Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I realize that this topic has probably been dealt with a number of times in the past but I guess I am not finding the answer that satisfies me. Would I be correct in calling them unused and then pricing them at the lesser of the mint/used categories in Scott?
I know that some collectors abhor this type of stamp and others could care less as long as the face is good. There are a lot of very nice older stamps and it would seem to be a shame not to be able to utilize them in some way. If I were to offer some in an approval book - what do I call them?
I would appreciate your input.
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Dennis, you could try sweating them off by the page in a large plastic box (page size) resting them on a coated metal or plastic basket / rack. I find face down works ok. I have separated souvenir sheets this way.
Afterwards you would probably describe them as mint/unused - disturbed gum .
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I call them "Mint no gum" (MNG) on Hipstamp as long as the bulge presses out (it usually does). I sell a lot of them on Hip at pricing in the 15-20 per cent of CV range depending on age and scarcity. My normal default percentage is 40 per cent.
Since it is hard to get anything over 20 per cent of catalog here I think that offering at 10 % might work. Minimum value stamps without gum would be a hard sell anywhere.
Just my opinion
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I second MNG.
Soaking them is an excellent idea, as pulling them off the hinges would thin each and every one of them.
I am one of those who would not care much about the gum, as long as the back of the stamp is sound.
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I am not sure I would call a stamp that has been soaked as Mint with no gum.
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If a stamp has not been postally used, originally was issued with gum but does not have gum at the present time, what do you call it?
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"I call them "Mint no gum" (MNG) on Hipstamp"
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I guess a pedant or purist would argue that they are “UNUSED With No Gum”.
But I agree “MNG” is accessible and (almost) universally understood.
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I'm not very picky when it comes to the back of the stamps, but I feel that the word "Mint" shouldn't be in the description of any stamp that is not as issued.
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10:39:46pm
" ... you might do better to sell the entire lot
clearly described 'AS IS' in an auction either
here or on eBay. ..."
Should that be the choice, I'd be interested
since I do not collect 'Gum' and often clean
it from stamps anyway.
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I agree with Charlie.
Case and point, after some 60+ years collecting stamps I'm proud of my collection and when we have visitors and we exchange experiences on travels, foods on others friends and naturally about our hobbies, I always like to show them some of the stamps from my favorite countries and point to some while I make a comment like...this is the first stamp ever issued or this stamp commemorates Tagore or this one commemorates certain treaty and so on, well, never and I mean never, never never has anyone asked me to show them the back of the stamp.
Those stamps stuck on paper are as good as any if you collect stamps, if you look at them as the means to investment then they are probably worthless.
To some of you here and other sites the phase "to a stamp dealer my collection is worthless, to me it is priceless, because what price tag would you put on 60+ years of enjoyment?" may sound familiar but it is a fact, and some members here know that first hand.
I never had a headache over a stamp I couldn't get but have a lot of fulfillment when I was able to add ten new ones to my collection. We have already discuss our collecting habits and we agree that we are all different, each of us as an individual have our own methods of collecting but telling some one that
this or that stamp is worthless because we don't see profit on it it is uncalled for.
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As to the original question - I would opt to use plain old NG to describe these and omit the M or mint. You don't need to specify mint because NG is only used to describe stamps that haven't been used. No confusion possible that way.
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"Those stamps stuck on paper are as good as any if you collect stamps, if you look at them as the means to investment then they are probably worthless."
I believe it is time for us , the collectors to kick back and straighten out some misconceptions in our hobby.
If we had a collection in 1940 or 1950, it might have made some sense insisting on a MNH copy of a stamp. It is now 2022 soon to be 2023. The gum on many older stamps has fallen apart , cracked, stained, darkened or even done damage to the face of the stamp. Who cares about gum and why would they? I think the catalogues with their MNH pricing are doing us a disservice.
I honestly hate gum - not just the self adhesive type. It warps the stamps so they do not lay flat, it makes them thicker, it creates the possibility of the stamp getting stuck and damaged, it can develop rust and ruin a stamp.
I am always happy to find a fault in the gum, to give an excuse to soak a mint stamp and remove its gum.
Is the 1c British Guyana MNH after all?
