Removal Of Mint Stamps With Stuck Gum

First of all, I've made a number of posts since joining the group and am very appreciative of the great advice! I hope I can return the favor at some point.

I'm working with post 1922 Special Delivery postage. They are mint and mounted to notebook paper with hinges. Pic attached. The lower right stamp is a simple issue. I can simply remove the hinge from the paper, trim the hinge, and call it good. That is, I'll leave the trimmed hinge on the stamp like I usually do. The others have some gum stuck to the paper to varying degrees. Should I just bite the bullet and soak them? Then they would be mint no gum but I'd be certain not to create any thins or other damage. Should I trim as much paper off as possible and leave the stuck bits attached? Some risk of damage but I'm pretty careful and someone could always deal with the stuck bits of paper in the future. Or, is there some method to "spot treat" the problem areas which would leave me with mint stamps with damaged original gum with little risk of creating thins or tears?

Any thoughts are appreciated! I'd also like to know if the value of the stamp would affect the suggested method. I have other stamps in a similar state that may be a bit rarer. Thanks again!

First question is whether they are E12 and E13 or E15 and E16.

If the former (E12 and E13, which are perf. 11 all around) there is a significant value issue in keeping them with original gum.

On the other hand, if the stamps are E15 and E16 (which are perf. 11 x 10.5) ... and I believe your examples fall into that category, I'd soak them and have mint stamps with no gum. The value is well under $1 in either mint or used condition, so nothing is really lost in doing so.

Upper left 10c is perf 11 all around. That makes it an E12.
Lower left 10c pair is perf 11x10.5. That makes it an E15.
Both 15c are perf 11 all around. That makes them E13.

The lower right E13 isn't a problem. It's attached only by a hinge. I can just pull, trim and mount in a showgard.
The others have at least some gum stuck to the page. Even the E15 I think I'd rather not soak. It's an attached pair and I'd rather not weaken the perfs.

Thoughts?

I agree with you. I would err on the side of leaving them in the state that they are in. Carefully remove the hinges and trim. Even if you want to cut the paper around the stamp on those stuck to the backing, do it, just leave the gum intact without thinning the stamp. You can always change your mind later on, or better yet, if you sell or trade them, you can leave it to someone else in the future to soak the stamps should they desire to do so and the burden isn't on you to potentially do more harm than good to the stamps.

OK. I just wanted to make sure that leaving bits of paper attached to the gum was a viable option. That's what I'll do.

Honestly, I think there is nothing more attractive and convenient than a mint stamp with no gum, but I realize I'm in the minority.

You could "sweat" them off then let them dry upside down.
Or soak them... leaving the paper on them will hurt the value as much as no gum, actually no gum would be better, IMO.

There is a product called "Stamp Lift" that works very good for situations like yours. It can be found at most Stamp supply dealers.

Oh, I just noticed the last two replies...

stampvirgin, I've just been reading about sweating stamps. I'll probably give it a try on some damaged commons I have lying around.

stallzer, I will look into stamp lift as well.

Thanks, guys!