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Stamp Restoration Service - home page
Sending your
items to First Choice International Inc. – How do I best send items to
you for repair?
Turn Around
Time – What is your average turn around time?
Insurance/Risk
– Do you have insurance for this work?
Covers
– Restoration and Repair – Can you restore covers as well as
postage stamps?
Articles
of paper, other than stamps and covers – Are you able to restore other
articles of paper?
Scans
– For Archival Purposes – Do you keep archival scans of the work
you do?
Certificate
of Restoration – What is the purpose of your “Certificate of
Restoration”?
Pricing
– Can you give me some examples of how you calculate restoration costs?
Pricing
– Why do we calculate repair costs in this way?
Restorations
and Repairs – To restore or repair or not – Should I repair my
damaged stamps?
Reperforating
Stamps – Can stamps with little or no margins be reperforated?
Reperforating
Stamps – How do you reperforate stamps with wide margins?
Reperforating
Stamps – How do you reperforate stamps with narrow or non-existing
margins?
Perforations
– Are perforations always aligned with perforations on the opposite side
of the stamp?
Perforation
Tooling – What kind of tools do you use to reperforate stamps?
Regumming
stamps – How closely can you match the original gum?
Regumming
– How do you apply gum?
Regumming
stamps – Can you prevent gum from collecting on the perforation tips
during regumming?
Regumming
stamps with thins – Can stamps with thins be regummed?
Creases
– light vs. heavy creases – Can creases be eliminated?
Thins
– General Information – What causes thins?
Thins /
Holes – filling of thins and or holes – How do you fill thins and
holes?
Holes – How
do you repair holes in paper?
Reversible
Process – Is your process / work reversible?
Joining
separated perforations - Can
separated perforations on blocks etc. be rejoined?
Ink
– used for images – What are the problems associated with printing
inks?
Ink
– Phosphorescent - Used for Borders – How do phosphorescent inks
affect repairs?
Grill – How
do you restore stamps with a grill?
Gum,
Self-Adhesive – Can you repair stamps with self adhesive, peel and stick
type?
Paper
- Phosphorescent / Fluorescent – Are there phosphorescents or
fluorescents added to paper?
Cleaning
– Dirt – How do you remove dirt or grime from stamps and or covers?
Spot / Foxing
– Removal – Can you remove spots or foxing?
Adhesive
tape – Removal – Is it possible for you to remove adhesive tape and
residue?
Cancellation
– Lightening of Heavy Cancellations – Can you lighten heavy
cancellations?
Cancellation
– Removal of Cancellations – Is it possible to remove light
cancellations completely?
UVA UVB light
– What do you use UVA and UVB light for?
Detection of Repairs - How can
one detect restoration, repairs or alterations made to stamps?
Indelible Ink – Do you
identify restored or repaired items with indelible ink?
Return to FCI Stamp Restoration Service - home page
Sending your items to First Choice
International Inc. – How do I best send items to you for repair?
Although our company operates under both names, FCI Stamp
Restoration Service and First Choice International Inc., we actually recommend
that you address your letters to First Choice International Inc. This is
probably more important when sending items by regular First Class Mail. The
reason for this is that there is nothing in this name, which would indicate the
contents of the letter. When filling out any customs forms we recommend that
you specify the contents to be “documents” with a declared value of
less than $100. Otherwise, we may be charged the HST, our Harmonized Sales
Tax and potentially other import duties which I cannot recoup even though the
items are returned to you after being repaired.
Send items to:
First Choice International Inc.
57 Daugaard Ave.
Paris ON N3L 4B9
CANADA
Tel: (519) 442-3396
Cell:
(519) 501-5757
Turn Around Time – What is your average turn around
time?
Usually, our turn around time is 3 – 4 weeks. Depending on the quantity of items sent, difficulty of the repair, volume of orders and other factors, this may vary from time to time. Work of this nature, as you can understand, is not of an assembly line nature and we attempt devote to every item the time and care it deserves. We usually try to give some indication on how busy we are on our main web page.
