Very Very Very Very Lightly Hinged - How Did They Do It!!

Over the past few years I've been picking up a few higher end mint US ... I'm not a fan of spending the extra $$$ for NH so I look for items that at least have certificates stating "previously hinged". Some of these as so lightly hinged that it's hard to believe the stamp was even held in place in an album! How did people use hinges so lightly? When putting common stamps in my basic WW collection, I use hinges and try to use very little moisture but could never get to the level I see on some of early US ones I obtained. Anyone out there an expert in using hinges?

I'm no expert, but I use the Mint stamp method shown below.

I'm no expert on hinges but have used them for a long time. The lightest hinge marks are made by first attaching the hinge to the album page, then lightly moistening a finger tip and touching it to the exposed gummed flap on the hinge. Then the stamp is held in position, touched down against the hinge and lightly pressed down to remove air beneath it and secure the hinge. If the page is not bent much in handling, the stamp will stay put, but the hinge mark will be slight. If the hinge dries a bit before the stamp is pressed down, but is still a bit tacky, the gum disturbance on a mint stamp will be minimal.

essayk- That is exactly what I have been doing the past forty years of collecting. I attach the hinge to the page then VERY lightly moisten my fingertip and apply to the short part of the hinge. I also try to find vintage peel able hinges when I can, not getting any easier these days.

I concur with others; use light moisture and use only older Dennison hinges. Here is a short article on them,
http://www.stampsmarter.com/learnin...ennison.html

http://www.stampsmarter.com/learnin...eStamps.html
Don

You guys are more optimistic than me. I consider all NH appearing 19th century classic USA as either regum or redistributed original gum to make appear either very very lightly hinged or NH (if the redistribution is done perfectly!)

I don't hinge stamps personally but have taken off my share of hinges. Rarely I observe this concept of VLH or barely hinged. Perhaps I am not good at removal.

This concept of redistribution of original gum is fascinating to me. NH mint stamp buyers beware! You shouldn't be buying NH classic USA stamps without a cert or an appreciation that tiny amounts of gum or redistribution of the original gum can be performed to achieve the Never hinged look that gets such a a premium.

Dennison hinges are the old time secret.

I have never been very good at using stamp hinges and, therefore, collect in Hagner-page stock books and a hingeless album.

As for NH or LH older stamps, I heard twenty years ago from a learned stamp dealer that the re-gummers were so good even back then that any NH or LH 19th Century stamp should be considered "doctored." He claimed that even the experts could be fooled, so that certificates could not be trusted.

http://www.stampsmarter.com/learnin...LostGum.html

Thanks for the link Paul ... interesting. I recall collecting stamps as a kid that if you just barely touched a hinged stamp's gum with the tip of the tongue, you could "reglaze" the gum appearance. Still could see the outline of the hinge lines though ...

I worked in the shipping dept at Dennison's in the early sixties. None of the boxes were exceptionally heavy even though we were dealing with paper products. Mostly Christmas labels, etc. Strange as it may seem, I never brought any hinges home with me even though I was a stamp collector. The Maynard, Mass facility later became the headquarters for Digital Equipment Company.

Jack Kelley

Jack, I'll bet you wish you had a case of those hinges now!

Back when? This was conventional wisdom in the 1960s.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

A few years ago I inherited both my father's and my grandfather's stamp collections. They were started in the 30's. In my grandfather's collection the stamps I removed from hinging were very lightly hinged, using very little of the hinge on the stamp and leaving a very light hinge mark. My father, on the other hand, hinged his stamps down as though they might grow legs and scamper off to parts unknown. Go figure.

Dave

good post always useful

Over 50 years ago when I was collecting, I of course used hinges. I still have the album, and when I want to remove a stamp, I pull it off and the old hinge usually peels right off. I think that was the golden age of hinges. I also have my grandfather's album, and when I remove a stamp from that, usually part of the hinge sticks firmly in place.

I gave up on contemporary hinges. I just can't get them to reliably hold. I use mounts, which means sometimes the mount costs as much as the stamp.

Don

I use modern hinges and try to use just the barest amount of moisture possible. I upgraded some stamps today and I removed a dozen or so stamps that I hinged within last couple years or so. I'm happy to report that all of them but one or two detached cleanly and easily, leaving no remnant or much of an indication of a hinge ever being attached there, even on a couple mint stamps. There were a couple where I overdid it on the moisture and they were impossible to remove without leaving a remnant, though. Modern hinges *can* be removed cleanly if used correctly, but there is very little room for error. Overdo it on the moisture just a little and the hinge will be permanently attached. The older Dennison hinges are much more forgiving.