Collecting Used V Mint

Which way do you go? Do you collect mint, used or both?

I have always been a used stamp collector. Have been dabbling in mint stamps and it has been very enjoyable. I am able to source some very nice looking mint stamps from the 1990's till very recent. Have found a good way to store gummed stamps in our humid climate and so far we have reached the 5 years mark and still going good with no damage stamps. Except once when I left the mailing stamp book open, on a very hot and humid day but was able to remove and cool the stamps to reset the gum.

There is something about the feel of mint stamps that I find very attractive. It all started by handling mailing stamps.

Very interesting! KGV

I collect used. I started out with some used stamps and thought I would just keep the collection uniform. Now, though I'm really particular about the cancel. Russ, wt1 & kirk got me addicted to cancel collecting and now I look for the usual S.O.T.N.'s and clear & nice strikes, which is a little harder to do than it initially sounds. I just upgrade as I go. Makes it fun for me! I like mint stamps but they are just so darned expensive and, by comparison {in my mind anyways} too sterile looking. Just my opinion.

I am with I_Love_Stamps on this one. I much prefer an interestingly and cleanly cancelled used stamp, block or stamp on piece. I buy mint as well, but usually MLH and not so many. I have no interest in the gum so cannot bring myself to pay the premium for stamps with virgin gum. A fine MNH classic might be the exception if I could afford it.

Terry

Mainly collect used but with Guyana, Surinam and Israel I collect mint and used, (Guyana I collect ANYTHING and I do mean anything at all)

martyn

To me a good clean postmark really adds to the appeal of a stamp..plus I collect covers which of course are used !!

For me it depends on the collection. If it's my US collection I collect mint only which makes that collection smaller than most since as has been stated, mint does require you to spend more money on the same stamp. For my worldwide collection, I have a pretty good mix between used and mint.

CF

Depends on the cost. For the US I prefer well centered with balanced margins up to a certain price, then I switch to trying to find a very light cancelled piece with good centering and margins. SON cancels are a different story.

I prefer mint. But for the expensive and rare kind where budget is a concern, I would get used if possible.

Hi,
Lots of support for both sides of the philosophy. Personally, my US collection is mint for any stamps post 1934. Pre that time, most are unused where I can afford them. Of course for the expensive ones, cancelled is the choice.

On my world collection, cancelled is the norm, with unused in the collection only because they came that way (in albums I got on ebay).

Hi

I collect both Mint and Used. Some of the early issues do not exist Mint and if one finds a Mint example it is ultra expensive.

Regarding Mint Never Hinged. I have no qualms about light hinged before the "Showgard" era. I will buy a heavily hinged Mint stamp and replace it when I find a Light Hinged or Never Hinged example.

After Showgard I prefer MNH.

Jerry B

For my countries (Germany & Scandinavia) and British Commonwealth collections I look for used stamps (VFU or FU, when possible). For my Barcelona and Estonia Postal History collections I look for commercial covers; and for my Catalonia special postmark collection I look for special or official covers. The later, because they carry full information on the reason the special pm was used for.

I collect both mint and used, used being the preference. I started with mint, but find used more satisfing. My US collection is mostly mint except 19th century which has its share of used, whereas my worldwide is fairly evenly distributed between mint and used. MNH is not an issue, as the gum is terribly expensive.

I like the history that comes with used stamps. Nothing like a nice SON cancel or a cork cancel. I don't intentionally snub mint stamps, but I certainly don't go out of my way to get them.

Actually, I find gum annoying. Keeping gum happy is a lot harder than keeping the paper part of the stamp stamp part happy.

Nothing more conflicting to me than having low/no value stamps with pristine gum. I just don't feel right hinging them. I don't want to spend the money to get mounts for them. I feel like they are just sitting there waiting for that one hot day when they self-destruct.

I collect both mint and used. For some countries, like New Zealand, Canada and some of the Commonwealth countries, my collections are predominantly mint; others, like Austria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, used or mint doesn't matter much.

With some issues, it is almost impossible to get good mint copies. Take, for example the Canadian 1897 Jubilees where mint copies of the high values are very expensive. I've almost resigned myself to the likelihood that, if I'm going to own them at all, they will have to be good used copies, but there is certainly nothing wrong with that. For Canadian issues prior to the Jubilees, I wouldn't even bother trying to buy mint copies - used is fine and there are some great cancels to be had.

As a final thought, I have developed a strong interest in nice covers, so this is definitely a niche in my collection where the used stamps take priority and I have developed great pride in some of the nice examples I've found.

I collect both, with an emphasis on mint if I can easily afford it.

It all depends on cost..prefer mint..but if a high value stamp is available considerably cheaper with a good cancellation then i'll go with used.