The Joy Of Hinged- Article On Regumming.

Forgive me if this link has already been posted.

http://phrugalfilatelist.wordpress....y-of-hinged/

I have to admit that I agree with the author that "it's what up front that counts." I have a number of great looking classic stamps in my alblum that I got a bargain price because of the hinge marks at the back. The truth is once they are in my book I might never see the back again. As long as the stamps are sound and look good from the printed side I am more than happy to have them.

Many experts have already dropped the opinion on gum on stamps they expertize because too many factors effect the gum.

Which experts are you referring to? Certainly not the major organizations. The PF, PSE, APEX, PSAG all still pay serious attention to gum.

Ed, I agree with this message...you can have a decent collection without breaking the bank..that someone else used or owned a stamp before me is not a problem !

Bingo!

I also agree with Phil, I could never afford some of the stamps in my collection in mnh condition. So I am happy with hinged stamps.

REVCOLLECTOR ---------Their are many experts like Bud Henning and Charlie Hahn who have stated that the reguming of stamps has gotten so good that it is impossible to tell the difference .The art of removeing gum from a low value stamp and replaceing it to a high value stamp still can claim original gum .Reguming stamps has gotten so good that a place in Canada guarentees their work .I understand from articles that only a spectroscope can pick up differences but thats cost hundreds to test . Also any gum that has come in contact to a variety of plastics such as mounts or humidity will glaze it over .
I also have seen examples of very light hinged stamps were the gum was soften and the spot of the hinge brushed over ,with the owner can claim MNH .This is a area that professional people can easily fool most buyers ,

Graphis-----Thanks for that link ,the most interesting part of the article was the statement ------that they are getting better at it---- and the fakers are thinking ahead to correct those factors experts use to identify regum stamps .

So collectors intent on only acquiring Mint-Never Hinged examples are in effect prepared to pay several times more for the gum than they pay for the actual stamp. For me this is surely madness. And when it might be considered that gum could provide the perfect culture medium for all sorts of nasties that can irretrievably damage a stamp, then future collectors may only find desirable Mint-No Gum examples. Myself I am perfectly happy with Mint Lightly Hinged stamps, with a preference for fine neatly cancelled Used stamps. It is, however, very much each to their own choice in the collecting game.

Terry

While I agree that many collectors are paying insane prices for OGNH stamps (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with collecting hinged stamps) and my remarks are only about US stamps.....
"The art of removeing gum from a low value stamp and replaceing it to a high value stamp still can claim original gum"
This has been going on for some years, and it is NOT original gum, which only refers to the original gum applied when the stamp was printed. The method of reapplying the gum is not the same as was used originally, which leaves traces that can be observed. Certainly not simple, and needs a lot of homework but very possible.

"Also any gum that has come in contact to a variety of plastics such as mounts or humidity will glaze it over".
This has been true for decades and is nothing new. This is usually fairly easy to recognize once a collector does his/her homework and has seen it a few times.
"I also have seen examples of very light hinged stamps were the gum was soften and the spot of the hinge brushed over, with the owner can claim MNH"
So have I, and again the application to the redistribution area will not be the same as it was when the gum was originally applied. Tougher to spot, but very possible. A lot of homework is needed here too.
I understand that not everyone has the opportunity to learn some of this, and in the end it still largely comes down to trusting the dealer you buy from. And truthfully, as a revenue collector gum means very little to me as far as my collecting interests go; however I have seen a fair number of regums including some pretty good ones. I freely admit that some would fool me and some I spotted easily. As with all areas of philately, it comes down to knowing what the real thing is supposed to look like and how the fakes differ from that.

And then there are the people who regum a stamp and then attach a hinge to it briefly since a lightly hinged stamp is less suspicious than a MNH stamp and still brings a small premium. The reason that people pay what they do is because OGNH for the vast majority of stamps is where the largest premium is to be had

Yes, there are certainly people who do that as well. And regumming in general is FAR from a new idea. It was being done many decades ago, just as reperfing, repairs, and alterations of all kinds were being done in those days too.

Just makes me glad I decided on collecting postally used and covers. At least I don't have to worry about gum.
Though I have seen a few covers that looked . . . fabricated.

Alas, there are plenty of those as well.

What does lightly hinged actually mean? A hinge was peeled off the stamp and there is a small mark in the original gum on the back of the stamp? What is acceptable for this mark for the stamp to still be considered mint? Can anyone post some photographs of the back of the stamps that are mint never hinged?

Here is a 30¢ Columbian that is MNH





Here is a MNH Coil Line pair.