If the CTO stamps are stuck to the stock book pages, I'd soak them off. If the gum isn't hurting anything, I'd leave it alone.
I came into a big hoard of Polish stamps from a friend upon the death of his father in law. Sort of a collector, more of a hoarder, he saved all the stamps that came on mail from Poland. Unfortunately he tore them from the complete envelope, still leaving them on paper. In this case I'm trimming the tears around the stamp and postmark to show it was postally used and not CTO.
Wouldn't the CTOs be obviously visible (even without looking at the gum), due the placement of the "postmark"? Forgive me if I'm wrong - I'm used to USSR and DDR CTOs and you can generally see the difference because of the placement and style of "postmark" - used USSR and DDR postmarks are not the clean precisely placed marks found on CTOs - is this the same in Polish stamps?
" .... Wouldn't the CTOs be obviously visible (even without looking at the gum), due the placement of the "postmark"? ...."
One of my friends at the Citrus Area Stamp Club (First and third Tuesdays 10AM to about 2PM) has contended that many of the very clearly cancelled modern German stamps were CTO, especially those that had a near quadrant cancel. I finally gathered together almost a dozen postally used German covers showing that certain stamps were cancelled that way. Even with the covers in hand he seemed unconvinced. One giveaway is that the circular marks are not hand or even machine cancels, but were a part of the printing process.
The gum is a big tell, the quarter circular date stamp can be but also is not always definitive.
Thanks Charlie - I've never considered that - question though - are the postmarks on legitimately used covers of the same "sharpness" - for lack of a better word. I've found that with CTOs, as you mentioned are stamped as part of the printing process and always in a corner quadrant are very clean looking as opposed to postally used which have a variation of width of its circular (obviously that's the only CTO "postmark" - thus the question of identifying CTO to postally used) design that I've ever seen.
Always interested in learning new things.
Generally, I soak them if they are stuck down or are excessively hinged. Most CTOs seem to be low CV, so I don't think it really hurts in any way.
Going through a large number of Polish wallpaper issues and some genuine postally used, what is current thinking/practice for all those cto's that still have full or partial gum?
Do I soak to lessen the adherence to album pages/mounts (and to remove old hinges) or do I leave as is and run the risk of them sticking, some are already stuck in an old stock book that I picked up recently.
I see Scott does include them in the catalogue and also Steiner allows for them on the album pages.
Scott actually prices them as CTO and notes that postally used command a premium.
What does everyone else do?
re: CTO to soak or not to soak?
If the CTO stamps are stuck to the stock book pages, I'd soak them off. If the gum isn't hurting anything, I'd leave it alone.
I came into a big hoard of Polish stamps from a friend upon the death of his father in law. Sort of a collector, more of a hoarder, he saved all the stamps that came on mail from Poland. Unfortunately he tore them from the complete envelope, still leaving them on paper. In this case I'm trimming the tears around the stamp and postmark to show it was postally used and not CTO.
re: CTO to soak or not to soak?
Wouldn't the CTOs be obviously visible (even without looking at the gum), due the placement of the "postmark"? Forgive me if I'm wrong - I'm used to USSR and DDR CTOs and you can generally see the difference because of the placement and style of "postmark" - used USSR and DDR postmarks are not the clean precisely placed marks found on CTOs - is this the same in Polish stamps?
re: CTO to soak or not to soak?
" .... Wouldn't the CTOs be obviously visible (even without looking at the gum), due the placement of the "postmark"? ...."
One of my friends at the Citrus Area Stamp Club (First and third Tuesdays 10AM to about 2PM) has contended that many of the very clearly cancelled modern German stamps were CTO, especially those that had a near quadrant cancel. I finally gathered together almost a dozen postally used German covers showing that certain stamps were cancelled that way. Even with the covers in hand he seemed unconvinced. One giveaway is that the circular marks are not hand or even machine cancels, but were a part of the printing process.
The gum is a big tell, the quarter circular date stamp can be but also is not always definitive.
re: CTO to soak or not to soak?
Thanks Charlie - I've never considered that - question though - are the postmarks on legitimately used covers of the same "sharpness" - for lack of a better word. I've found that with CTOs, as you mentioned are stamped as part of the printing process and always in a corner quadrant are very clean looking as opposed to postally used which have a variation of width of its circular (obviously that's the only CTO "postmark" - thus the question of identifying CTO to postally used) design that I've ever seen.
Always interested in learning new things.
re: CTO to soak or not to soak?
Generally, I soak them if they are stuck down or are excessively hinged. Most CTOs seem to be low CV, so I don't think it really hurts in any way.