What Yould You Rather Have?

In regards to stamps prior to 1920; what would you rather have?

A very heavily hinged unused stamp with gum or partial gum, possibly with multiple hinges or something like selvage used for a hinge.
Or
The same stamp with all of the debris soaked off but now with no gum?

No gum, easily. I don't mind a hinge mark or even a small remnant. If we're talking multiple remnants and basically a really beat-up back, it's a different story. I'd rather just soak them off and have no gum, but a nice smooth, flat stamp.

As long as they are not damaged otherwise I will take the one with the hinges. I have begun to hone my skills at "sweating" stamps. Taking off a few layers of hinges shouldnt be a problem as long as they are not glued/taped.

I'd take the one with debris as it is quite easy for me to remove the debris in almost all cases and leave gum relatively unscathed.

Old hinges, mounting paper, and selvage pieces are frequently used to cover thins and tears on early stamps. So, if you are REALLY curious, you might want to soak them off. This may be the case if they are so built up that they cause curling. Also, the licked gum on the hinge, or selvage will contain bacteria which would probably promote the growth of mold over time. Sometimes I soak the paper off, and sometimes I leave it alone, but I would never under any circumstances attempt to moisten and remove individual pieces. Sounds scarey to me.

A little water, a small artist's paintbrush and a pair of tongs can work wonders.

You can also consider steaming off some of the mounting. This requires a bit of care, patience and hand protection but it leaves the gum on the stamp. It can be difficult for paper mounts, and sometimes the gum can get a bit streaky.

IMHO, if there is original gum try to preserve it. Steaming is much better than water, but takes practice. I would rather get a stamp that is 'mint' OG with hinge marks than an 'unused' stamp with no gum.

My philosophy (religion?) is that an unused stamp is just a label so I would trade one of each for a nicely centered lightly cancelled used copy.

Terry