A Pet Peeve

Often you will see "jumbo XF grade 95" etc. imperforate stamps that were deliberately created for sale by cutting up original multiples. Check out this lot that recently appeared at auction:



It's described by the auctioneer (who I would not accuse of having perpetrated the act without definite knowledge) as the "right & left 2/3rds of what was once a strip of three." What would have been a lovely strip is destroyed so someone could have a large-margined single with portions of adjoining stamps. I regard this as philatelic vandalism.

I am *not* saying that your understanding of events is wrong ...

... but it is hard to imagine that a 'jumbo' single would be worth trashing two stamps out of a strip of three.

After all, the strip always contains the potential to create a single jumbo ... so why wouldn't the price of the strip already reflect that capability, and be at least a little higher than the jumbo alone?

All that having been said, I *will* disagree with "vandalism", in favor of "butchery".

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Im sure that the auctioneer did not cut the strip up. It's much more likely that it was cut by a dealer or collector, if the jumbo is not in the auction it was probably done by a dealer. I can't imagine anyone buying this lot though. The stamp on the right has a major crease; although I agree in principle about butchery I would like to have seen the original strip. It's possible that it had other issues.

You mean like this?

https://goscf.com/t/39912

Good point, revcollector.

Can't really fault someone for cutting away faulty stamps in an advantageous way.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

That isn't a crease in the right-hand stamp--it's a lighting artifact of the scanning or photo process. The very next lot in the auction (pictured below) shows the same thing:



This is not a case of salvaging the good portion of a damaged article. It's the destruction of a philatelic artifact, now irretrievably lost, for selfish reasons.

Not having been there and not having seen the original and not knowing when it was done, I have no way of knowing which is accurate. It might be either one.

I may have been done a long time ago too when they wasn't so valuable? Having said that however I must agree with dudley on this one. Pure vandalism driven by greed is present here.
As a secondary thought though, if it were done a long time ago what are the chances of them all still being together like that?