Selvage - Save It Or Trash It

wow, another one of my newbie questions answered...leave it alone

Some collectors resolve the 'looks' question by folding the selvage behind the stamp. I don't do this, I feel the less you do to a stamp the better off it will be. No matter how super careful you are pulling a perf is always a possibility...once you do that the value of your stamp will damage your toes as it hits the floor.

Listen to the Beatles:

"let it be..."

Don't even think about it. Like Perf said, once you start ripping, you have no idea what might happen. No foldovers or scissor snipping either!

selvage....it is my favorite thing....more is always better than less

I ALWAYS try to save mine. It helps keep the perfs from nubbing and adds a little character. Great question.

This is great..... searching through old threads for info on stuff. Not quite a newbie but been away from the hobby for a long long time.

I'm going to be keeping my Selvage. I may have to create some extra album pages to display the stamps though.

If you are using hinges, you can place it on the selvage and keep the stamp pristine. If you are not using hinges, I would pull it off in a heart beat.

Steve

If you are using pre-printed album pages the selvage makes a mess of the symmetry. Get rid of it. Most stamps printed after the 1920s don't have much monetary value anyway.

Funny you should mention this. I was pulling some stamps out of an old album once and to my surprise, I found that the collector had used the selvage from the stamp as a stamp hinge to attach the stamp to an album page! Of course, this was back when hinging stamps was considered perfectly acceptable.

In thinking about this, I suppose some who collected stamps during the Depression era were forced to use whatever means available to mount their stamps as even cheap stamp hinges may have been beyond the means of some young collectors.

It is quite interesting how stamp collecting has evolved. Back in the early days, no one much cared whether the back of the stamp was hinged or not, once someone realized there was a premium to be had if a stamp was "never hinged" the market responded accordingly.

I found this discussion very useful. I leave any selvage/selvedge on for "older" stamps (for me, that's pre-1970 ) For new stamps, I will leave it on if there is any printing on it, remove it from singles if there's nothing on it, keep it on for blocks.

Not completely sure on US postage now but on foreign selvage there are lots with extra pictures and data and info, an added special bonus, that sometimes looks like it doesn't add anything but sometimes it does add a lot of fun and value to the stamp(s).

Usually you have to have 2 or more stamps in a block for some extra selvage to make a difference or for you to see what the extra picture / designs are.

So, overall, there is no overall, had and fast rule, at least to me. Certain eras of stamps had not much to speak of extra on the selvage but some do.

I have alot of German stamps with large pieces of selvage that the art work of the stamp carries over too, it's almost like it was part of a souvenier sheet. to me it's always an added bonus to find some selvage and I leave it on unless it is in terrible condition then I CAREFULLY remove it.

I'm one of the newbies but I always leave the extras as well. For some reason I like the look. And eventhough it doesn't add value to the stamp in money terms it does to me as the one collecting. Great thread.

I've been very interested in this thread discussion knowing what was coming in the mail.

A lovely pair of 143L3's $1 Wells Fargo Co. 1861 won at auction.

Obviously someone used the selvage to make notations sometime in the past. My question to the forum is how to handle it.

My thinking is either try to erase, fold it underneath for mounting or trim it off. I'd be very interested in some opinions. Thanks.

Bill

With those being imperfect. I would not want to trim it personally. You will have to wait on the experts on the erasing issue. But that does bring up another question: when you get stamps wrote on in pencil on the back do you leave that alone as well, or would it depend on if the stamp is mint/ gummed, or used?