On
the main web page we mentioned that we will return items in the same manner as
received, (if possible). In order to protect yourself, we strongly recommend
that you use some form of registered mail or an equivalent traceable mail or
currier service.
Due
to the constant turn over of items it is almost impossible if not, at the very
least, cost prohibitive to insure items, which are temporarily in our
possession. We therefore DO NOT have insurance for the purpose of restoring
stamps, covers or other articles of paper. We take all reasonable care that
your items are returned to you in the best possible condition.
Although
we take all reasonable precautions, it is possible that on very rare occasions,
items may be damaged during the restoration process. It is understood and
agreed that YOU, the customer assume ALL risk during the time the stamps are in
our possession and that we, (First Choice International Inc., FCI Stamp
Restoration Service) are NOT responsible for any loss or damage to your items
however caused.
Covers – Restoration and Repair
– Can you restore covers as well as postage stamps?
Most
of what is described on these pages applies to covers – at least to some
degree. The work is very similar but often can and will be more time consuming
if for no other reason than the physical size of the items, which often have
larger areas in need of attention. Please send us scans of these items –
both front and back, so that we may be able to prepare a proper quote. Usually
restoration and repair cost around $50 and go up from there. In some circumstances this cost cost be a little lower if the item may only need light cleaning, for example. It is always beneficial to send us a scan.
We also are interested in and make repairs to articles of paper of any kind. Should you have such items you wish to restore, please feel free to contact us to see if we are able to take on this kind of work.
Should
you have specific questions regarding any of your stamps, it is best to send of
good quality scans of both the front and rear of these items. The scans should
have an optical resolution of at least 300 to 600 dpi.
With
few exceptions, we scan all our customer’s items, stamps, covers and
other articles of paper before we ever perform any type of work. This serves a
number of purposes. First we have a record of exactly how we received an item.
Second it gives us a reference for the purpose of regumming or other such
processes where we need to match the colour to the original – our monitor
is colour matched to the items being scanned. And last but not least, we can
then generate a Certificate of Restoration by providing our customers with
“before” and “after” images.
At
a meeting, my one and only, with the American Philatelic Society’s board
of directors in San Francisco in 1997, I was told that the Certificates of
Restoration issued by my company are of no value. It seems to me that the
person making this comment was somewhat confused. We are issuing a Certificate
of Restoration and not a Certificate of Authenticity. It also seems to me that
there isn’t anyone more qualified to ascertain what restoration work was
performed than the person or persons actually performing the work. At best,
people at the APS or any other organization can only hazard an educated guess.
Pricing – Can you give me some
examples of how you calculate restoration costs?
Pricing Example 1 (in USD) – mint stamp, in
condition as described in catalogue, valued at $50.00
Repairs required: Replace missing corner, regum
-
Replace
corner
…..……………………………….18.00
-
Regum
……..………..……………………………...7.50
Maximum charge is 20% of value
($50.00) is ……$10.00
The charge will be $10.00 (the lesser of $25.50 and $10.00)
Pricing Example 2 (in USD) – mint stamp, in
condition as described in catalogue, valued at $500.00
Repairs required: Replace missing corner, regum
-
Replace
corner …..……………………………….18.00
-
Regum
……..………..……………………………...7.50
-
Surcharge,
(3% of $500.00) ….………..………..15.00
Maximum charge is 20% of value
($500.00) is …$100.00
The charge will be $41.50 (the lesser of $41.50 and $100.00)
In
most cases, for the purpose of calculating repairs, we use the values of the
stamps as listed in the Scott catalogues either mint or used as the case may
be. We will accept values as listed in other catalogues such as Michel or
Stanley-Gibbons provided you notify us of your intent. (FCIstamps@gto.net)
Pricing – why do we calculate
repair costs in this way?
Yes, our pricing can be somewhat confusing but the reason we
price repairs this way is to allow new and long time customers to send us
material which is of lower value and still have it be a cost effective repair.
New customers will often wish to send us stamps or covers of a lower value in
order to try our services. Also, in many cases, customers would like to have
lower priced stamps restored, which belong to complete sets of stamps
containing high priced items.
