Advice Needed- Resoak Or Not? GB. SC 109

I have a couple of classic GB stamps with better CV I intend to sell on ebay. It is visible that it still has some paper (cover- and glue?) remnants on back some small wrinkles. So it wasn`t soaked well. But no other faults, it has all perfs, not thinned. Besides it is is a perfin (many buyers avoid that)- what oould you do? If re-soaking, how should I do that?

Warm water and press.

Cool water and press. The blue is already slightly faded, no reason to make it worse. I strongly advise you to find a valuation on that perfin before you sell; your ultimate buyer may be a perfin collector, and that is a choice copy for such a buyer.

and a third opinion. I would leave it like it is and let the new owner decide. The stamp is clean enough to risk or bother with trying to make it more appealing. I'm with doug2222, don't discount perfin collectors on this one. It gives you 2 different sets of collectors that will bid.

I emailed my British "perfin expert," will see what he says.

I would not soak the backing off unless you are trying to find out if there was a repair. It's hard to tell from the pic, but the paper adhesion is in the style/appearance of a repair (either for a thin or a small hole).

In your stamp, examine the area circled in red with a magnifier. It may be dirt or stray ink from the cancel -- or it may be a small repaired hole/thin.


Also, I would avoid soaking older stamps in warm water. I realize for modern self-adhesives, you may not have a choice. But a lot of tap water contain low levels of bleaching agents, and the warm water will also speed up the bleaching process. The water may only stay warm for a few minutes, but it's the equivalent of soaking the stamp for a few hours in cold water.

[EDIT: I forgot to attach pic, sorry.]

khj -


just curious, but would distilled water be a better way to go? yakboomer

I also would not soak the stamp. I would leave it just as it is. But if you really do want to remove the paper fragments I suggest using 'Stamplift', carefully applied only to the affected areas of the back. For the wrinkled areas a gentle moistening with cold water applied to those affected areas with an artists' watercolour brush, then with stamp face down between blotting paper (bottom sheet dry, top sheet very slightly damp) lightly apply a dry iron on low heat gently and without pressure for a second or two, then press between the pages of a book. Do a test first with something cheap!

I might also be happy to buy that at the right price. Do let us know if you list it on the bay.

Terry

I've heard some horror stories from both sellers and buyers regarding what happened after they soaked valuable stamps to remove what they thought was just "paper adhesion".

I would once again strongly recommend AGAINST trying to soak off the "paper". I don't see a well-defined edge to the "paper" on your backside scan. I can't physically examine the stamp, but it doesn't look like paper adhesion to me, although I cannot rule out that it is a genuine paper adhesion from the pic. While you won't be able to see a thin, you can at least rule out a pin-hole by examining the front of the stamp at the area I circled in red.

Either way, it is still a very nice stamp. The centering is roughly the same as my main copy, and it's definitely better than my duplicate, which has a sealed tear going down from upper right corner.



In most places, the concentration of bleaching agents in the water is pretty low. So probably not worth the trouble, unless you plan on leaving the stamps in the water for half the day. I've not had any noticeable problems in the past, even leaving hundreds of stamps in for 1-3 hours (yeah, it takes a while to fish them all out).

Sorry to have taken the thread slightly off-topic.

I am with khj. No soaking at all.

Here is what my perfin guy says, and I would interpret it as the second most desirable response, after "...yes, it catalogs £500."

"...I don't have the latest catalog of perfins of Great Britain. No AAA/B is listed in the two that I do have..." That is an open invitation to FIND OUT more before you sell or even list the stamp. The APS will photocopy pages out of its reference books for a nominal fee, and my guess would be that the perfin catalogs simply list them in alphabetical order, with a formula for adding the catalog value of the stamp, which in your case, would be substantial.

Good luck!

You can try to email the Perfin Society. They specialize in GB perfins and maintain a list of known GB perfins.

I do see an AA/B, but no AAA/B in the lists.

Regarding the soaking, it has already been soaked once, or perhaps many times. If you want the hassle of your life, sell this choice-appearing big-bucks single/perfin to some fanatic who then discovers hidden damage. Far better to find out now than later.

This issue and other G.B. Victorians are noted for their tenacious impenetrable glue, so you may need to physically scrape away (while wet) the paper with the side of a pair of spade tongs, nothing sharp. Personally, I do it all the time for high-cataloging stamps or stamps I'm going to sell for more than $5. You only get one chance to show the stamp at its best. If you are afraid you will damage the stamp, practice on 10 cheapies first.

If you are removing excess glue from the back of a stamp with your finger, start at the center of the stamp and scrub lightly toward the edge. Also, an old worn-out toothbrush with SOFT bristles (boiled before stamp usage) will gently remove streaks of gum too, again, brushing from the center to the edge.

The old grimy, gooey stamps that vex you, keep in mind they have already survived 100-150 years, and by doing everything in moderation, you are unlikely to hurt them further.

If you are going to do some scraping on that stamp, I would be VERY VERY careful when trying to remove the bits that partially cover the top perfin hole of the "A". I've never soaked any of these GB QV's off cover before, but if this glue is that tough, you want to be careful so you don't end up catching the edge of the perfin hole and...

I know I'd leave it up to the pro's. I admit, I lack a lot of confidence when I see visions of $100 bills taunting me to miss the free throw.

Interesting variety of opinions. Looking forward to reading more...

k

Well, granted I have been soaking and pressing for decades, and about the only things I won't soak are red and green Christmas card envelope corners, and certain shades of reddish violet which tend to stain other stamps, the 4c Lincoln (1954 Liberty) being a prime example. Of course you have to be careful. But the OP needs to know if the item he's going to sell (especially in this price range) has any faults. Let's say there ARE faults of some kind. If you describe the faults accurately, you will still get plenty of bids, just not as big bids. And your conscience is clear.