Is It Wise And/Or Acceptable To Cut Mint Sheets Into Blocks?

Hi all;
I'm both new here to the forum and pretty new to stamp collecting, having recently started the hobby as an addition to my coin collecting. So please keep in mind I don't know what I'm doing when I ask my question ;)

I've been collecting both US unused and used single stamps, and to a very limited degree some plate blocks of 4. Recently someone gave me a bunch of mint sheets of 3 cent commemoratives from the 40s up to 1950.

I don't really have the interest, the funds or the space to start collecting big mint sheets of 50, but I come to stamp collecting with the same philosophy I've used with coin collecting; that I am simply a steward or ward of the collection for future generations. I'm not doing it to make money, and I don't want to do anything that hurts the pool of stamps for future generations.

That being said, I see ebay folks selling plate blocks of 4 for a couple dollars a piece, whereas mint sheets seem to sell for only $5 to $8 for all 50 stamps in the sheet. I assume that's like proof sets with coins; split up, the coins sell for more, but I consider it a sin and would never personally break open a good proof set.

Is the same true for philatelists? I could rip up the mint sheets,keep a couple plate blocks for myself and sell the rest, thereby solving all my collecting, funding and space conundrums with one blow. But is it considered bad practice to start tearing plate blocks and blocks of 4 off a mint sheet, essentially ruining it? I realize we're not going to run out of mint sheets of common stamps (even from the 40s) anytime soon even though they're old, but still - it seems wrong.

What is the best practice here? I'd love to hear more experienced collectors weigh in on the issue.

There's no right or wrong here -- different collectors will give you different answers.

Personally, if the stamps are common (i.e. minimum catalog value) I don't see why breaking them down into more manageable and easily stored blocks should be a problem. However, other collectors may differ.

Generally, the collecting of full sheets of stamps from the 1940s are difficult to store and don't really increase its value all that much, if at all. Given the fact that perforation separations are quite common and the gum can often get damaged on a single stamp or two within a sheet, both of which would diminish its overall value, is often the reason cited for why people break down their sheets into blocks, etc.

Then there's the difficulty of long term storage of large sheets (which you mentioned) that can be another complication in retaining stamps in full sheet format.

Of course, you must weigh your decision against what you intend to do with the stamps. If you intend to sell them, someone might put a premium on the full sheet rather than smaller blocks and then you must also consider the idea that you can never put a full pane of stamps back together again once you separate them, so if you keep them as full panes you can always choose to change your mind about it later on; whereas if you separate them now you can't.

In my opinion, I think I would keep complete sheets of popular stamp issues including the Famous Americans and Overrun Countries series, but for most of the other common issues of that period, I would tend to break them down into more manageable blocks ... but that's one opinion only.

You would probably get more for undamaged mint sheet than the sum of plate blocks and scrap.

Clark

Thanks for the insights, I appreciate it!

But you might be surprised to note that there is MUCH more money to be made tearing the sheets up, actually more than twice as much, that's why I asked. You can buy these 1940s 3 cent sheets for $7 or $8 on ebay (as little as $4 if you buy in bulk), but blocks of 4 go for $1 to $2, and the plate blocks $2 or a bit more. So a sheet of 50 can be split into 5 plate blocks of 4 and 5 blocks of 4, which then sells for $15 to $25. And that also leaves me with the middle strip of 10 stamps left over for my own collection (or to be sold, bringing the individual value closer to $30, as opposed to $8 at most for the whole sheet).

That's the main reason I find it a dilemma, since I could double or triple the value of the stamps if I sold them in blocks than selling the full mint sheets.

But since I'm not doing it to make money, I don't necessarily want to cut the sheets up. If I did I wouldn't have posted here, I would just cut them up and sell them. I was more wondering what a collector would find as the more advisable approach.

And I think wt1 gave me the answer - you can never put a sheet back together once it's torn apart. So what I was feeling was the correct answer all along probably is the right one - to not separate them, not matter what kind of quick buck I could make today I may live to regret it later.

What wt1 said.

You may *think* that there is more money to be had from, say, 50 singles than one mint sheet, but that requires that you find 50 buyers, ship/invoice/collect 50 times, and multiply that by however many sheets you've got.

Worse, at any given time, you will be storing hundreds or thousands of mint singles.

That's a hobby?

If you are hinky about breaking-up the mint sheets, I suggest you 1) sell the mint sheets and 2) buy plate blocks.

Since these mint sheets are often for sale at face value at stamps shows, and those dealers are paying ~50 cents on the dollar, selling a mint sheet and buying a plate block will salve your conscience and, in monetary terms, probably leave you about even.

Alternately, you can get to the same place faster by 1) checking to make sure yours are only the common issues, and 2) breaking-off the plate blocks (if you collect them), and 3) shredding the mint singles.

