Royal mail now issue lots of tamper proof stamps which is great for protecting their revenue and making sure people don’t re-use but how does it affect the stamp collector? Well the traditional methods of removing stamps from envelopes like steaming doesn’t work on the new Royal mail stamps. So what do we do with tamper proof Royal Mail stamps if you are a collector?
One option is to simply cut around it and leave it on the paper. Nobody likes doing that normally unless its a particularly interesting postmark or something.
A second option I have heard works well is using a label remover such as Ambersil Label remover, you spray it on and it unsticks/comes off pretty much straight away. There are other options too like Cramolin or Goo Gone but I’ve not tried these.
A final tip is to spray a light coating of WD40 on the back of the envelope where the stamp is located, the area becomes transparent then wait a couple of moments the stamp will peel off with ease.
Note, it is illegal to remove and re-use a postage stamp! This is information for people collecting used postage stamps.
Please do comment below if you have had luck with any other methods!