1890-1893 4c Lincoln Questions

This stamp appears unused but has no gum. No hinge marks.

How much is the value of a stamp affected by not having gum? Does the NH value come into play?

Thanks

Value of this stamp is influenced by the poor state of the perforations, poor centering and lack of gum. Also, I think the stamp is oxydized


Peter

I believe that most treat unused with no gum as the same value as common used. Some stamps were issued without gum and that's a different story. I agree with the comment above about the overall condition of the stamp.

This stamp came on my radar, it is far from perfect, so I asked a question that was nagging me as I have tons of new unused stamps that have stuck together sometime in the past and I'm afraid that I will have to soak them to seperate them; not sure.

The point is, if I do end up soaking them, that some of them will be in good shape but be missing the gum. I ask so I will be more informed when I get to them. Treat them as used is what I think I read. Thanks for the promt and informative reply.

Just as a further clarification, the term "never hinged" only refers to stamps with full original gum. For older stamps a price for "no gum" is often given in the Scott catalog. But starting in 1890 they stop providing a no gum price. For this particular stamp the catalog price for original gum is $80, for never hinged, $240, for used, $4.75. I'm not sure the used price is the right guidance. As others have mentioned this specific stamp has other issues - like centering and fading. But if you have a stamp that has very fine centering and no faults but no gum, I would expect something between 15 and 30% of the hinged original gum value.

Stamps stuck together are likely going to have gum issues no matter what - it makes for some tough decisions. For older stamps no gum is still quite respectable. Scott catalog prices for no gum can be much higher than for used. As an example, take a fairly common stamp, #185. It's a 5c stamp from 1879 - not that much older. Scott catalog for original gum is $425, used is $16, unused but no gum is $130. (never hinged is much higher). You may not get that price, but that should give you an indication.

I also beg to differ. Stamps of this period and earlier are often valued at about half to a third of the normal mint value, with all other things like centering and damage considered. See the catalog prices given for mint classics with no gum.

If stamps are really well stuck together, there is little that can be done to save the gum. Otherwise, there are various ways like freezing, steaming, using a sweatbox, mentioned here: https://goscf.com/t/65867 but detailed in earlier threads. If the gum ends up very disturbed, the price is still going to be towards the no gum price.

WOW...you have helped tremendously.

Once again, THANKS.

Jeff

I would agree with this. I would only go by the used SCV when pricing an uncanceled stamp with no gum. NGAI is a whole different story.