How To Treat Covers With Stamps Falling Off?

I just wanted to know, what you'd do, if you had covers with stamps falling off...
I have this problem with my pre-1900 USA covers, that the stamps just come off. Now I wonder, what I should do.

I don't want to "glue" them back on, as I don't want to destroy the cover (and the stamp, that is).
Should I keep the stamp and throw the cover away? Should I glue the stamp back on, or should I "reattach" it with a hinge?

Reattach the stamps into place with a hinge. If you do it carefully it will not be noticeable. Many classic covers have the stamps removed to check for watermarks, grills, etc. and are hinged back into place. It is not as good as the orginal, but it is acceptable to the hobby.

t360:

I knew you'd respond to this question, and have a respectable answer. I was waiting to see what you would say.

Thanks!

David

If the stamp is not completely off, take a piece of selvage (yes it can be useful when removed), moisten enough of it to fit beneath the part of the stamp that is coming loose, slip it under wet side up, and apply pressure to the loose stamp with a digit from your other hand as you pull the selvage away. Be careful with how much pressure you use since older stamps are fragile and you don't want them to tear.

Unorthodox? Maybe. But a very practical solution that makes good use of the most expensive commodity on the planet: original gum!

WARNING: Don't try this with selvage from self-adhesive stamps!

Sadly enough, the stamps are completely off. I now keep them in the envelopes they once were on, so they don't get mixed up.

But I don't seem to quite understand... what do you mean by "selvage"? The translations my dictionary gives me, are a bit confusing

Selvage (Selvedge): the unprinted paper on the edge or margin of a sheet of stamps

das ungedruckte Papier auf dem Rand oder dem Seitenrand eines Blattes der Stempel

Ok, now I understand, thank you
The German translation isn't really correct, though

Now my next question would be:
What would you do with a cover that has one stamp missing?
I found one (also US, they seem very vulnerable to this) that is a "Ganzsache" (dictionary says "postal stationery envelope with imprinted stamp") with two added stamps, one of which came off and seems to be gone.
Now what should I do with this one?

For a stamp that came off of a cover, it would be possible to use a piece of selvage to apply some gum to a part of the stamp, the part most clearly marked with the postmark or cancel matching the cover, carefully aligning it, possibly using a stationary magnifying glass so that both hands are free, and then using other pieces of selvage as described in the earlier post to apply gum to the bottom of the stamp from various angles.

As for missing stamps, there is no way of knowing what the missing stamp might be, let alone finding one that would match the markings on the cover. To me, applying any other stamp than the original that came from the cover would be creating a fake, anyway.

Is it possible to buy some Gummi Arabicum and just apply that?
The thing is that I heard people's oppinion on covers with reattached stamps and this seemed to be enough for them to be called fakes
All kinds of "repairs" or "restaurations" seem to be very unpopular, no matter what they are.
From this point of view I'd prefer the hinged method, because then it is obvious, that the stamp came off and nobody can say to me, that I was faking covers.

On the other hand, from the collector's point of view, I'd prefer the regummed version, as it recreates the original state better.



Applying a new stamp, for me, is out of question. The question is if I should keep the cover as a whole, although a stamp is missing. Or if I should cut out the stamp (and the printed "stamp") and just keep them on paper (so I don't destroy the cancel), as the rest of the cover is of no value now anyway.
I hate to destroy old covers, but this one may be considered "destroyed" already

To me, it would depend on the cover. In general, if common or run-of-the-mill, I would just clip off the stamps and soak them. However, if the cover had some possible value on another level, maybe an old advertising cover for a patent medicine or something else collected for reasons other than the stamps, I would keep in intact and see if anyone on ebay found it worthy before destroying it as a cover.

I think the cover isn't anything exciting, but I'll just let the photo speak:

Hello Drudenfus......

To me, a re-gumed stamp is a damaged stamp. If the covers were mine, I would prefer the stamp be hinged in place.

Also, I would keep the above cover as it is.....damaged covers are better than tiny cut corners.

A "cover" with a stamp that has fallen off and been hinged into place is more than just damaged, it isn't even a cover anymore!

That's what I think.

It isn't a true cover unless the stamp is properly affixed.

What stamp fell off of it?

It is a somewhat interesting cover, Postal Stationary with two added stamps, and a flag cancel, with the same names for the sender and the addressee. It appears to be written from a wife to her husband (note the neat cursive handwriting of the type not taught anymore, since most teachers can't even write this neatly these days).

I assume you have the shed stamp; I think I would just keep it and the envelope together in a cover mount, attaching the stamp with a peelable hinge if you like.

That said, I don't believe that the cover has any REAL value, but it is old and nice to look at. I wouldn't throw it out, but maybe that's just me.

From that particular one? The one that's missing, of course
And that one got lost somehow, I don't have it anymore



I inherited this one, so I can tell you more about it:
It is, in fact, adressed to a person with the same name as the sender, BUT they are really two different persons. I can't tell you for sure how they relate to each other, but the one in America is the son of maybe the brother of the one in Germany. Something like that
I think I may have photographs of both somewhere.

Apart from that, it seems that there are very different opinions on how to deal with these covers.
The ones that are "repairable", because I still have the stamp, will be repaired somehow, sometime. But I'm not very happy with missing stamps... When I flip through my covers, this one always "sticks out", but I also don't want to destroy the cover.

Maybe there is someone who wants this cover?
I'd trade it in for the stamp that's on it (and maybe one extra, for the "Postal Stationary"). That way I'd have both: preserve the cover in someone else's collection, and keep the stamp in mine