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I appreciate the thoughtful and informative advice that you have provided. There were 60 to 80 good sized albums in the accumulation I acquired. A good majority of the stamps were used and in good condition. (look for them in future approval books).
Given where I live in the Canadian Prairies, selling the lot and shipping it anywhere would be prohibitively expensive.
I have found some choice items for my own collection, a bonus. Now I can spend several months, sorting, cataloguing and probably a little bit of soaking.
Happy New Year to Alll
Dennis
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Dennis, with that many albums selling the stamps one at a time would take several lifetimes. Especially if you are going to unhinge etc.
You could decide some of the albums aren’t worth going through and sell them outright.
You can also sell mini collections from different countries by removing pages from albums. Truthfully list as “stamps hinged to pages”. And then it becomes someone else’s problem.
Final suggestion would be to scan whole pages and create approval books.. one item per page.. 26 pages = 26 items per book.
Back when I took apart a USA collection where all the stamps were hinged, I didn’t risk thinning or tearing the stamps. I slid a small knife between stamp and page, and cut the hinge (leaving half in the album and half still glued to the stamp) then soaked all the stamps to remove the hinges. Even if you are successful peeling the hinge away, it always leaves a glue mark.
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Ben, it shouldn't be too bad. One can treat the pages as a kiloware lot and soak them all.
What I usually do with stamps that are not stuck to the pages and are only held by the hinge is this:
I hold the stamp between my fingers making sure I am also holding the spot underneath where the hinge is glued to the stamp and pull downwards parallel to the page. This results in the stamp being removed from the page with the whole hinge, or most of it. No damage to stamp. I can then either trim the loose piece of hinge that is sticking out, or soak the stamp to remove the hinge completely.
Pulling the stamp in the opposite direction of the one shown, or upwards, without holding the spot where the hinge is glued to the stamp will almost always result in a damaged stamp.
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Auctions - Approvals
I recently acquired several boxes of albums. The majority of the stamps appear to have started out as mint. Apparently, whomever placed the stamps into the albums used the "cow tongue" technique on the hinges. I can see no way to remove the stamps other than by soaking them since the area of the stamp surrounding the hinge has adhered to the page. This will result in literally thousands of stamps with no gum
I realize that this topic has probably been dealt with a number of times in the past but I guess I am not finding the answer that satisfies me. Would I be correct in calling them unused and then pricing them at the lesser of the mint/used categories in Scott?
I know that some collectors abhor this type of stamp and others could care less as long as the face is good. There are a lot of very nice older stamps and it would seem to be a shame not to be able to utilize them in some way. If I were to offer some in an approval book - what do I call them?
I would appreciate your input.
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re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
Dennis, you could try sweating them off by the page in a large plastic box (page size) resting them on a coated metal or plastic basket / rack. I find face down works ok. I have separated souvenir sheets this way.
Afterwards you would probably describe them as mint/unused - disturbed gum .
Login to Like
this post
08:10:18pm
re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
I call them "Mint no gum" (MNG) on Hipstamp as long as the bulge presses out (it usually does). I sell a lot of them on Hip at pricing in the 15-20 per cent of CV range depending on age and scarcity. My normal default percentage is 40 per cent.
Since it is hard to get anything over 20 per cent of catalog here I think that offering at 10 % might work. Minimum value stamps without gum would be a hard sell anywhere.
Just my opinion
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re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
I second MNG.
Soaking them is an excellent idea, as pulling them off the hinges would thin each and every one of them.
I am one of those who would not care much about the gum, as long as the back of the stamp is sound.
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re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
I am not sure I would call a stamp that has been soaked as Mint with no gum.
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re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
"I call them "Mint no gum" (MNG) on Hipstamp"
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11:49:48am
re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
I guess a pedant or purist would argue that they are “UNUSED With No Gum”.
But I agree “MNG” is accessible and (almost) universally understood.
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Approvals
re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
I'm not very picky when it comes to the back of the stamps, but I feel that the word "Mint" shouldn't be in the description of any stamp that is not as issued.
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
24 Dec 2022
10:39:46pm
re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
" ... you might do better to sell the entire lot
clearly described 'AS IS' in an auction either
here or on eBay. ..."