Restorations and Repairs – To restore
or repair or not – Should I repair my damaged stamps?
I
must categorically state that in no way can or do we make any claims as to any
increase in the value, perceived or otherwise, of any stamp or other article of
paper, which was sent to us for restoration or repair. You, as the owner or
keeper of these items, are solely responsible and must make these value
judgments, which are purely subjective.
Reperforating Stamps – Can stamps
with little or no margins be reperforated?
There are different situations we come across when we
reperforate stamps. Much depends on the width of the existing margins if any. Depending
on the width of margins, we have to employ techniques to suit the individual
cases. See “Reperforating Stamps – How do you reperforate stamps
with wide margins?” and “Reperforating Stamps – How do you
reperforate stamps with narrow or non-existing margins?”
Reperforating Stamps – How do you
reperforate stamps with wide margins?
If margins allow it, we will trim the very minimal amount of
paper from the tips of the longer perfs and then recut the holes slightly
deeper in order to make the perforations uniform once again. Often this
involves removing paper of only a few thousands of an inch or a few hundreds of
a millimeter. – The cost would be as shown on our price list, US $7.50
Reperforating Stamps – How do you
reperforate stamps with narrow or non-existing margins?
If margins are too narrow or non-existent and you would like
to have perfs on the side where this is the case, we can add paper and reperf
the stamp as per the original. As this is very time consuming work, the cost
for this service would be the same as replacing a corner or thin, $18.00
Perforations – Are perforations
always aligned with perforations on the opposite side of the stamp?
It
has been written that one way to tell whether or not a stamp has been
reperforated is that on reperforated stamps, the perforations are misaligned
from the perforations on the opposite side of the stamp. From our experience we
found this to be true in some cases but by far not all, - unless someone can
show us evidence to the contrary. Either way, we will do our best to restore
the items to their original state.
Perforation Tooling – What kind
of tools do you use to reperforate stamps?
We
use a set of proprietary dies and punches, designed by us and manufactured
specifically for our company. The use of this tooling ensures exact spacing,
along with the proper hole size. Accuracy of this tooling is within 1/10,000th
of an inch. For more info refer to the section on Perforation Spacing – Actual vs.
Catalogue
Certain
measures are taken to recreate the perforation tips in a manner closely
matching the originals. What this means is that our perforations will not have
a straight cut along its edge, rather a more natural torn appearance. Also, for
stamps requiring to be regummed, we take additional steps to reduce or
eliminate gum on the perforation tips. This will ensure that perforations
maintain their proper look and feel.
Regumming stamps – How closely
can you match the original gum?
The variety of gum encountered on stamps is more numerous
than the countries from which the stamps originate. Aside from the different types,
there are variations in colour, sheen, flexibility etc. On some stamps it
appears relatively flawless, on others, the gum will have developed fine random
cracks throughout. We attempt to match gum on stamps as closely as we know how
to original gum. This is not and exact science and is often difficult to match
100%. In order for us to achieve the best possible results it is helpful for
you to send along other stamps with original gum, which we can use as a sample.
These can be stamps of low value, (with original gum), from the same set, or
barring that, stamps from the same era.
Regumming – How do you apply gum?
There are a number of ways gum can be applied. Many of which
have been discussed in books, stamp catalogues, magazines and the like. What makes
regumming stamps more difficult once they are torn from a full sheet is that it
is much more difficult to control the paper as there is no easy way to restrain
the paper during the regumming process. We pride ourselves on being able to
apply gum in a fashion that closely matches the original without disturbing the
newly applied gum.
Regumming stamps – Can you
prevent gum from collecting on the perforation tips during regumming?
Since
we are in business of restoration, we attempt to recreate the look and feel of
the stamp, as it was when it was originally torn from the sheet. Our methods
ensure that during the regumming process, gum being applied to the tips of
perforations is either eliminated or greatly diminished. See also “perforation tips”.
Regumming stamps with thins – Can
stamps with thins be regummed?
