Preservation and Care of Philatelic Materials
Subsidiary Page
11
Chemically Altered Stamps
A great deal of hesitation occurred when writing this section, but today so many stamps
that have been chemically altered are being offered as genuine that the author decided to
go into the subject briefly. The experts are not fooled by these fakes. The philatelist
should not be fooled either. Do not be deceived by "rare" shades, missing colors and the
like that do not have an expertizing certificate.
Dozens of chemicals are available that will remove one color element and leave the other
colors almost intact. In cases where the chemical might remove two colors, the fakers will
mask the one color or area with paraffin wax. After "doctoring" the stamp chemically,
they remove the wax with a hot iron and blotting paper. Many chemicals that remove
color do not disturb the gum. This fact makes the fake more believable to many wood-be
purchasers.
To show how easy it is to alter a stamp chemically, we will give you two simple examples.
Purists will argue that we should not mention these. On the other hand, a knowledgeable
philatelist cannot easily be deceived. Immersion in acetone or contact with acetone fumes
will change a green stamp to blue, an orange stamp to yellow, and, in many cases, brown
will change to black. Thirty seconds in boiling alcohol will remove the red coloring from
some stamps. If, for whatever reason, boiling alcohol is required, the alcohol should be
heated with an electrical heat source, never a flame.
These are just two examples of the dozens of ways that stamps can be altered. Chemicals,
even water, will change a stamp. The stamp will lose its brightness, and other colors will
change shades to a greater or lesser degree. Even the paper, when viewed under a
microscope, will look different.
Have you ever been offered a stamp that is narrower or shorter than it is normally? A
sodium hydroxide solution will shrink the paper fibers. Sodium hydroxide will usually not
affect the ink color to any noticeable degree. Again, it is best that the stamp variety
offered come with a certificate of authenticity. If you must experiment with the effect that
sodium hydroxide can have on stamps, use an inexpensive stamp and exercise intense
caution with sodium hydroxide as it is a very caustic solution which can cause blindness if
splashed into the eye.
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