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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1518 Posts |
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Please help define mint. I'm finding what I'd call mint stamps, and we all agree I don't know much yet... so, here's some examples of plate blocks, etc. I will be trying to "share the wealth" soon. Do they have to be certified? When does it become necessary to do that?    |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
6756 Posts |
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Quote:
Please help define mint. Oh man, I don't want to get into that again. I'll let the others respond to that. But regarding certification, I see no need to get the stamps you showed certified. They are rather common, and the cost of certification would exceed their retail value. My opinion. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
6756 Posts |
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Certify stamps when there may be a question regarding their authenticity, or if the stamp has a major premium (e.g., $1000+, but some people will certify lesser value stamps of $100+).
Total cost of certification is usually a MINIMUM $25 (cert. cost and also shipping/insurance/registration), and even higher depending on who does the certification. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2758 Posts |
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Mint is never used and are not stained, torn, written on, smugged, gum partially missing or any other form of damage to the stamp. |
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Pillar Of The Community
USA
3315 Posts |
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Here's a definition of "mint" provided by : http://www.1847usa.com/Default.htm Quote:
Mint - a stamp in the same unused condition, including full gum, in which it came from the post office. "Mint" is casually, and incorrectly, used to include stamps with disturbed gum, with signs of previous hinging, and even with yellowed or toned stamps. It is often used as a synonym for "not cancelled" or "not used", although that is clearly not the literal meaning.
Mint Never Hinged (MNH) - MNH refers to the condition of having never had a hinge attached to the stamp. It implies that the gum is sound and intact and, in a sense, that the condition of the overall stamp is pristine. So much emphasis has been placed on the lack of gum disturbance from never having had a hinge attached to the stamp, that other factors such as bright fresh color is sometimes overlooked. There is no denying the fact that "MNH" can add value to an otherwise ordinary or even slightly sub-par stamp, but the first letter in MNH stands for mint, and we would argue that only stamps in pristine condition meet that standard. Obviously, other people may view things differently. I like this definition, though. |
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Pillar Of The Community
2664 Posts |
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poor K,
he remembers how the last episode went and poor emperor spock was almost dethroned |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
4106 Posts |
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Rest in Peace
Canada
5701 Posts |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2972 Posts |
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I define "Mint" to mean the same condition as when the stamp was originally sold at the post office. I like the term "post office fresh". |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
576 Posts |
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My rule of thumb is to carry them, valuewise, as Mint only when they have original gum, hinged or not, unless, of course, they were issued without gum. Another exception arises when the catalog is higher for used than Mint, in which case I go with something less then or equal to Mint. |
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Pillar Of The Community
2664 Posts |
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BC,
are you trying the stir the pot? last time you said something I almost got banned. Its funny how you say things and then people take it out on me :) |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
6756 Posts |
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Yeah, actually that part was kind of fun. Let's jump all over Spock1k again!  k |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1947 Posts |
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So MH, (mint, hinged) should be something of an oxymoron. If it is hinged, then it no longer meets the definition of mint. |
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Pillar Of The Community
Australia
3547 Posts |
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One needs to be a bit realistic here. How many genuinely 'mint' - not regummed - hundred year-old high value stamps from just about anywhere are still out there? I don't know how Scott handles it, but Gibbons' approach, that their 'mint' prices for George V and earlier stamps (up to 1936) are for mint hinged, seems reasonable to me.
And if mint hinged is no longer to be 'mint', what are they to be called? We'd need something fairly snappy, given how many of the things are washing around in collections. (I speak as a collector for whom mint unhinged is almost always irrelevant.) |
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Pillar Of The Community
2664 Posts |
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even the irrelevant mint collector is making a fine point. and for the love of god someone listen to rohumpy rather than K we dont want to go that route again. but just think about it that is all I am going to say. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
4106 Posts |
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Replies: 29 / Views: 12,619 |
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Posted 07/20/2010 11:55 am