Unless
thins are filled prior to stamps being regummed, it is not possible without the
stamps showing obvious flaws where in the thin areas. As part of the
restoration process, we will therefore always fill any thins which become
apparent prior to us regumming a stamp. From our experience we would estimate
that in 8 or 9 out of 10 cases, thins are apparent while the stamps are dry,
yet there are cases where these flaws don’t show up until after a stamp
is wet and these may be discovered only while performing other restoration
work.
Sometimes,
stamps may not have any faults other than lightly disturbed gum. If that is the
case and you would like to have the gum restored to its mint condition it may
be possible to do so without removing the original gum by redistributing the
existing original gum. The operative words here are – lightly disturbed.
Creases – light vs. heavy creases – Can
creases be eliminated?
As most of you know, light creases can often be pressed out
with reasonable success. Heavy creases usually mean one thing, - the paper
fibers are physically broken and need to be bridged with the addition of new
paper. Although we take great care in adding only minimal paper, a few fibers
at a time, paper is added never the less. Obviously, this will slightly affect
the paper density in this area and may show up slightly darker than the
surrounding paper when held up against a strong back light.
It
doesn’t matter whether or not a stamp is mint or used. Creases can be
repaired on either. We cannot however repair creases on mint stamps by
retaining the original gum. The gum needs to be removed, the crease repaired
and the stamp regummed. Charges for this work would be the same as for repairs
of thins. The new gum actually helps hold the paper fibers in place. Used
stamps need the addition of minute amounts of water-soluble adhesives in order
for the fibers to remain in place.
Thins – General Information
– What causes thins?
Often
thins are caused by removing stamps from albums which have been improperly
stored and have been exposed to excessive amounts of humidity. Often this is
the case for mint or unused stamps, which still have gum on the back. The gum sometimes
softens and becomes sticky in humid conditions and the stamps end up sticking
to the album pages. During removal some of the original paper remains stuck to
the album. Used stamps sometimes are mounted with hinges, which are difficult
to remove and are being damaged during the process of removing the mounts or
hinges.
Thins / Holes – filling of thins and or holes
– How do you fill thins and holes?
This
often is a tedious and time-consuming process. There are no mechanical means by
which one can duplicate the original process which created the paper the stamp
was printed on – at least that we are aware of. Hence, this becomes a
manual task. We need to ensure the added pulp matches the original paper as
closely as possible, in density, texture as well as colour. Often this is a
process, which needs to be repeated several times in order to get it as close
as possible to the original. And yes, size matters. The larger the affected
area, the more difficult the repair. As with creases, unused stamps requiring
the application of new gum have the advantage of having the new gum retain the
added paper. Used stamps need small amounts of water-soluble adhesive in order
to affect the proper repair. All new paper then needs to be toned to match the
surrounding original paper.
Holes – How do you repair holes
in paper?
Holes
are restored similar to the way we restore thins.
Reversible Process – Is your
process / work reversible?
If
at all possible we do what we can to ensure our processes are reversible. Unfortunately,
this is not possible in all cases, primarily when straight edges of stamps are
perforated or perforations are slightly deepened in order to give them better
definition. Most other operations allow our work to be undone or reversed. This
is because we work with water-soluble adhesives. What this means it that stamps
which have had creases or thins repaired or perforations rejoined can be soaked
in water and the added fibres removed. The same holds true for perforations,
which have been added.
Joining separated perforations - Can separated perforations on blocks
etc. be rejoined?
Stamps,
corner blocks, or whole sheets, originally joined, may become inadvertently
separated. This is usually due to handling over the years or pulling stamps stuck
in stock albums or a myriad of other reasons. We used different techniques to
rejoin separated stamps, blocks or sheets. In many cases it may be possible to
rejoin items while leaving the original gum intact.
Ink – used for images –
What are the problems associated with printing inks?
