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What we collect!
What we collect!


General Philatelic/Gen. Discussion : Hidden gems in purchased collections!

 

Author
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keesindy
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19 Oct 2017
11:59:08am

We sometimes find surprises in the collections we've bought. This gem is a used Azores Scott type A21 5r 44d perf 11½ stamp on enamel surfaced paper. (J. Barefoot says reprints were 13½ only.) The stamp has it all. Well, except that it's not well centered.

Image Not Found

For example, it has those three classic hinge remnants that really stand out.

The soiling is particularly attractive around the margins and the yellow staining in the center area adds warmth.

And then there's that odd "flap" on the back at the right edge that, on close inspection, is actually a separate piece of paper that replaces the missing perf tooth above the thinned area that is the beginning of a very long repaired tear angling across and down toward the left corner. Looking on the bright side, that perf tooth replacement looks good and most of that repair of the tear is barely noticeable on the face of the stamp! We're not looking for perfection. Right?

There is the obvious missing perf at the bottom and others at the upper left where the stamp's edge is also creased. Remember though, this stamp is an antique and is bound to have acquired some rough edges as it passed through the mail system and owners' hands.

Speaking of creases, the two left corner teeth are creased and there is a light crease or two (but who's counting?) in the lower right-hand corner. On the bright side, all three of those corners are still attached!

There is a surface scrape at the bottom center and smaller scrapes at a few other places. Added character?

Less noticeable are the spots where the surface material is missing. One small spot is directly below the "C" in CINCO. The largest is below the "R" of the overprint and two others between the "D" and "A" in the cancel. Barely noticeable and hardly worth mentioning!

Another thin spot is located to the left of the "O" in CORREIOS at the edge of the heavy frame line, but it may be a natural defect. It looks a little suspect from the front, but simply looks like a dimple from the back. That dented frame line at that location looks like a previously unidentified plate variety to me, and that should significantly increase the value of this stamp even further!

With all these variables, it's really difficult sometimes to establish a value for our stamps!

Rolling On The Floor Laughing

Tom
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"I no longer collect, but will never abandon the hobby"
Brechinite

19 Oct 2017
12:32:01pm
re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

Funnily enough I have just been discussing with another member some of the wonders you find in old collections.

Stamps that have missing corners.

Half stamps, and I don't mean bisects.

Plus they have been stuck in albums with whatever glue was to hand.

I just love old collections and their "gems".

I must have masochistic tendencies.

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"Gonnae no dae that!..........Just gonnae no!"
AntoniusRa
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The truth is within and only you can reveal it

20 Oct 2017
01:29:45am
re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

The upside is, that if you consider that a gem, you will never be disappointed.

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mitch.seymourfamily.com/mward/collection/mapindex.html
Jeredutt3

20 Oct 2017
01:58:04am
re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

I have purchased a few collections that ended up being packed with gems ! Every once in a while I get a really disappointing selection where none of em have even been used :-( .. and are stuck in little window things that make em so hard to get off the paper unlike good ole hinges..


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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

22 Oct 2017
01:04:16pm
re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

When I see things like that I sometimes visualize a middle aged, middle class European man, sitting at his kitchen table, lights low to avoid attention, playing with what stamps he can find from old timeworn envelopes, as the wars swirl about him, fearing the forceful knock at the door which he will not be able to ignore, trying to appear calm for his wife and child, just trying to survive. He trisects hinges to make them last. He repairs tears and missing perfs as best he can with glue made from things best un-named. And the tweezers in his gnarly fingers shudder with every unknown sound.
So I sometimes give him a pass and hope he found happier times.

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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
BenFranklin1902
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Tom in Exton, PA

22 Oct 2017
03:47:10pm
re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

When I buy cover lots there are always a bunch of unusable ones included... those with illegible postmarks, torn or stained first day covers.. things nobody would ever put in their collection. So people toss them into a box that gets sorted into lots to make them look larger!

Lately I've been putting these turds of the cover world out of their misery. Yes! I've been cutting the stamps off (if the stamp deserves it!) and tossing them out. The philatelic world is a better place without those miserable covers!

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keesindy
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22 Oct 2017
04:08:26pm
re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

Yes, Mitch, "gem" is a relative term. I'm using it facetiously here just for fun, and I wouldn't throw this stamp away. Given the catalog value of $22.50 (Scott 2016), it will probably find a home as a space filler in a collection just as it was in the collection I found it in. Of course, even the term "space filler" is relative as well. That's why I don't throw many stamps away! I prefer to leave that chore to others.

As Charlie has pointed out in his post, we don't know whose collections our stamps passed through on their way to us and we don't know their circumstances. Most collections I bought in the 1980s ended in the 1950s. Lots of stamps , even some that were in mounts when I obtained them, had gathered multiple hinges in their lifetimes. There are undoubtedly some very fascinating stories these stamps could tell.

Tom

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garner72
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Mint, slightly unhinged.

22 Oct 2017
07:09:44pm
re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

“Turds of the cover world...”

I love Rolling On The Floor Laughingit!

