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Getting Soaked

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

Most collectors began by taking the stamps on the mail that came into their homes and
soaking the stamps off the envelopes. Some collectors still enjoy doing that.

But there are two problems these days: Not as much mail and not as much mail with stamps
is delivered... and newer U-S stamps don’t soak off.

Today’s stamps are self-adhesive. The glue isn’t activated by water. The new head of
stamps for the U-S Postal Service, Mary-Anne Penner, is willing to look into the problem.

“Yes, they’re possible. Are we going to go to a completely soakable stamp? I’m going to
tell you no, because the cost is expensive.”   RUNS :07

It would involve inserting a layer of water-soluble paper between the printed design and
the layer that has the adhesive on it.

But Penner knows this is something many stamp collectors would like to see.

“Maybe we can do one edition a year.”  RUNS :02

That’s what the U-S Postal Service tries to do with ENGRAVED stamps, something else many
older collectors miss about modern stamps.

Some major countries DO produce self-adhesive stamps that can be soaked off envelopes.

“I want to see what other people are doing, I mean, other countries.”  RUNS :02

But first, Penner wants to get a better idea of which stamps sell and which don’t, who’s
buying them and what post offices are selling them.

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting,
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.


Want to comment? See our earlier unedited story on soakable stamps.

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