Help Needed: Has The Gum Been Partially Sweated & Smoothed?

The stamp whose reverse is pictured below is a 100R definitive from Iran issued in 1958 or 1959. I realize the production quality of a stamp from Iran during this era is somewhat marginal so I have reasonable expectations. That said, there is any area in the lower-right portion of the gum affecting abut 20% of the surface that seems to indicate the stamp was subjected to sweating and smoothing at some point.

The area is not a typical area for hinging, and the rest of the set is MNH. The gum has a strong element of horizontal striations which are interrupted in the area in question. This kind of attribute is exceedingly difficult to image, so I have provided a series of pics for examination.

Do you think this gum on this stamp has been sweated and smoothed, or is it more likely an artifact of storage?















P.S. - For some reason several of these photos lost a lot of resolution but the image second from the top best illustrates my concern.

Shermae,

It does not appear to be sweated and resmoothed to me. But it does looked damaged from heat or moisture.

Jack Kelley

Damaged, I suppose, but I hope that wouldn't lessen the value of the stamp for you.

Admission: I don't pay much attention to gum.

I agree with Jack Kelley's assessment.

Hal

Looks like a wet fingerprint impression. I can just imagine the postal clerk wetting his finger to help separate the next sheet of stamps off the stack for a customer ....

I have seen gummed stamps look like this when stored in glassines in a humid environment. They were partially stuck to surface. That does not account for the "finger" splotch though.

Have to agree with Jack K , it looks like dampness effecting a glassine .

I think Jack nailed it- gum damage caused by moisture and/or heat. My mind tends to run towards nefarious motives for flaws, probably because of frustration caused when sellers must know there is an obvious, glaring gum flaw. I was not aware that stamps damaged in glassines might have this sort of pattern, so this was a very nice tip to learn. Although there appears to be a partial finger print on the gum, I think it's actually the horizontal striations becoming randomized after the gum became moistened.

Thank you for all the help and new learnings, this one is going back to the seller.

Sometimes a block of 4 is hinged in the middle, and so once separated from the block the 4 singles will all have a hinge mark in a corner. Not saying that happened here, but it is something to be careful of when buying "NH" stamps - you can't just look at the top middle.