Paper On Or Paper Off

when looking for the fairly new stamps in used condition I keep hearing if left on paper has more value....its so simple an cheep to take these off paper tho....any imput ...tks all

Hi Warrior. I don't know where you heard or read this, but the statement is not quite correct. Yes, keeping stamps on the cover may or may not make them more valuable but that goes mostly for older stamps.
Some collectors leave the new adhesive stamps on paper because sometimes they are easily damaged by the soaking or removing process.
From a historical standpoint it is always better to leave stamps on the cover unless you need one for your album!

Peter

Tks for quick reply....
I guessed it was more the hassle to remove from paper like the older stamps that slip off easily...
or the cost to get the remover material
good ole orange scent an baby powder an toda! your in business!

Even soakable stamps may be worth more on paper, but only marginally so, and then generally only in bulk lots. If you're buying stamps in bulk lots or accumulations, etc, stamps that are off-paper tend to get banged up a lot. Buy a bulk lot of a pound of common stamps off paper and chances are you'll be throwing out a lot of damaged stamps. On-paper stamps tend to be better protected and if one takes the time to soak and press them, you're generally guaranteed to end up with a clean, crisp, fresh stamp, every time. As a result some collectors actually prefer on-paper stamps in bulk mixtures like that, but again, we're not talking dramatic differences in values.

The habit of a lifetime being what it is, I have been setting aside my incoming PSA (Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive) stamps.

Having reviewed many posts about the varied laborious removal methods, I decided that the best way to save these for someone else some day was to trim the paper down to a fine margin, and be done with it.

Then I read the guidelines at a donation site (or two), and I now understand that they want a half-inch margin of paper arond the stamp, to make for safer removal by someone else some day.

Then I read (here & elsewhere) that some people are (against my better judgement) collecting those atrocious shpritzy cancels and - in for a penny, in for a pound - if I am already saving an irregular ~2" by ~2" piece, I might as well carefully cut & save the whole traditional 2x4" corner for someone else some day.

Of course, those dimensions do not always suffice, so sometimes I get an irregularly larger piece, which contains a stamp that I do not want and a cancel I do not want to look at, all for someone else some day who - and this would be the hoped-for good news - does not share my tastes!

Ever slipping down the slippery slope, the only way to save myself the trouble of carefully cutting the corners of covers I do not want - to save stamps that I do want - that are defaced in a way I do not want to know from - is to save (and some day, ship & donate) the entires that I did not want.

I think that I finally understand how the hobby worked itself all the way to Original Gum.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

I have noticed that if you plan on selling used stamps, they sell quicker if the paper and gum is removed from the stamp. You also can charge a little more for the stamp as well and will still sell quicker than one with paper on it. I collect used stamps myself and have the materials to remove the paper, so for me it doesnt matter. If the stamps I purchase have paper, I remove it. None of the stamps in my albums have paper on them. It just looks like your collection is much cleaner without paper and that you've put the time and effort into your collection to make it look so.

If the self-adhesive stamps do not soak off paper, that tells you that there is no barrier of soluble gum between the paper and the (unstable) self-adhesive material. This material will stabilize and leach into the stamp paper at some point in time. My experience is that the longer the self-adhesive is left on the paper, the more likely that you will not be able to safely remove it from the stamp.

If a stamp is good enough for my collection, I remove all of the self-adhesive material. If it is good enough for me to resell, I soak it, if possible, or chemically remove the self-adhesive material.

The remainders (the cheapies/duplicates) sit in plastic bags in boxes.

Price per pound on paper, and off paper, also depends on mixture quality. Things like very little duplication, and the span of time covered and diversity of stamps can matter. Commemoratives are valued higher than definitives. If definitives contain plate numbers on the coil stamps with some frequency it would be valued higher. I sort stamps I receive into tissue boxes (the kind with plastic flaps to keep stamps from coming back out easily). I scissors cut around them closely to minimize paper but keep them sturdy. My categories of tissue boxes are: US commemoratives 1-24 cents, 29-49 cents, Forever Commemoratives, Forever Definitives, Transportation Issue, Great Americans issue, Canada and BNA, Other Foreign, Dollar and Up values, Plate number Definitive coils, US back of book, etc.

As these boxes fill up they would have different prices per pound when selling and what people are willing to bid. Especially since they are already pretty narrowly sorted out and with nominal duplication.