To Cut Or Not To Cut

Here is a topic that I have been thinking about for a lot of years. I have been collecting modern covers of US & Worldwide, with stamps affixed to the COMPLETE covers that go into a box (many boxes).
I am getting older (as are most stamp collectors) and am rethinking the whole concept of keeping used postal covers intact. Living in the Southwest, there truely are NOT a lot of collectors that collect what I do.
I have been participating with several youth clubs, in that I send the stamps cut from envelopes still on paper, to give to the kiddlets and perhaps get one or two interested in collecting stamps. The complete covers do not seem to "excite" them much.
Sop, here is my question: "Should I go through my 40-50 big boxes of US covers and cut the fool stamps off to give to the kiddies, or should I just burn them *joking..calm down...". I tryuely do not see any use to keep them on cover, as I may have a few more years, may not.
I would like to hear a response or two on this topis, and NO, I AM NOT PUTTING THEM ON ebay!
What say you all? Where would I get ride of them otherwise, or should I say where would the people that are disposing of my crud do with them?
P>S> Iam thinking of keeping the "unusual" and "rare" items on cover and telling the disposal folk to find a dealer who will buy them for more than 10 cents each.

Addenda: P.SS: I also have 15 One Hundred pound grain sacks full of cut stamps on paper that need to go away as well. Just saying......

PoStat4evR, It's difficult to say without a more detailed description or, better yet, images of some of your cover collection.

As a regular seller of U.S. stamps from my lifelong collection on ebay, I am getting well below what I paid for my 19th-Century to early 20th-Century U.S. stamps that are in pretty nice condition. It's disheartening to say the least. I think modern stamps on paper and on cover would be an even tougher sell.

Regarding the sacks of stamps on paper that you have, my gut feeling is that you'd have trouble selling them at any price. For this reason, I would recommend that you don't cut the stamps off the covers that you have. You might find a buyer for the stamps off cover on Craigslist, but you'd likely be disappointed with any offer. I would recommend donating the on-paper stamps to a children's group.

Donate the covers to a kids group.

Opinion:
Let your conscience be your guide.
Consider: One mounts and displays past material for themselves, one collects modern material for future generations.

Here in Oz, we have a journalist that has a "Woodchip Free Zone" approach, and from what I gather, makes very good money buying / selling rated covers. (It took him 17 years to find a high value Bass stamp on cover)

I collect everything that passes my desk, it may be rubbish to some, but I store it in boxes, if when I pass on, the next collector may dump it all,
but hopefully, it will go to auction, and somebody will see value, and continue on the retention. In 100 years some of it will be extremely valuable in a fiscal and study sense.

The trick is to see forward, pass it forward.
Think of the souls whom were ridiculed for saving Penny Blacks.

They would sell by the carton at Rasdales and net you thousands.

Quote: I am getting older (as are most stamp collectors)

I hope so as the alternative is getting cancelled.

Don't cut. Have any better registered Canadian or St. Pierre and Miquelon to sell as I do collect the newer stuff too.

You could sell off the cartons through a local club or small web dealer on consignment, or one or two units through an auction house and someone will thank you in the future. There must be some different weight usages, misdirects, registered, under- overpaid covers, tagged or untagged, as well as a variety or two that may have been missed that someone else would enjoy.

As for the bags of stamps, and you obviously have a few; you could give some to the local kid beginners and you could make up 5 or 10lb lots. Surprising some days what they sell for.

Mike

I would recommend keeping any covers with corner cards or (illustrated) advertising intact. Thinking forward, keep in mind many collectors one hundred years ago probably faced a similar dilemma to yours but ended up keeping their covers intact, and its these many collectors drool over today. Collectors of the future might just end up drooling over yours a century from now.

PoStat4evR, Keep the postal stationery as intact covers. As you know, serious stationery collectors will want to have the whole thing.

No cut. Less work. More postal history.

I hesitated to ask but since one fellow did ask about Canadian covers, I'll mention my interests. I am always looking for covers with York PA (aka: Penn and Penna) cancels or markings. So if someday you have time and choose to fill requests, I would gladly pay more than 10c per cover. With the exception of a few that cost me over $20.00 each, the average I have paid is right around $4.00 to $5.00 each. I'd even be interested in any town from York Co.

As a farily new collector (or one that has come back to it after 20 years), I enjoy the covers very much and the history they provide. I still have 30+ years of collecting left in me so would rather see and have more covers than not.

Regarding the kids, maybe they can learn how to research the history too? Encourage the kids or their teacher research the cancel city, addressee, etc. Just like some of us do.

So one vote Not to Cut.

Intact covers......and with enclosures or letters, future collectors get great history !!