Nebr. Overprint; Should I Soak It? Are These Fakes?

I have this plate block of Nebr. overprint. It is stuck to some paper, as you can see. I was wondering if I should soak it. I don't mind losing the gum, not to mention the paper and some old hinge remnants. But will the ink in the overprint run?

No, it shouldn't run. Use cool water.

Hi leoh,

If you can get it, use "STAMPLIFT". Apply with a small-ish artist brush to the paper only on the rear surface. Do not apply to the face of the stamp. Leave for a minute apply a little more. After a minute or so you should be able to lift away (carefully) with tongs the paper from the stamp. Do not let the stuff soak through to the stamp face. Leave the stamp face down on clean white paper to dry. With luck you will still have gum on the back. Practice on something cheap first to get a feel for the timing.

Terry

PS. Nice piece! TC.

What about steaming off? I have tried before on some stamps stuck on page, 90% works with bit of patience.
Put a cattle on and once its starts to boil place sheet on top of nozzle with stamp on top, hold
stamp corner with stamp tweezers and apply light lifting force, after few seconds stamp should come off.
The only problem is that stamp curls like a pigs ear.
My solution is to place stamp between two paces of cardboard as soon as its comes off.

Steam is a bit harsh on stamps.

and fingers.

Have a test on some less desirable stamp.

not to mention the poor cattle.... :-)

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

English is not my native - Latvian - , sorry for a spelling :) "kettle"

Gladiator001: The great thing about this forum and the folks on it, is that sometimes we get a smile or two from sharing. Some of us for whom English is native (and only language) also misspell or mistype (with humorous consequences).
A day without laughter or a good smile is to be avoided.

I would leave it as it is. Soaking a plate block you will risk perf separation and possibly end up with 4 singles and 1 selvage with a plate number.

The overprint ink won't run if you soak it.
Staeming it is riskier for both the health of your fingers and the health of the stamps. I would think the risk of the block separating if you soak it fairly small unless you get impatient and try to pull it off before it floats free or if you leave it soak too long it might get rather floppy

You gain zero by soaking it. Either way you shake it you have an unused block with no gum. At least the paper give the block some reinforcement backing.

Dpending on how "stuck" the stamps are to the paper, you might consider a sweat box or sticking them in the freezer for a spell. Sometimes these methods work other times not.

If you try the sweat box method, be careful you don't leave it in too long or you will have a sticky mess.

Having said that, if that was my block I would leave it as is.

Dan

Thanks again, folks. I think I'll leave it as is. If I could get the paper off I was hoping to see the gum breaks. I know there are a lot of fakes out there. Any opinion on the PB, and these other overprints I have? I noticed the ink on the PB is quite "thin", and on the 1 1/2 cent and 2 cent versions, it's much thicker. Does this point to forgery?

If you soak it you will remove the gum so the Type II breakers will be gone anyways.