Did USPS Cut Stamps To "Show Off Selvage"?

These stamps were in USPS glassine envelopes.


To me it just seems a waste to cut the stamps. What is the point?


What do you call these?

PS I am not sure why the first image is rotated the wrong way. It was uploaded multiple times after adjustments.

I have a question to ggreve: where did your Porky Pig material originate from & how did you obtain the material? I have a number of the USPS glassine envelopes from purchases I made from the local Post Office & then retain them for future stock material storage. Your header implies that this material might have been from a Post Office sale in that condition. Having worked (now retired) for the Postal Service for some 37+ years I am almost 99.999999999% sure that was not an original condition sale item. It appears to be a die cut sheet cut for some unknown reason. (mutilated is a better term). Your other item appears to have been separated by a previous owner for their reasons. The USPS does not break panes other than to sell individual stamps at the counter. They will provide corner blocks of allowed issues to customers & Stamp Fulfillment will also take the time to provide for special order requests (block pane & positions). My opinion is that these items were produced by the original owner after sale (most assuredly not by the USPS) and stored in the USPS glassine envelope.

The James Madison stamps were available in press sheet format. You have a cross-gutter block as well as horizontal & vertical gutter pairs. Since the Porky Pig stamp was also available in press sheets, your Porky Pig "block" may also have come from a press sheet.

It seems we are all trying to figure out the origin. If it is not USPS, I wonder where? and why cut stamps like that? Seems to be a waste? I will post pictures of original condition I found them in to offer more clues to anyone that might know. I do not have time at the moment.

Does anyone collect stamps for selvage purposes?

There really is no mystery here. The USPS sold uncut press sheets of a number of issues. These two issues would have been bought and divided up by a private individual as they cared to do so. The USPS did not do the cutting.

The strangest part of the Porky Pig press sheet dismemberment is that it was done with skill and exacting measurement. It looks as though the person wanted it to fit in a certain mount or frame. All three pieces show that they are from a press sheet, while destroying the stamps on the periphery.

John B is correct

with John as well. As for collecting selvedge, yes there are collectors for that but I can't see why they would not retain the integrity of the stamp as that is what is collectible, the STAMP with the selvedge.

It has been some time, but the stamps were placed in a pile. That pile has been found. Here are some images to show how I originally found them in this vast collection.





Based on those images and what you have said it seems that someone bought the press sheet from the USPS. Then they cut them up and sold them as pieces to this collector. These pictures show the likely shipping position. The sheet pieces show off the gutter and selvage as that is the center part in most of these cut pieces. It is bizarre someone would cut the stamps down the middle.

This appears to be an attempt to create items which would potentially grade "100" by PSE or other certification services.

I've seen similar items in earlier imperforate material and that was definitely the intent. Unfortunately, to those "investors" who chase the "100 Jumbo" designation, there are many stamps which have been destroyed to feed the beast.

I have some of these I've picked up in buying collections, but would never create one intentionally. They were acquired with no premium attached.

These Porky Pig stamps appear perforate. Were there ever imperforate issues of that one? Because they are perforated, they won't grade high at PSE.

Matt

Porky Pig, like all of the other Looney Tune characters, was issued in two similar formats. In one format, all stamps (both the 9-stamp pane & the 1-stamp pane) have serpentine die-cuts. In the second format, the stamp in the 1-stamp pane has no die-cuts. I.e., it is "imperforate" ... or, to be technically correct, it is "without die-cuts". The "imperforate" panes were all issued in far smaller quantities than their "completely die-cut" counterparts.

The USPS glassine means nothing, they handed them out with a lot of purchases and collectors kept them to use, particularly the large sizes. Definitely not a USPS thing per eligies's post.

Possibly, someone did a bad measuring job trying to cut down a press sheet taking up too much space. "Measure twice, cut once" is not always observed.

Another possibility is that this is printers waste.

zero chance - someone cut it out of a press sheet