Identifying Original Gum

I searched the topic and found two responses. One was not help and the second was somewhat helpful.

I have two basic questions.

1. How do you distinguish original gum from a regum? Someone mentioned taste. If that does help, can someone elaborate?

2. Is the value of a stamp affected by regumming?

Thanks
wp62

WP

1. Identifying original gum depends on the stamp. Many older gums tend to be a bit cracked and yellowed, even brown (I have some Zanzibar stamps which are described a bit unkindly as "treacly"). Some stamps will have had white gum applied originally, but there may be a bit of ageing goes on, and this can be reasonably eay to spot. If the stamp is old and the gum simply looks too good, the chances are that it has been regummed.

Regumming often shows up with very faint brushmarks (look at the stamp in a range of incident low-angle lights and you may be able to see some relief from brush-marks). If the re-gummer is skilled, you can look at the very tips of the perforations. The forger will have to hold the stamp with tweezers to do the regumming. This usually shows up with close examination, using a lens.

Don't get your tongue on it, or you may end up with a mint stamp with no gum!

2. Regumming affects the value of a stamp, and any regummed stamp should be sold as such, much cheaper than the original. It's a forgery, after all. Something made to look like something it really isn't.

Hello, check out this material http://www.hgitner.com/regummed-stamps.html basically describes the matter very well.

Bokel, thanks for this link. I came across it a year or so back and never bookmarked it.

As with so much of philately, it is based on knowing how they were originally produced and what genuine examples are supposed to look like. Then fakes and regums will stand out more because they do not match those characteristics.

THE WORLD HAS CHANGED SINCE THAT ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN . First a little background about reguming of stamps . Every good regummer has a DREMEL DRILL with a rat-tail file ,these would keep any evidence of over gumming or new gum in the perforations . Second all regummers have a local grocery store near by and they all have 10 or 15 different samples of different TEA BAGS ,so color of the gum material is not a issue . Third nobody is so stupid to use a brush to apply gum ,they all go to ACE HARDWARE and buy a roller from the paint department , those little sponge rollers for corner painting works best ,they cost $2.99 for a good one .
Now anyone who ever applied glue knowns it goes on much too thick , so before you apply it ,put it in the microwave to thin it out ,the hotter it is the thinner it will go on .
We all know the any real gum will change its physical looks if it gets to warm and if it comes in contact with many of the different plastics aviable to the stamp trade . Any gum will dry different over the years depended on heat and moisture .
The latest gizmo is the taking of gum off cheap stamps and applying that real gum to the high value stamps of the same set,that is done by turning the original gum into a paste and then transferring it to the high value stamp-----yes-THAT IS ORIGINAL GUM .
Many top experts now give no opinion as to the gum ,because the redoing is so good it has fool them on a regular basis .
If your not believeing this ,than I have some great stamps to sell you that are Mint Never Hinged ,we can meet at any poorly lit stamp bourse with its hustle and standing room aisle to sell you some great investments .

"The latest gizmo is the taking of gum off cheap stamps and applying that real gum to the high value stamps of the same set,that is done by turning the original gum into a paste and then transferring it to the high value stamp-----yes-THAT IS ORIGINAL GUM".

This was being talked about as being done at least 10 years ago to my personal knowledge, it is not "the latest gizmo".
Many regums are old, and were done the old ways, so knowing about them is important. And even the methods you wrote about can often leave tell tale signs, although there are some very good mechanics out there.

Most of the time the gum on a regummed stamp will not even closely resemble the original. Generally, gum can be found in the perforation holes and the perforation tips will lack fibers. Some old time regum jobs stopped short of the perforation tips. Also, Characteristic cracking patterns in the gum should be apparent using a 15 power loupe. Fake gum quite often has a pasty appearance and lacks the expected cracking pattern. Genuine gum will have some texture, especially on early stamps. Often the pattern suggests that the gum was applied diagonally across an not yet perforated sheet of stamps. Before 1880 gum would have been applied by hand using a brush or roller.

I believe that Henry Gitner's article is still valid. The Philatelic Foundation web site also has some useful articles about fraudulently applied gum. Yes, it is true that some fakers use a tiny round file or drill to clean gum out of perforation holes, but it is almost impossible to avoid roughing up the backs of the perforation holes. I would trust experienced stamp dealers more than posts intended to randomize.

Clark

Regumming also frequently makes the stamp very stiff if one GENTLY rubs the thumb and one fingertip along the perfs. One could cut steaks with some reperforated stamps.

Name some.




But these experts aren't going to be looking at them in a poorly lot room.

Randomize?

When I read this I'm so happy to not collect gum

Distract or mislead causing interruptions to the flow of the thread. Also, one aspect of being a troll.