Stamp Collecting with GS

How to Use Stamp Hinges

Hinge sticking is the essential craft of all stamp collectors. Stamp hinges are the cheapest, easiest and most popular method to hold stamps in place on album pages. Typically stamp hinges are thin, transparent slips of paper coated on one side with a thin film of shiny gum and smaller than most definitive issues.

The hinges shown here are a half-inch wide and 5/8 of an inch long on the album-side, and sell for $1.50 to $2 (US) for 1000 hinges.

In most cases they are sold pre-folded. About a quarter of the slip is folded over, sticky side out, and creased to form the hinge so that the stamp will lay flat on the page.

Old Hinges

Older hinges were flat and unfolded. Some were sold in long thin sheets, and the collector had to cut the hinge from the sheet to the correct width.

Many older albums also sport homemade hinges of various pedigree and value. In most cases the gum or glue used is less than desireable, and if possible soak these stamps and try to remove the old hinge.

I've encountered homemades that were as thick and strong as trees, and under examination found that the hinge was actually spot welded to the stamp with an acetylene torch. The glues used on these makeshift hinges run the gamut from white glues like Elmers to Superfast Bondo-Max used to glue boats together in severe weather.

If you encounter these stamps, remove the hinge from the album and try to soak off the stamp-side hinge. Though lamentable, if the stamp hadn't been hinged in the first place, it probably would have been forever lost.

Peelable

Today's "modern" hinges are generally considered peelable. Their gum will stick just enough to hold the stamp to the album, but will peel away when gently tugged by a pair of tongs without actually pulling away any of the stamp's fibers.

However, many older stamps show the remains of older unpeelable hinges, gum residue and staining. If you find an old stamp, you can try soaking off the debris. Success sometimes rears its smiling face in the direst of causes.

Your Friend

The creased, peelable hinge is your friend and will serve you long after you've closed your album. The short sticky outside part of the hinge is the stamp-side. The long sticky outside tail is the album-side.

All the shiny gum needs is a little moisture, water or saliva, to start the process. Be sure to use tongs to hold the hinge or you may wind up with sticky fingers which can smear the dirt and grime of a hundred medieval dungeons upon the face of a stamp before they know what him them.