from the paper will very likely cause damage. At Mystic we would either soak the stamps or sell them specifically described as “stuck”.
If your plans are to sell, removing the stamps is unnecessary. A buyer will take into consideration the stamps are “stuck” and assess them as “unused without gum”.
As America’s leading stamp dealer, Mystic pays more for stamps. So when you’re ready, we suggest you start here: https://www.mysticstamp.com/Selling-Stamps/
By David Samatis April 18, 2020 - 11:33 pm
I have received some really nice stamps from Canada that we’re not glued on but when they mailed the Manila envelope they used they ended up taping over the stamps. Is there any way of removing the tape without ruining them. Or should I just cut as close as I can?
By MysticStamp April 20, 2020 - 9:51 am
If you try to remove the tape from the stamps they will be ruined. We don’t recommend trying to remove the tape. Instead, just cut as close as you can. If you’re happy with the stamps “as is” – great! If not, just keep your eyes open for replacements.
By Matt June 21, 2020 - 6:47 am
The majority of the time I am able to remove self-adhesive stamps by putting them in the microwave for 2 – 2 1/2 minutes depending on the thickness of the envelope. You just have to avoid putting them directly in the center of the microwave, because that’s where the heat concentrates. Start to peel it off, and if it doesn’t fully peel off, try another minute. I’ve also heard of using a heat gun for 5-10 minutes, although I’ve never tried it. I am sure these methods are not Mystic Stamp approved.
By Jeff Schoonover July 11, 2020 - 4:08 pm
I have a stamp on chalky paper (Scott, Germany 342a). It is a beautiful stamp but it has at least two old hinges on the back that warp the paper. Is it safe to float a stamp on chalky paper to remove old hinges?
By MysticStamp July 13, 2020 - 7:46 am
Yes, it should be safe. Chalky paper does not require any special handling for soaking hinges.
By David G Samatis October 29, 2020 - 7:19 pm
I have used your method and it works pretty good. I have a problem of some of the stamps after they are dried they still stick to other stamps or those little stamp envelopes that I have. How do I stop that from happening?