Kans./Nebr. - Remove Hinge - Not Disturb Gum?

I've only have it happen one time with one stamp. I placed it in the tray; my wife dropped something in the other room an I jumped-up to assist. When I came back as few minutes later the Ronsonol had totally evaporated (I felt I had too much in the tray to start) the cancelled area bled. It may have been a fluke, but I've never wanted to test the theory with other stamps.

I don't know....the link I originally posted worked fine when I checked it afterwards. But thank you guys for the corrected links! Hope this article can help some folks learn how to remove hinges without damaging the stamp. Some people (I'm not one of them (!) are so skillful at removing the hinges and smoothing over the gum that it sometimes fools less experienced collectors into thinking they are NH! Of course, no ethical dealer would try to sell you a removed-hinge item as NH. But years ago, a well known dealer who shall remain nameless because he has passed on would sometimes offer such stamps as "no trace of hinging" at a premium over hinged!

But many years ago at a show (before NH stamps brought such crazy prices as today) I showed a customer a stamp he asked about (As I recall it was an early Duck, like RW3). He rejected it because it was very lightly hinged. In front of witnesses, I told him to come back in 5 minutes as I thought I had a NH copy somewhere. Whereupon I proceed to smooth out the hinge mark using my pinky finger with some (excuse me....) spit. When he came back and I showed him the stamp, he looked at the gum carefully, then at me, back to the gum, then at me and said "I'll take it!". I then told him what I had done and tried to comvince him not to put such big premiums on stamps that may "appear" to be NH. And that was back before the expert services noted never hinged stamps (they simply described them as "OG", or later, APS used "Full OG" to indicate NH (although that fact was never well publicized...). I honestly do not recall if he bought the stamp or not, so the story does not have a neat ending....

That is a nice site, Bill. I bookmarked that one! Thanks for sharing.


-IBFS

If I remember correctly, 51studebaker/Don created Bill's current site. Artwork and everything except articles and guides.

Absolutely correct. Don is the genius, not me..... I would highly recommend his work if someone needs to build a website.

At this moment, I want to focus on the work that Don has done that might not be apparent. He's in a critical moment concerning his health. I happily highlight the work and contributions that he has made. StampSmarter being probably the most challenging along with his plate number database.

Don, out of the many things that you have contributed that I will repeatedly continue to point out, your printable perforation gauge will garner much utilization. I used a print of it for several months which allowed me to learn perforation identification. No store within at least an hour drive had one and in the end it was good enough to allow me to learn to identify perforations without a gauge. In truth, I still utilize a print of your gauge more than the manufactured gauges that I have.

I don't want to diminish anyone else's contributions, but I do want to highlight Don's contributions. Everyone deserves recognition for their contributions, but I want to focus on Don's since we might not have much more time with him.

Don, I wish you the best and I hope that you can overcome your adversities. I hope to see you here on this forum for many years to come.

I hope that my bringing attention to your situation doesn't bother you. I only want to inform others of how much that you have done. In my mind you absolutely deserve special attention and recognition. Regardless of your achievements, I enjoy your personality. I wish you the best.

HDNAC - That is a kind, accurate and excellent tribute to Don. Too bad it's "buried" in this thread rather than a "new" thread as I doubt many folks will see it here. Perhaps you should consider starting a new thread with a title that will accurately describe your post? Maybe "Tribute To Don" or "Don's Contributions" or something?

Bill, I spent today worried that my "tribute" was tacky and inappropriate. As somehow I overstepped the bounds of appropriate focusing of attention.

I thank you for your reply. I know that you two at minimum have a close working relationship regarding your site. From the writings of yours and his, it appears that you both are good friends regardless of your business dealings.

I absolutely appreciate your encouragement of creating a new thread to pay attention to how Don, one of our members, has benefited us. I feel that we should acknowledge every member in our fold in a similar manner. The magnitude of perceived contribution is never as important as the existence and potential loss of life of any of our fellow forum members. Everyone here or not is a human being and has done good in their life. In that same note, all life should be treated with such respect, but we can only highlight those that we know.

I will create a thread tomorrow in tribute to Don. I need a short time to consolidate my thoughts. Tomorrow I hope to accurately represent how I care about him. I also hope that a trend will be started where we memorialize every one of our members. Don is still with us right now and I hope that we can establish a trend of expressing our gratitude while they are still with us.

Don, I wish you the best and hope that you and your doctors will find a way for you to be with us for many more years to come in a manner that you continue to enjoy your existence. Most importantly I hope that you are able to spend many more years with your family and those that matter to you the most. Overall, I wish you the best in such a difficult time. I can't imagine what you are going through and I respect you regardless of how much that you can tolerate of this unfair world.

Goodnight,
Ryan