Can You See The Watermark With A Hinge On The Back?

If I submerge the stamp in the fluid and if the partial hinge on the back is covering the watermark, is it possible to still see the watermark under the remainder of the hinge?

Thanks
-Jake

From my experience, the answer is Yes, but very difficult. Removing any hinge remnants will help.

If the stamps were say from late 1800's America, would you recommend attempting taking off the hinge or would you just say it's better to leave it alone so that the stamp isn't damaged.

If the stamp is used, give it a bath! This will remove the hinge remnant and a century's worth of dirt.

If the stamp is unused with original gum, leave the hinge on the stamp.

The only stamps you need to worry about watermarks are the small bank notes (1894-98) in the 19th century. The rest of the stamps from that era either do not have watermarks or they are identified by design, such as the Trans-Mississippi issue.

Now we could start a thread on "how to remove a hinge" without damaging the rear of the stamp.......
I bet (I did no research on SCF) this was discussed in the past so I do not want to repeat....I will do my search

found this
https://goscf.com/t/8565&SearchTerms=hinge,removal

I remove hinges with a lot of success because they are at least 50+ years old and have been applied with minimal saliva, even on Mint Gummed.....I Hate those critters but there is a lot of good contributions in the link above...