Opinion on removing hinges
Like most of you I have thousands of older stamps that I have acquired over the years. Many of them are used and were recovered from old albums. What are your thoughts on re-soaking them to remove old hinges before selling? I do remove them from the old pages by using a sharp knife to cut the hinge at the fold so there is only the part of the hinge on the stamp. I don't intend to try to make a H look like a NH, but would like to make them as presentable as possible. What about those which were removed in a way that left the original gum intact? It seems a shame to remove OG, but they are used.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
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Comments
I would leave the pencil on the backs of the stamps and just mention them in your description. Erasing risks damage, thins, or black smudge marks. Pencil on back of stamps, especially older issues, is not that uncommon.
Most hinges will not peal, but instead appear to have super-glue on them. They will tenaciously cling to the album page and can only be removed with some vigorous tugging. That can result in the stamp unintentionally separating from the hinge with an inevitable thin. Then trying to remove the hinge from the back of the stamp will almost certainly result in a thin if one hasn't already been created.
And this doesn't even get into the discussion of the extremely poor method most use in attaching hinges to their stamps and then the stamp to the album page - namely their tongue. Many times excess slobber gets on the hinge (or even the stamp directly) and when attached to the album page, some of the adhesive on the back of the stamp is then firmly attached to the album page. One usually sees the results from this as small thins in the middle of the back top margin or small thins around the hinge remnant.
So going slow and very carefully removing the stamp from the album page is a must. If the stamp does not lift from the album page easily with just the hinge remaining as the only contact between the stamp and the album page, then excess slobber has probably glued the stamp directly to the album page. The way I would handle this is to cut the paper around the stamp and then soak both the album page remnant and hinge from the back of the stamp. This will also remove the stamp's adhesive, but would you rather have a stamp without adhesive or a stamp with a thin. I personally will take the "Mint-No-Gum" version .
On used or CTO stamps, I will soak to remove any hinge remnants and residual adhesive. Those hinge remnants can be used to hide thins or other possible faults.
When using hinges or even Showgard-style mounts to attach stamps to album pages, I would advise to get a small artist's brush and use the damp (not wet) brush to carefully wet the area on whatever mount you are using to attach it to the stamp (in the case of hinges) and to the album page (in all cases). You can't see what you are doing when using your tongue unless your tongue is much longer than mine. When using a brush you will be in absolute control. I have been breaking down a collection of recent German stamps all contained in Showgard mounts and that was advertised as a collection containing nothing but mint-never-hinged stamps. The problem is that the person who placed all those stamps in those mounts used his tongue when applying the mounts to the album pages. The mount wasn't carefully moistened just near the top margin, but instead a nice big wet slobber was applied to the middle of the back over the slit in the back of the mount. Enough saliva entered the mount to wet the adhesive on the back of the stamps. The result was that the stamps were glued to the inside of the mounts. The stamps could still be removed by carefully pealing the mount from the stamps, but there were then unsightly glazed gum spots across the back of the stamps. The result were stamps with much less appeal to other collectors and a much lower resale value.
If all you work with is Scott-minimum-value stamps, then go ahead and rip away. There will always be many other copies available to replace a damaged stamp. But for any stamp above minimum value, I would go the slow careful route.
You have now received several different opinions on your hinge removal question. I am sure that you can determine the best way to move forward based upon your circumstances. A big consideration will be the value of the stamp. The more valuable the stamp, the more careful you should be to prevent any additional damage.
For used stamps and also CTO stamps, I would soak to remove the hinge remainder and any residual gum. Removal of hinge remainders can uncover damage that may have been intentionally covered up with a hinge remnant.
Leave the pencil marks as is and don't attempt to remove. Erasing will most likely damage the paper surface on the back. Since many stamps issued before 1950 have had pencil marks placed on the back by previous owners, they won't stand out in the crowd and are somewhat expected.
Just do what works for you. Since you will be attempting to sell these stamps, take into account what will cause the least potential damage. But also take into account how much time you are willing to spend on this process. In my case, I am a retired accumulator (not so much a collector) who is now starting to liquidate what I have accumulated. For me it is still a hobby, so I am not worried about time consumption and dollar generation. For others dollar generation might be much more crucial.
My initial comments were geared more towards mint hinged stamps, not used stamps. I have just seen so many improperly mounted and also improperly removed stamps that were then remounted with hinges, again sometimes improperly, that this whole topic just set me off. Just all the unnecessary damage to stamps that I have seen over the years is frustrating.
Steve Culp's comments are the most valuable because he is a potential customer. To bad we don' have more buyers comment as their opinions on such topics are the most important.
As far as any hinge removal is concerned, there's more than one way to skin that cat. Just because people have different methods than yours, doesn't make them wrong...or you right...or 'insane' as you label them (hence, the arrogant nincompoop).
Done with you. Rant and rave all you want, I'll only laugh while your blood pressure goes up. Maybe a swift kick to your cat will help?
Thanks to all for your feedback and input, there were some great ideas and methods for hinge removal, some of which I am sure I will test.
I sell mostly pre 1940 so I deal with many stamps that have been on a pages for many years & I really don't have too many problems. Occasionally but rarely. Hey do as you like I think it is irregular.
Micheal , why would you not just soak these stamps off. A sweat box seems to be a bit much dosn't it??
I have been breaking down collections for exactly 61 years and I know I am taking a risk when I say that there are more than one way only.
My question, not just to Rod, is: Does the presence of adhesive on a used stamp add or subtract any value or importance?
https://www.linns.com/news/postal-updates-page/stamp-collecting-basics/2007/january/here-s-how-to-hinge--mount-and-handle-stamps-to-avoid-damaging-t.html
List of resources for the same procedure:
https://www.bing.com/search?q=using artist's brush to remove stamp hinges&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&pq=using artist's brush to remove stamp hinge&sc=1-42&sk=&cvid=B6FD75173E644B9298919B751C2F25DF
By the way, if I put the brush there, wouldn't it just poke you in the eye?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I fear you've read Don Quixote wrong. Despite the futility of his actions, his heart was always in the right place. He is truly an heroic, chivalrous figure in an unwinnable struggle. He was not a mere fool and blowhard.