Most
but not all ink is grease based and therefore not water-soluble. As with
anything, there are exceptions to every rule. Many collectors are aware that
some countries use fugitive inks mainly to thwart the fraudulent reuse of a
stamp since the soaking it in water will cause the inks to dissolve. Whether
this is intentional or not, experience has shown us that there are some colours
which are more likely than others to exhibit this trait. In particular, some
orange, red or brown coloured stamps are more likely to suffer from this
happening. There is little we can do to stop this from occurring other than the
speed at which we work. These inks can dissolve rather rapidly and soak into
the paper, which cannot be bleached out. The more work and time expended on
these items, the more the problem manifests itself. This can be especially
evident when we need to fill thins on the back of these stamps, something we
can only do while the stamp is wet. Speed is of the essence.
Ink – Phosphorescent - Used for
Borders – How do phosphorescent inks affect repairs?
Relatively
recent Canadian stamps use a phosphorescent ink or dye in the area of the
stamp’s margins. Since this is done for security reasons, these dyes are
not readily available. In fact, I have not yet been able to establish a source,
(if you can help, let us know). On the other hand, in most cases, stamps of
this nature are still plentiful and of low value, therefore we have had no
demand for this type of service.
Often, damaged stamps exhibit holes, which by their very
nature eliminate any part of the printed image on the front of the stamp in its
location. Also, heavy creases other abrasions or missing corners will damage
the image printed on the front of the stamp. After any missing paper is
replaced we will manually reconstruct the image to the best of our ability.
Small flaws will be difficult to detect however larger areas are accordingly
more difficult to restore and although done with much care, are also somewhat
more easily detectable.
Some
American stamps were originally produced with grilles, rectangular patterns of
tiny pyramid shaped impressions, which usually break through the surface of the
paper. The grilles could be pressed into the paper from the front or rear
depending on the issue. Currently, we have a die with a test pattern, which
seems to work nicely. However due to the prohibitive cost to make a complete
set of these dies we have not yet done so. Should you however have a need to
get work done, which requires the use of this type of tooling we will get the
appropriate dies manufactured. Obviously this will require additional turn
around time. Having said that, as long as the stamp does not need to have a
thin filled in the area of the original grill, we have successfully restored
many stamps of this nature.
As is the case with grills, embossed stamps present a whole
range of other issues. Although not impossible, it severely limits the type and
extent of any repairs we may be able to perform on these items. At the very
least, we would need a high quality scan of both the front and back of these
items in order to give you a reasonable answer as to what we can and cannot do.
Gum, Self-Adhesive – Can you
repair stamps with self adhesive, peel and stick type?
For
now, we are not equipped to restore stamps manufactured with self adhesive
backing, the peel and stick type. For potential future work, we would
appreciate any guidance in obtaining the proper adhesives. (FCIstamps@gto.net>)
Paper - Phosphorescent / Fluorescent
– Are there phosphorescents or fluorescents added to paper?
Although our research has not indicated that paper produced
about 100+ years ago had phosphorescent additives, paper which is that old
seemingly exhibits small traces of such. I am not aware of the origins of this
but suffice it to say that any paper we add may show ever so slightly when
viewed under various wavelengths of UV light. Perhaps anyone reading this might
help shed some “light” on this seeming phenomenon. (FCIstamps@gto.net)
Cleaning – Dirt – How do
you remove dirt or grime from stamps and or covers?
As
with any type of restoration work, we encounter stamps in various degrees of
required cleaning. In many but not all cases if the stamp exhibits signs of
dirt on the face, especially in the margin area, we can use a dry process by
which the original gum is not affected. In some instances where the dirt does
penetrate the paper either form the front, which is very difficult to remove,
or from the back, which is somewhat less complicated, gummed stamps may have to
have their original gum removed and be regummed. In extreme cases cleaning may
affect the actual paper and require that paper be added and the stamp regummed
if necessary. From time to time it is necessary to use a variety of chemicals
ranging from relatively mild to quite aggressive. We will always begin our task
with the mildest chemicals we have, perform spot tests and then cautiously
progress to the stronger ones.
Spot / Foxing – Removal –
Can you remove spots or foxing?
