Advisable To Soak Old Stamps?

Won this in an auction. I was wondering if I should soak the paper remnants off the stamp or just leave it the way it is.


*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***

Was it sold as faultless, or with faults. Check that carefully. Is that paper I see still attached to back, or thinning. In my opinion if not damaged and if soaking, do it carefully on back side only if you can.

Looks to be an obvious hinge remnant in center. I would think that "could" be carefully soaked off.

The stamp was sold as it is, I admit I am taking a risk on this for a price of £32. I don't think there is thinning, but could be wrong. The brownish parts are the stamp and the white portions are part of the envelope stuck to the stamp. Very unlikely for there to be thinning under the envelope remnants unless the white bits were deliberately placed there to hide any defects. There is also a hinge stuck to the back.

There appears to be a great deal of extraneous paper and hinge remnants which most likely hide some serious thins. I don't believe any knowledgeable seller would part with a sound stamp like this for 32 British pounds.

Unless you need to know the truth, and perhaps get a better repair job done, I would leave it alone. It is an attractive stamp, in my opinion.

I'm with Bob, I'd leave alone.

A sensible thing to do is probably to leave it. Also find it really hard to come by 6d 4-margined cut squares coz the designs for adjacent stamps in the sheet tend to touch each other.

I also strongly suggest leaving it as is. Even if apparently sound, embossed stamps of this age can separate along the embossed outer edge if soaked.

If it were mine I'd leave it as is. It might be damaged now but soaking it could cause further damage.

pennieblackie,
I'm going to offer a dissenting opinion here to the advice everyone else has given, but with some caveats.
If this is for your personal collection, and if you have any reason to believe that there may be damage, then leave it. The front of the stamp presents nicely. It's what is going to show in your album, and in most cases, people other than you looking at it, aren't going to care about the condition of the back.

However...
What is your motive? To have a great looking collection, that has value, or just have a great looking collection? If you're the type of collector that wants a "puritan" collection (ie free from faults), then the only way to know if this has any major faults is to clean it. There is no "extra value" for a used stamp to have gum (note there are no "used but still has gum" columns in any of the price catalogs) at least in the "price". There is value in having it as a reference copy if you're interested in studying the gum, but usually unused stamps are used for that purpose because they give a better clarity for OG across a stamp (even if the gum or stamp is damaged in part).

If you plan to resell it, then it should certainly be cleaned of any old mounting material, again unless you know that it is a specific repair, should be removed before selling. This will make it clear that the item is sound (or at least without major faults). In my own collection I like to have clean items as well. If you don't clean it and it's unsound, then you're just kidding yourself over what is in your collection.

Preserving a stamp isn't about hiding its faults. Nothing wrong with repairs, so long as they are clearly described. And if it is a repair, nothing wrong with re-applying it in a manner that looks better then the mess the back is now.

Would leave it it alone but doubt it is completely sound. If you decide to sell a future buyer will offer a price that seems fair to him or her based on what they see just as you did.

Haven't thought of reselling anything in my collection and have never sold a stamp in my life. I can live with stamps that have faults, but I am one who goes for good buys, so my purchases are usually fair value or undervalued purchases. I like buying stuff that are able to retain their value and easily resold which is why stuff that I purchase tend to require bidding.

PENNYBLACKIE ... anything you post with a King or Queen on it goes in the WORLD forum -- NOT in Main.

This makes about 100 of your posts I have MOVED.

Hi kirks, noted. I had the impression that the main stamp forum was non country specific, but I get it now.

This stamp arrived today. Quite happy that the back of the stamp is in very good condition with no signs of thinning etc. The paper remnants stuck to the back are most likely from an envelope. Will just leave it the way it is.