Germany 1872 7 Kreuzer

Hi, I got this blue 7 kreuzer stamp from around 1872. Still learning to asses condition. How to describe condition of this used hinged?

Look at the perforations, especially the lower left corner. Also, the stamp is just like all your others seem - toning and a crease through the top part


Peter

The brown spots (toning) detract from value. This is worse when they affect the face of the stamp.
The stamp has a heavy hinge.
The stamp is missing a perforation at the lower left. Furthermore, it looks like it misses the top layer of paper on the adjoining perforation.
There is a tear at right, that is best visible from the back. Tears almost immediately make it a space-filler.

It is a space filler.

NSK, sorry to bother you again, but is the lower left really a tear? From my laymen's assessment it seems the paper was distorted even before printing (noticing irregularities in the print). So; is it a printing error or a damage to the stamp after printing? Does this matter at all?

No, I also think there might have been a pre-printing paper fold in the lower-left corner. But there is one at right, a little over halfway up.
There is a perforation and some surface missing at the lower left.

Clear. This one is even worse, right? 1874 stamp. Train station cancel. Maybe I should specialize in imperforate. Less to damage.

I am afraid the stamp is in rather bad shape.

It appears to have a station cancel for Szczecin in West Pomerania (Poland). Germany had to cede this region to Poland after WWII. Its German name is Stettin.

Maybe PostmasterGS or Germania can tell you more about this cancellation.

Hi Bloemzee:

I agree that the issue in the lower corner might be a natural paper fold and not a crease. My of thumb for my own collection is a paper crease is how the stamp was made, so I'll collect it, where I would likely pass on a stamp that was creased.

The issue farther up could well be a tear -- looks suspicious from here but hard to tell. But there's a lot of toning spots on the 7kr stamp and that alone is enough to seriously diminish the value. That said, I've seen stamps in far worse shape being offered on auction sites, without even being appropriately discounted.

The 2/1/2g is also a space filler but not an awful one. Missing the lower left corner and several perfs on top. Not good, but again, I've seen worse offered for sale. The fact that it has a Bahnhof cancel and from a city no longer in Germany gives it greater interest than it might otherwise. I'd certainly keep it even after I obtained a better copy.

Different collectors have different standards as to how much damage they'll accept. Part of it depends, I think, on whether you're narrowly specialized to one country or area, or trying to collect the whole world. I fall into the latter category, although I cut off with most countries at 1970.

Under certain conditions, I might buy a "second quality" stamp with some minor faults if (a) it's only missing one perf or has very minor toning (especially if only visible from the back); (b) if it's a rare stamp I may not otherwise be able to afford; and (c) if it's priced to sell (some stamps with faults aren't). On the other hand, I'm not going to pay $20 for a stamp with $100 catalogue value that has as much damage as the two examples you showed.

Some collectors won't put a stamp in their album that has even a single half-shortened perf. It all depends on your tastes.

I expect when you soak the hinge remnants off the 2 1/2g there will be significant thinning visible.