Problems
encountered in this area, although in some cases similar to cleaning of dirt
can be significantly different due to the root cause of the spots. Often these
are caused by various degrees of mold and in many cases, although the paper
still seems intact, that damage has already been done. The integrity of the
paper will have been compromised as the fibres in that area may have been
attacked and destroyed. We can lighten and sometimes eliminate these spots but
on numerous occasions the paper in these areas will disintegrate and the areas
will need to be filled and restored with the addition of new paper. As I
mentioned above, much depends on the severity of the condition.
Adhesive tape – Removal –
Is it possible for you to remove adhesive tape and residue?
Not
totally uncommon is the discovery of items, which have been poorly stored by
someone using adhesive tape, or poorly mended using “Scotch®
“or similar type tape. I am in no way trying to single out this make of
tape or imply that it is not a good product since I believe they may also make
archival tapes. Adhesive tapes of this nature applied many years ago, will in
most cases have experienced a yellowing of the substrate and adhesive along
with a degree of softening of the adhesive. None of which is something you want
to have come in contact with your stamps.
We have found some chemicals, which perform reasonably well when it
comes to the removal of the tape and the adhesive residue. Depending on the
type of ink used on the stamp and the penetration of the adhesive into the
paper fibre, this procedure will have varying degrees of success, (sometimes
the image may be slightly lightened), yet in most cases the results are big
improvement over the stamp’s un-restored condition.
It is not uncommon to discover that stamps have previously
been repaired or altered by others. Without attempting to “blow our own
horn” so to speak, often this work is less than adequate. Certainly there
were and probably still are other “restorers” out there of who you
may be aware, it is no different as with any other craft. Some are better than
others. The work we most often run into is that stamps have been previously
poorly reperforated. The spacing, hole size and depth are wrong and
perforations often still exhibit straight edges along the ends. Thins have been
filled by gluing paper over the affected areas, white-out or type correction
fluid has been used to fill thins and holes and gum has been applied as to
accumulate on the perforation tips. For what its worth it is our intent to have
stamps leave our premises in a condition that matches stamps of their original
issue as exactingly as possible.
Cancellation – Lightening of
Heavy Cancellations – Can you lighten heavy cancellations?
On
some used stamps a particularly heavy cancellation may be encountered, which
can severely obscure the main image. In these cases we may be convinced to
attempt to lighten the cancellation somewhat in order to reveal more of the
stamp’s image. Having said that, the ink used for the cancellation is in
most cases chemically similar to that of the printed image. Hence, attempts to
lighten such cancellations need to be carried out with extreme care, as it is
easy to go just a little too far and negatively affect the image underneath.
Cancellation – Removal of
Cancellations – Is it possible to remove light cancellations completely?
This
may be technically possible in some instances but under NO circumstances will
we be convinced to remove an existing cancellation, no matter how little of the
cancellation may be evident.
UVA UVB light – What do you use
UVA and UVB light for?
Amongst other uses, the use of this type of light can be
useful in determining filled thins and other repairs.
Although
I was a member of the APS for a relatively short time in the 90’s no one
at First Choice International or FCI Stamp Restoration Service is currently a
member of any philatelic organization with the exception of the Grand River
Philatelic Society.
Detection of Repairs - How can one
detect restoration, repairs or alterations made to stamps?
There
are numerous ways to detect repairs, from watermark fluid to side light tables,
UV lamps, magnifying glasses and microscopes. We have found so far that your
ordinary $100 scanner can be your best friend. Scanning a stamp or cover with a
resolution of 600 DPI or greater will in most cases reveal not only flaws but
also the majority of repairs or alterations. In my humble opinion, I would have
to say that although we strive to perform the best possible work it is virtually
impossible to make these repairs or restorations undetectable.
Indelible Ink – Do you identify restored or
repaired items with indelible ink?
I
had been asked by the American Philatelic Society to identify items, which we restored
or repaired. In almost the same sentence I was told that we could not make any
repairs or restorations, which are undetectable - exactly what I said in the
paragraph above. I have therefore refused to indelibly identify these items for
this reason and because I am not aware of any other articles or collectibles,
which, after having been restored or repaired, are marked to identify them as
such. For the purpose of declaration of repairs performed, we issue our
Certificates of Restoration.