Should that be the choice, I'd be interested
since I do not collect 'Gum' and often clean
it from stamps anyway.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Approvals
re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
I agree with Charlie.
Case and point, after some 60+ years collecting stamps I'm proud of my collection and when we have visitors and we exchange experiences on travels, foods on others friends and naturally about our hobbies, I always like to show them some of the stamps from my favorite countries and point to some while I make a comment like...this is the first stamp ever issued or this stamp commemorates Tagore or this one commemorates certain treaty and so on, well, never and I mean never, never never has anyone asked me to show them the back of the stamp.
Those stamps stuck on paper are as good as any if you collect stamps, if you look at them as the means to investment then they are probably worthless.
To some of you here and other sites the phase "to a stamp dealer my collection is worthless, to me it is priceless, because what price tag would you put on 60+ years of enjoyment?" may sound familiar but it is a fact, and some members here know that first hand.
I never had a headache over a stamp I couldn't get but have a lot of fulfillment when I was able to add ten new ones to my collection. We have already discuss our collecting habits and we agree that we are all different, each of us as an individual have our own methods of collecting but telling some one that
this or that stamp is worthless because we don't see profit on it it is uncalled for.
4 Members
like this post.
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re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
As to the original question - I would opt to use plain old NG to describe these and omit the M or mint. You don't need to specify mint because NG is only used to describe stamps that haven't been used. No confusion possible that way.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
"Those stamps stuck on paper are as good as any if you collect stamps, if you look at them as the means to investment then they are probably worthless."
I believe it is time for us , the collectors to kick back and straighten out some misconceptions in our hobby.
If we had a collection in 1940 or 1950, it might have made some sense insisting on a MNH copy of a stamp. It is now 2022 soon to be 2023. The gum on many older stamps has fallen apart , cracked, stained, darkened or even done damage to the face of the stamp. Who cares about gum and why would they? I think the catalogues with their MNH pricing are doing us a disservice.
I honestly hate gum - not just the self adhesive type. It warps the stamps so they do not lay flat, it makes them thicker, it creates the possibility of the stamp getting stuck and damaged, it can develop rust and ruin a stamp.
I am always happy to find a fault in the gum, to give an excuse to soak a mint stamp and remove its gum.
Is the 1c British Guyana MNH after all?
Login to Like
this post
Auctions - Approvals
re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
I appreciate the thoughtful and informative advice that you have provided. There were 60 to 80 good sized albums in the accumulation I acquired. A good majority of the stamps were used and in good condition. (look for them in future approval books).
Given where I live in the Canadian Prairies, selling the lot and shipping it anywhere would be prohibitively expensive.
I have found some choice items for my own collection, a bonus. Now I can spend several months, sorting, cataloguing and probably a little bit of soaking.
Happy New Year to Alll
Dennis
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re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
Dennis, with that many albums selling the stamps one at a time would take several lifetimes. Especially if you are going to unhinge etc.
You could decide some of the albums aren’t worth going through and sell them outright.
You can also sell mini collections from different countries by removing pages from albums. Truthfully list as “stamps hinged to pages”. And then it becomes someone else’s problem.
Final suggestion would be to scan whole pages and create approval books.. one item per page.. 26 pages = 26 items per book.
Back when I took apart a USA collection where all the stamps were hinged, I didn’t risk thinning or tearing the stamps. I slid a small knife between stamp and page, and cut the hinge (leaving half in the album and half still glued to the stamp) then soaked all the stamps to remove the hinges. Even if you are successful peeling the hinge away, it always leaves a glue mark.
Login to Like
this post
re: Removing mint hinged stamps from an album.
Ben, it shouldn't be too bad. One can treat the pages as a kiloware lot and soak them all.
What I usually do with stamps that are not stuck to the pages and are only held by the hinge is this:
I hold the stamp between my fingers making sure I am also holding the spot underneath where the hinge is glued to the stamp and pull downwards parallel to the page. This results in the stamp being removed from the page with the whole hinge, or most of it. No damage to stamp. I can then either trim the loose piece of hinge that is sticking out, or soak the stamp to remove the hinge completely.
Pulling the stamp in the opposite direction of the one shown, or upwards, without holding the spot where the hinge is glued to the stamp will almost always result in a damaged stamp.
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