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Author/Postings
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keesindy

19 Oct 2017
11:59:08am


We sometimes find surprises in the collections we've bought. This gem is a used Azores Scott type A21 5r 44d perf 11½ stamp on enamel surfaced paper. (J. Barefoot says reprints were 13½ only.) The stamp has it all. Well, except that it's not well centered.

Image Not Found

For example, it has those three classic hinge remnants that really stand out.

The soiling is particularly attractive around the margins and the yellow staining in the center area adds warmth.

And then there's that odd "flap" on the back at the right edge that, on close inspection, is actually a separate piece of paper that replaces the missing perf tooth above the thinned area that is the beginning of a very long repaired tear angling across and down toward the left corner. Looking on the bright side, that perf tooth replacement looks good and most of that repair of the tear is barely noticeable on the face of the stamp! We're not looking for perfection. Right?

There is the obvious missing perf at the bottom and others at the upper left where the stamp's edge is also creased. Remember though, this stamp is an antique and is bound to have acquired some rough edges as it passed through the mail system and owners' hands.

Speaking of creases, the two left corner teeth are creased and there is a light crease or two (but who's counting?) in the lower right-hand corner. On the bright side, all three of those corners are still attached!

There is a surface scrape at the bottom center and smaller scrapes at a few other places. Added character?

Less noticeable are the spots where the surface material is missing. One small spot is directly below the "C" in CINCO. The largest is below the "R" of the overprint and two others between the "D" and "A" in the cancel. Barely noticeable and hardly worth mentioning!

Another thin spot is located to the left of the "O" in CORREIOS at the edge of the heavy frame line, but it may be a natural defect. It looks a little suspect from the front, but simply looks like a dimple from the back. That dented frame line at that location looks like a previously unidentified plate variety to me, and that should significantly increase the value of this stamp even further!

With all these variables, it's really difficult sometimes to establish a value for our stamps!

Rolling On The Floor Laughing

Tom

Like 
2 Members
like this post.
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"I no longer collect, but will never abandon the hobby"
Brechinite

19 Oct 2017
12:32:01pm

re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

Funnily enough I have just been discussing with another member some of the wonders you find in old collections.

Stamps that have missing corners.

Half stamps, and I don't mean bisects.

Plus they have been stuck in albums with whatever glue was to hand.

I just love old collections and their "gems".

I must have masochistic tendencies.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Gonnae no dae that!..........Just gonnae no!"
Members Picture
AntoniusRa

The truth is within and only you can reveal it
20 Oct 2017
01:29:45am

re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

The upside is, that if you consider that a gem, you will never be disappointed.

Like 
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

mitch.seymourfamily. ...
Jeredutt3

20 Oct 2017
01:58:04am

re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

I have purchased a few collections that ended up being packed with gems ! Every once in a while I get a really disappointing selection where none of em have even been used :-( .. and are stuck in little window things that make em so hard to get off the paper unlike good ole hinges..


Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
22 Oct 2017
01:04:16pm

re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

When I see things like that I sometimes visualize a middle aged, middle class European man, sitting at his kitchen table, lights low to avoid attention, playing with what stamps he can find from old timeworn envelopes, as the wars swirl about him, fearing the forceful knock at the door which he will not be able to ignore, trying to appear calm for his wife and child, just trying to survive. He trisects hinges to make them last. He repairs tears and missing perfs as best he can with glue made from things best un-named. And the tweezers in his gnarly fingers shudder with every unknown sound.
So I sometimes give him a pass and hope he found happier times.

Like 
5 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
Members Picture
BenFranklin1902

Tom in Exton, PA
22 Oct 2017
03:47:10pm

re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

When I buy cover lots there are always a bunch of unusable ones included... those with illegible postmarks, torn or stained first day covers.. things nobody would ever put in their collection. So people toss them into a box that gets sorted into lots to make them look larger!

Lately I've been putting these turds of the cover world out of their misery. Yes! I've been cutting the stamps off (if the stamp deserves it!) and tossing them out. The philatelic world is a better place without those miserable covers!

Like 
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

"Check out my eBay Stuff! Username Turtles-Trading-Post"
Members Picture
keesindy

22 Oct 2017
04:08:26pm

re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

Yes, Mitch, "gem" is a relative term. I'm using it facetiously here just for fun, and I wouldn't throw this stamp away. Given the catalog value of $22.50 (Scott 2016), it will probably find a home as a space filler in a collection just as it was in the collection I found it in. Of course, even the term "space filler" is relative as well. That's why I don't throw many stamps away! I prefer to leave that chore to others.

As Charlie has pointed out in his post, we don't know whose collections our stamps passed through on their way to us and we don't know their circumstances. Most collections I bought in the 1980s ended in the 1950s. Lots of stamps , even some that were in mounts when I obtained them, had gathered multiple hinges in their lifetimes. There are undoubtedly some very fascinating stories these stamps could tell.

Tom

Like
Login to Like
this post

"I no longer collect, but will never abandon the hobby"
Members Picture
garner72

Mint, slightly unhinged.
22 Oct 2017
07:09:44pm

re: Hidden gems in purchased collections!

“Turds of the cover world...”

I love Rolling On The Floor Laughingit!

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
        

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