Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
My question is should i trim the hinge down on the stamp, or re soak them all to get the hinge off, or just leave the hinge on the stamp and sell them or trade them just bas they are with the hinge attached.
Thank-you
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Why not? I do it all of the time. In-fact I just finished soaking some back of the book U.S. stamps to do just what you're asking about. Some were covered with hinges and selvage used for hinges on some of the older material. Doing so makes the collection look a lot more presentable and clean in my opinion.
Jeremy
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Yes i guess it is all about presentation if they are being sold or traded with anyone else
Thanks
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It is up to each of us on how we want the stamps we trade or sell to appear to the new owners. Do we want to save time, as most seem to want to do, or clean off those nasty hinges for better appearance and make it easier to identify the stamp for the buyer? I do it both ways, if they have those wonderful Dennison green hinges that usually are easy to remove, with some amount of patience needed sometimes I don't mind removing them, but those crummy white hinges I will usually sever the hinge in half and leave it there. It also depends on the value of the stamps and/or does the watermark even need to be seen? Also, it is the same with stamps mounted in show guards or similar mounts and how well they are stuck down. I have had some that I could reuse and others that were wet all over the back and pressed down. Those type get the show guard slit along the top or bottom edge, with tongs.
Good luck with your choice!
Mike
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I have rarely sold or traded stamps, but appearance is very important to me. I will only buy mint stamps with hinge remnants if I am sure that the hinges don’t affect the appearance of the stamp once it’s in an album or stock book, and I usually soak hinges or hinge remnants off used stamps.
Just as I don’t like crooked pictures hanging on my walls, I don’t like to have crooked stamps in my albums or stock books. If I’m using mounts for mint stamps, I usually choose black ones and trim them so they form a symmetrical frame for the stamp. I use Dennison hinges to carefully mount used stamps in proprietary albums, in home-made albums, or on exhibit sheets.
To my mind, a set of attractive, undamaged stamps carefully mounted on an album page is an artistic creation. For that matter, even damaged or heavily cancelled stamps look better if they are clean and carefully mounted, especially if the pages provide background information about them, perhaps explaining the damage.
Bob
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You could use the Steam method, or better to day known as stamp lift. I always make my own for the steam method, cheap!
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I too soak used stamps when it is safe to do so (watching out for issues with fugitive inks, chalky paper, or certain old stamps that like to curl). I even try to soak off any visible hinge residue. I do think it makes the stamps more presentable, and also to help preserve them. Hinge remnants can make the stamps bulge or curl if the room humidity changes I've also seen to often in old accumulations where the hinge residue starts sticking to old stamps, and damages the face of the other stamp by pulling off ink when you try to separate.
Josh
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I soak most really old used stamps, and watch 100+ years of grime disappear
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09:11:19pm
I'm going to take the other side. As a long time collector I don't care that much about the back of the stamp. I know that probably affects the value of certain stamps in my collection but I can live with that. There are a couple of exceptions. I don't mind pencil marks on the back of stamps but I draw the line at ink. Obviously I don't like thin areas unless I know about them when I buy the stamp. I know hinge remnants or paper residue can hide thins but I can live with that. This seems to go against what most of you are saying in this post but we're all different, and I celebrate that as a good thing!!
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I hear you everyone is different in ways that they collect and there is nothing wrong with that. There is no wrong way to collect. That's the way I see it.
Recently I bought a collection that had 6 decent looking blackjacks #73 or at least I thought so. Much to my surprise there were 2 of them that had grills that couldn't be seen under the years of paper and hinge remnant's along with selvage used as hinges. I wouldn't have seen the grills without soaking them first. One is a clear as day 94 with the F grill and the other is one that I should send in to an expertise service. I believe that it has a D drill or Z grill. It's too close for me to call with 100% certainty. I'll have to save my shekels for a few months because my wallet is on a diet right now.
Jeremy
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06:33:47pm
i have a number of stamp albums that are quite full. I have been removing them from the albums leaving the hinges intact with the stamp.
My question is should i trim the hinge down on the stamp, or re soak them all to get the hinge off, or just leave the hinge on the stamp and sell them or trade them just bas they are with the hinge attached.
