Mint Hinged, Mounted Mint & Other Named Variations It Comes Under.

Greetings fellow Stampers, what does this fine community think about Mint Hinged Stamps?
I am in the process of listing my World collection on an Excel spreadsheet. As well as other headings, I have 3 condition headings: "Mint, Mounted Mint & Used. Mint to me is "Post Office Fresh".
I am in 2 minds whether to list the MH, MM stamps. How do you value these? I was thinking that the way to go was to average the catalogue price of the mint & used price. Any thoughts?

Regards,
Lee.

You could use catalogue symbols, where ** is unmounted mint (UM or UMM), * is mounted mint (M) and (*) is unused, no gum. As to CVs, it depends on the period. Different catalogues start listing only UM from different points - eg SG (I think) from GVI for Commonwealth, Yvert from independence for French Colonies. Halfway between UM and used seems a reasonable compromise, unless the used is worth more! Earlier material can have bigger variations between UM and M.

Valuing mint hinged vs. never hinged depends quite a bit on the area and era. Averaging NH and used probably isn't a good rule of thumb - some stamps are worth more used than mint, for example. Also, "classic" NH material may sell for multiples of up to 5-10x the hinged price (or even more), whereas for more modern material it may be well under 2x. If you're talking anything of real value, you really need to use catalog pricing (or a fraction thereof) at some point as the premium for NH can vary a great deal. There really isn't a simple rule of thumb you can use in all circumstances.

I would use one column for catalog value; you may update this over time with new catalog prices. I would use another column to list mint/used. And another column hinged/not hinged. The last column in the sheet would be a Excel formula based upon the other columns. This column would reflect any increase or decrease over catalog value from the other columns.
And of course if you wanted to get more detailed you could also add columns for condition/grading which could also be accounted for in the calculated formula column.
But the key to keep columns separate so you have the most flexible and options for years to come.
Don

I would opt for classifying stamps as mint, mint hinged (or mounted mint). and used.

Jack Kelley

You are forgetting the most important column, what you paid for the stamp. That is ultimately what it is really worth.

When I first came on this forum, I was criticized for using the term "mint with no gum" or "mint previously hinged" or "mint hinged". It came to my attention that Scott doesn't use these terms either. "Mint" means mint never hinged. Only exception is mint NGAI. Otherwise stamps should be labeled "unused" if they lost gum or hinged? Perhaps worldwide collectors use different terminology and the use of the word "mint" has a broader scope?

My own personal standard, I like the terminology MUH (Mint Unhinged) or MH (Mint hinged) and USED
As a WW collector, I do prefer the stamp face unmarked, yet the back has no relevance, unless a "thin"

I can understand others preferring Mint as Mint.
I have come across one lately HR on a scan "Hinge Remnant"

rg

If you look at a UK auction, you'll see that the auctioneer differentiates between UM (or UMM) and M, which is taken to mean previously hinged, as well as unused (usually meaning no gum).

Geoff

Geoff, are you saying there is different philatelic terminology in USA collecting versus British?

Some of the terms themselves obviously differ - eg "unmounted mint" versus "mint never hinged" - but some of the differences popping up here seem to reflect personal preference. And the terminology has changed over time. An old Gibbons catalogue would imply refer to unused or used. I don't think it matters as long as, when selling, people clearly define their terms.

Western Australia
Abbreviations
Robin Linke Stamp Dealer.

In the StampSmarter Glossary the term 'Mint' is defined as




On the APS site the term 'Mint' is defined as



In this forum Glossary (link above left of this page) the term 'Mint' is defined as




Many philatelic words and terms have differing definitions depending upon the source and/or the time when it was used. A good example is the name used to describe ink on the back of stamps picked up as they were stacked still wet. The words 'offset' or 'setoff' are used interchangeable.

And philatelic abbreviations and acronyms also have differing definitions depending upon the source.

Not really helpful to newer hobbyists but I guess its is just something that everyone has to deal with.
Don

Very helpful Don... I just wanted to chime in because some forum members pointed out to me the "proper" definition of the term "mint" to me early last year. I have found that Scott uses term "mint" only for stamps that are unused original gum and never hinged. High end auction houses also only use the term "mint" in this select scenario or the uncommon mint NGAI. Some "not so high end" auction houses use the term "mint" very loosely.....for every unused stamp without cancel regardless of gum condition etc!

I saw this thread and noticed different set of terminology. I guess personal preference rules but it seems terminology changes depending on specific country that we are collecting and what part of world we live in.

Going back to Lee's original query, this may be helpful on catalogue percentages:

https://www.stanleygibbons.com/blog...d-value-gum/