Stamp Varieties And Other Odds And Ends Questions

First off, this is my first post here; and while I know my way around the coin world, the stamp world is new and somewhat daunting.

I've been amassing stamps for some years now, cutting them off of envelopes when I get mail with actual stamps on them (which is becoming rarer and rarer these days), but only ever thought that one type of stamp was one type of stamp was one type of stamp (i.e., the new US Star Spangled Banner stamps are all the same by that logic, nothing is different). Turns out I was wrong, which leads to a few questions:

1. I understand the differences between printers, and the differences between books of stamps and coils (which in and of itself make stamp variety identification somewhat easier, especially when plate numbers are thrown in), but how does one identify stamp varieties properly if they're singles?

2. Similar to #1, how would one identify varieties of each Scott Number, and are there any differences between Scott Numbers 4869 and 4869a as found here? The first part of the question more referres to Scott 4875e and ones similar to them that go deep into the letters.

3. I understand that stamps are worth the most if unused, never hinged, and have full mint gum, whereas cancelled stamps are worth far less. However, I've never seen anything about stamps which are unused and lack full mint gum (as in, unused stamps that were affixed to paper, or used but uncancelled stamps that went though the mail...like the brunt of my stash of pre-sorted standard stamps). What would the values of those be? The same as cancelled, somewhere between cancelled and full mint gum never hinged? Basically, is it worth it when I cannot locate full mint gum stamps to prefer the uncancelled stamps on whatever paper that I could soak off the paper vs the standard cancelled stamps?

4. I've read of stamps that are "unsoakable"...what happens if one tries to soak one, or what can happen?

There may be other questions, and I'll be sure to ask them if I can think of them, but that's all for now.

Thanks!

Hello Groszy
Here's a few answers

1. As variety, you can read this refresher course

http://www.linns.com/howto/refreshe...rcourse.aspx

2. About Scott number like XXXa, XXXb and so on. Scott explain it in the listing. You can find Scott cat. at your public library and burrow the previous years usually.

3a. If you collect classic stamps (before 1940) You will find that cat. value for used stamps can be higher than mint never hinged.

3b. I consider the mint no gum (not cancelled) as postaly used but that CAN DIFFER FROM ONE COLLECTOR TO ANOTHER.

4, I soak them the same but sometime I have to scrub the gum a little. Haven't experience some other way yet and there is. I leave the other members explain it to you.

Enjoy the hobby
Daniel

First of all, lower case letters are used by Scott to refer to booklets, booklet panes, se-tenant blocks, strips & errors as well as different "varieties". 4869 is the number for a specific Star Spangled Banner stamp whereas 4869a is the catalog number for an entire booklet of 20 stamps.
Your other example (4785e) is more complex, because in this case there are multiple varieties. 4782 thru 4785 are for the FAS stamps from the SSP CB20 booklet of 2013. 4782a thru 4785a are for the stamps from the SSP CB10 booklet of 2013 (the booklets have different tagging). 4782b thru 4785b are for the stamps from the SSP CB20 booklet of 2014 (different date on the stamps). Once lower case letters have been assigned to the individual stamp varieties, Scott starts assigning block & booklet numbers ... the number used for a block or booklet always contains the highest catalog number in the base block or booklet. In this instance, that would be 4785. So 4785c & 4785d are the 2013 CB20 block of 4 and booklet respectively. 4785e & 4785f are the 2013 CB10 block of 4 & booklet. 4785g & 4785h are the 2014 CB20 block of 4 & booklet.
You might notice that the catalog numbers specified by the seller in your example are incorrect. That's because Scott did some renumbering after the 2014 booklets were issued. In a similar manner, they had to renumber after the 2013 SSP CB10 was issued. If another FAS SSP variety should be issued (very unlikely), more renumbering would occur, with all of the block & booklet numbers sliding down the alphabet by one letter.

"I understand that stamps are worth the most if unused, never hinged, and have full mint gum, whereas cancelled stamps are worth far less."

This is only generally true - there are some older stamps where used ones are worth more than mint ones, and finding used recent commemoratives is a challenge, much harder than ones from the 3 cent through 29 cent era.

However, I've never seen anything about stamps which are unused and lack full mint gum (as in, unused stamps that were affixed to paper, or used but uncancelled stamps that went though the mail...like the brunt of my stash of pre-sorted standard stamps).

The Presorted Std ones (and nonprofit ones and bulk rate ones) are not supposed to get a cancel and thus are treated as a normal used one. Regular stamps are supposed to get a cancel and I prefer a used one with a cancel over a used one without a cancel.

I have a question about the correct terms to use. I would classify the attached picture of a stamp I have as

US mint sheet with a smug

Would this be classified as a misprint or a ???

Thanks for any help

OGW

Hi OldGreyWolf, and welcome to the forum. Your picture is a bit small, but if you are referring to the smudge on the first stamp of the fourth row, no, that is not really considered a misprint. It is not even an error, but could be either a freak or an oddity. Stuff like this happen quite a bit, but no two are alike! It is also not worth a whole lot.

Peter

Thanks Peter. I tried to keep the pic size small.

I always seem to collect the weird stuff. Any idea if I am the only one who has any of the Post office posters? Probably just another one of the weird things I collect

OGW