Thank-you
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this post
06:45:26pm
re: Soak used stamp with hinges or noit
Why not? I do it all of the time. In-fact I just finished soaking some back of the book U.S. stamps to do just what you're asking about. Some were covered with hinges and selvage used for hinges on some of the older material. Doing so makes the collection look a lot more presentable and clean in my opinion.
Jeremy
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
07:21:10pm
re: Soak used stamp with hinges or noit
Yes i guess it is all about presentation if they are being sold or traded with anyone else
Thanks
Login to Like
this post
re: Soak used stamp with hinges or noit
It is up to each of us on how we want the stamps we trade or sell to appear to the new owners. Do we want to save time, as most seem to want to do, or clean off those nasty hinges for better appearance and make it easier to identify the stamp for the buyer? I do it both ways, if they have those wonderful Dennison green hinges that usually are easy to remove, with some amount of patience needed sometimes I don't mind removing them, but those crummy white hinges I will usually sever the hinge in half and leave it there. It also depends on the value of the stamps and/or does the watermark even need to be seen? Also, it is the same with stamps mounted in show guards or similar mounts and how well they are stuck down. I have had some that I could reuse and others that were wet all over the back and pressed down. Those type get the show guard slit along the top or bottom edge, with tongs.
Good luck with your choice!
Mike
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Soak used stamp with hinges or noit
I have rarely sold or traded stamps, but appearance is very important to me. I will only buy mint stamps with hinge remnants if I am sure that the hinges don’t affect the appearance of the stamp once it’s in an album or stock book, and I usually soak hinges or hinge remnants off used stamps.
Just as I don’t like crooked pictures hanging on my walls, I don’t like to have crooked stamps in my albums or stock books. If I’m using mounts for mint stamps, I usually choose black ones and trim them so they form a symmetrical frame for the stamp. I use Dennison hinges to carefully mount used stamps in proprietary albums, in home-made albums, or on exhibit sheets.
To my mind, a set of attractive, undamaged stamps carefully mounted on an album page is an artistic creation. For that matter, even damaged or heavily cancelled stamps look better if they are clean and carefully mounted, especially if the pages provide background information about them, perhaps explaining the damage.
Bob
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Soak used stamp with hinges or noit
You could use the Steam method, or better to day known as stamp lift. I always make my own for the steam method, cheap!
Login to Like
this post
re: Soak used stamp with hinges or noit
I too soak used stamps when it is safe to do so (watching out for issues with fugitive inks, chalky paper, or certain old stamps that like to curl). I even try to soak off any visible hinge residue. I do think it makes the stamps more presentable, and also to help preserve them. Hinge remnants can make the stamps bulge or curl if the room humidity changes I've also seen to often in old accumulations where the hinge residue starts sticking to old stamps, and damages the face of the other stamp by pulling off ink when you try to separate.
Josh
Login to Like
this post
re: Soak used stamp with hinges or noit
I soak most really old used stamps, and watch 100+ years of grime disappear
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
11 Feb 2025
09:11:19pm
re: Soak used stamp with hinges or noit
I'm going to take the other side. As a long time collector I don't care that much about the back of the stamp. I know that probably affects the value of certain stamps in my collection but I can live with that. There are a couple of exceptions. I don't mind pencil marks on the back of stamps but I draw the line at ink. Obviously I don't like thin areas unless I know about them when I buy the stamp. I know hinge remnants or paper residue can hide thins but I can live with that. This seems to go against what most of you are saying in this post but we're all different, and I celebrate that as a good thing!!
4 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
10:55:20pm
re: Soak used stamp with hinges or noit
I hear you everyone is different in ways that they collect and there is nothing wrong with that. There is no wrong way to collect. That's the way I see it.
Recently I bought a collection that had 6 decent looking blackjacks #73 or at least I thought so. Much to my surprise there were 2 of them that had grills that couldn't be seen under the years of paper and hinge remnant's along with selvage used as hinges. I wouldn't have seen the grills without soaking them first. One is a clear as day 94 with the F grill and the other is one that I should send in to an expertise service. I believe that it has a D drill or Z grill. It's too close for me to call with 100% certainty. I'll have to save my shekels for a few months because my wallet is on a diet right now.
Jeremy
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