Stamp Care Survey (10 questions)
1. Which of these paper products (i.e. stamp album pages, storage boxes) will extend the life of your stamp collection?
acid free paper products
pH neutral paper products
alkaline buffered paper products
acidic paper products
2. Which of the following types of plastic products (i.e. stamp album pages, storage boxes) is 'safe" for use with your stamp collection?
PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
Mylar ®
PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
PS (Polystyrene)
3. Compared to the UV light present in a typical room/office, how much more stronger is a typical UV authentication lamp?
10 times as strong
100 times as strong
1000 times as strong
10000 times as strong
4. If you expose a typical 19th century stamp for 8 hours a day under the lights of a typical room/office, how many years before the stamp will begin to show signs of fading?
<1 year
1 year
10 years
100 years
5. If typical room/office illumination is 300-500 lux, what is the illumination that most museums strive to achieve for display of 19th century stamps?
400 lux
250 lux
50 lux
10 lux
6. When viewing/displaying your stamps in a typical room/office environment, which of the following can be used to reduce the UV light that may be present?
use UV filters
use low UV light bulbs
lower the room/office lights
use window shades
7. Which combination of relative humidity (RH) and temperature will cause the least amount of damage?
0% RH and 60 degrees F
10% RH and 60 degrees F
40% RH and 60 degrees F
70% RH and 60 degrees F
8. Which of the following techniques will damage your stamps?
rinsing your stamps with tap water
dipping your stamps in watermark fluid
brightening your stamps with peroxide
handling your stamps with your fingers
9. Encapsulation of stamps forms a micro-climate that can accelerate harmful and damaging processes, which of the following can be considered to be a form of encapsulation?
storage of stamps in a stamp album
storage of stamps in plastic holders
storage of stamps in a plastic slab
none of the above
10. Assuming you were the proud owner of a $100,000 philatelic item, would you want to protect it from damage for as long as possible? If so, what is the most you would be willing to spend on a product that was GUARANTEED to protect it from the damaging effects of papers, plastics, light, and the environment? Hint: we are in the final stages of development of such a product.
$10 (.01% of catalogue value)
$100 (.1% of catalogue value)
$1000 (1% of catalogue value)
$5000 (5% of catalogue value)
Click here and see how your knowledge matches that presented on the pages of this site.
Click here to submit your answers to our survey. When we receive a statistically significant number of responses we will update this page with a summary of the responses we have received.