For 'shredding', you may substitute 'speedy, non-commercial resolution to stocking penny stamps for which you will most likely never have an earthly use'.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Hi ikeyPikey;
I agree; I would never sell singles! My consideration was only into splitting them into plate blocks and selling them for $1 or $2. See my last reply before this, I checked them out on ebay and they're worth double or triple that way.

But of course I agree with wt1 and would not split them up. Because I am not out to sell them at all.

I don't know how you would get 5 plate blocks from each sheet. 1940's and 1950s sheets usually have only one plate block, the four stamps and selvedge from the corner with the plate number.

Hmm, yes you are right philatomic! Did I mention I was new? ;)

So there would only be 1 plate block, and then 4 blocks of 4, and 5 blocks of 6. I'd still imagine those would all net $10 to $20, which is more than the $4 to $8 the sheet would cost but not as much as my initial estimate.

BUT obviously the margins for profit are getting so small here it seems to only buttress the argument that it's not worth cutting up a mint sheet for a few bucks worth of profit.

So I'm definitely keep them together, and I've already begun shopping around online for the best kind of sheet album pages to store them in. I've got about 30 or so of them (2 are duplicates, so maybe I'll sell the dupes), so I think it will be a good start to mint sheet album collection!

It's been interesting researching these, so I'm actaully looking forward to having another type of collection to add to my hobby - mint sheets!

Thanks again to everyone for the help!

njnumis....I think your math is wrong.
I do not see a plate block selling for $4.00 each....
I would be THRILLED to get 25c each.

Sheets for $8.oo???

I can be your supplier....
Im ready for your order....

Hi kevin504;
I never said plate blocks were selling for $4. Please read my post again: "You can buy these 1940s 3 cent sheets for $7 or $8 on ebay (as little as $4 if you buy in bulk)". I said the sheets were $4, not the blocks.

I said blocks were selling for $1 to $2 (depending on the stamp) and the plate blocks for $2 or more. I didn't look up every stamp, but I didn't see any of the stamps I have from the 1940s on ebay going for less than $1 per block of 4.


It's the mint sheets that sell for $4, if you buy in bulk. Otherwise they seem to sell for $7 or $8 individually - at least the ones I have that I looked up on ebay are going for that.

For example:

I see a mint sheet of #934 Army going for $4.75 and up, and yet I see the blocks of 4 going for anywhere from .99 to $6 (with the plate block averaging on the higher side). So my argument was, if I sold 10 blocks of 4 for let's say $1, the sheet would net $10 sold as separate blocks but I could buy it for less than $5 for the whole sheet.

Now my #909 Overrun Poland sheet seems to cost more, $2 and $3 per block, and up to $5 or $6 for the plate block. And the sheet is a bit more expensive at $11, but again you can see the same trend. Selling blocks of 4, whether they are plate blocks or not, seem to net more when sold separately.

I don't find any of this surprising, since the coin collectible market works exactly like this. I can buy a 1971 proof set for $4 but each coin can go for $1 to $3 sold separately.

But again, I would never break a proof set of coins, so why would I break a mint sheet of stamps? That was my question. It's not the amount of money, it's the practice of destroying an intact piece of history (a mint sheet, a proof set, etc.) that I don't like.

That is why I asked if it was wise/advisable to break a mint sheet. I think it was lost in the communication, since some posters here seem to think I was just asking the best way to make a quick buck. I was not.

But still I thank everyone for the input - ultimately, with opinions so varied, it does seem to be a matter of subjective ideals.

one thing you *may* be overlooking by using ebay as a guide. yes there are a lot of plate blocks listed at $1-2 each, but are any of them actually selling at that price? I don't know for sure, and I am not trying to belittle your thinking, but there may be more to the scenario than meets the eye. some dealers (both B&M and vest pocket type) can flood ebay with this type of material, but if they aren't really moving any, then it is all in vain.

I received several full sheets in a collection I purchased a few years ago. I have been using most as "make up" rate stamps with some more recent non-forever rate commemoratives. If you search ebay, you will also find discount postage selling anywhere from 60-80% face value.

I agree with what khuli says - people can ask anything they want, but I seriously doubt anyone is paying $2 for a PB from the 40's. There might be a few sales for $1, but the seller then has to pay ebay and PayPal their fees, sot they don't net $1 (unless they overcharge for shipping).

I'll third the comments about checking sold items, rather than just listings. I've used MNH 3 cent plate blocks as postage just in the last week. You might find buyers for a buck or two per block, but it would probably take a very long time to move them all at that price.

I'd look at it as a bird in the hand vs. two in the bush. If you just want to get rid of them, you know what the sheets are worth and you can move all of them relatively quickly and be done with it. Or you could break them into blocks in the hopes of making more eventually. If you want to try the block route, just do it with a handful of sheets first and run some trial sales and see how many sell before breaking up the rest. My guess is that even if you price the blocks reasonably, it would be at least several months - probably much longer - before you'd sell enough to come out ahead doing it that way.

I had all those 3 cent stamps in blocks of 4 and used the best one for my album and the rest for postage.