Germany: MI 586y Question

I found a stamp in a collection I recently purchased that was labeled Mi 586y. I would have normally set it aside for future inspection except that it has two expertizer's marks on the back that caught my eye; I couldn't leave it for another time.

The stamp in question is used. My camera batteries are dead so will have to wait for a photo.

Michel describes the stamp as having "waager. Gummiriffelung" which I understand to mean 'Horizontally ribbed gum'.

My question: Why does Michel list used prices for both varieties when there is no gum to look at? Did I misunderstand the listing? Does it mean 'paper' and not 'gum'?

Thanks for the input!

Brian

It does in fact mean gum. As for the used prices, I've seen several used German stamps where the ribbing was still visible, even without the gum. It's almost as if the processes of ribbing the gum created slight ribbing in the underlying paper.

Hi,

You can find similar Michel listings for Switzerland in the late 1930s/early 1940s for stamps with grilled gum (geriffelter Gummi in Michel). This was the result of a gum breaking process intended to reduce curling of mint stamps and was done with sufficient force to leave the grilled pattern on used stamps.

Here's a photo nabbed from one of the German stamp forums. It shows how close together the ribbed lines are, and how easy they are to see on some stamps. Michel has listings for some stamps with ribbed gum that specifically notes how difficult it can be to spot any ribbing at all, so it isn't always this clear.

Ryan

Thank you all for the input and photo. I'll post a picture once I get new camera batteries.

Brian