How To Remove A Stamp From Stupid PSE Slab

A Dremel ought to do the trick as well. With any power tool, my concern would be that debris fragments would somehow damage the stamp. The likelihood is probably small, but it would certainly be a concern of mine. You'd want to make sure the holder is secured somehow before using a power tool on it to ensure the holder doesn't go flying across the room. All you'd really need to do is create an opening large enough to insert something to pry it apart.

KGB - Sadly, yes. Held at 45-degree angle and tapped it once with my index finger.

I have left a phone message with PSE and emailed them as well. Whether they contact me or not, who can say?

Richard - Thanks for confirming Philadelphia. I suspected as much and thrilled to have added a Masonic Hat.

From my experience with sports cards, even less forgiving than stamps, a dremel on the side, and a flathead screwdriver will help pop the ultrasonic seal. Or even help you get it pried open enough to let the stamp slide out

Skinner & Eno identify that cancel (FR-NMc 6 - page 247)as a "Mummers" cancel and not a Masonic. The book can be downloaded free from the USPCS webpage. Philadelphia has a long-running New Year's Day Mummers Parade. I'm not a Mason or a Mummer, so I can't say which ID is correct.

it sounds crazy but with the coins I put them in a vice with only the top inch sticking up out of it them smacked it with a hammer, sounds dangerous but it worked

Slabbed stamps -- designed for the person who should never hold, own, or buy one! And any dealer that sells one, should be forced to wear a bag over their heads! That's like getting a Certificate for a stamp worth 50 cents!

Later this year, PSE will be introducing a GLASS slab with an internal ink well.
Any attempt to tamper with the slab will release the ink and destroy the stamp.

Hal....I know plenty who make a GREAT living at it.

Your comments are YOUR OPINION.....

The FRG in the upper right corner are a bit unfortunate. At first I thought it meant the stamp was FoRGed.

smauggie.....
FR-G == FAIR to GOOD

Dont think that a cancel collector
is much worried about the PSE grade.

Rhett: we can agree to disagree. Bear in mind that the entire "stamp grading craze" was begun by a couple of guys who started the PSE. One has since moved on to PSAG. I have a modest US collection, but decline to collect anything that is "graded" due to the jacked-up prices created by the "craze."

I don't quite agree with Richard Frajola about PF being the only expertizer acceptable to the market. I place value in the APS. But I also acknowledge that Richard is a recognized expert in the field of US stamps and postal history. Having said that, I'm glad that my primary collecting interests do not include US. I've gotten well over a hundred stamps expertized in the past 15 years, but almost all of them through specialist societies.

You are absolutely correct!
** HOWEVER **
It would be nice if their numeric grading system made sense.

use explosives to remove the stamp.

Well... twenty-four hours of silence from PSE.