To Remove Or Not To Remove?

Just wondering on a stamp like this do I leave it stuck to the backing that it's stuck to or do I try to remove it to see watermark?

There are no watermark questions on this issue.

I'd remove it, as there is not much of the postmark left on the envelope.

Also toning on the perfs, which may be derived from the remaining part of the envelope.

Okay also what about this one? I only ask because the last time I tried to remove one of these it disintegrated on me because it was so thin. Granted there's not much left that's stuck to the back but there is a slight amount.

I believe the first is stuck to a post card or something a lot firmer then an envelope.

By "do I try to remove it" you do mean soak, correct?

Just checking

Removing the adhering paper will better show the ivory head. It, also, may allow you to flatten that curled lower corner.

Mindy - the GB one you said " I tried to remove one of these it disintegrated on me because it was so thin" was on a post card and the post card paper was what disintegrated - the stamp part showing on the right half does not look thinned (there is still post card paper on the left half).

I would not soak and remove the US 2 cent. Some cancel is on the non-stamp paper which will held ID the cancel if that cross is used in more than one city. Also the used on a postcard versus an envelope is postal history information which would be lost via soaking. Stamp collectors soak, postal history collectors do not, when there is information present whch would be lost.

The 1d red is too early to have been used on a postcard, so thicker paper of some sort.

In the USA, the special (discounted) postal card rate did not begin until May 1, 1873 with the release of the pre-printed stamped postal cards. However, mail pieces which consisted of a single piece of stock written on the front and back without the ability to enclose other matter (cards) were mailable at the letter rates, both, normal and discounted "local " rates. Two cents during the normal 3 cent rate period would indicate a discounted local rate.

The first stamp is almost 100% on some sort of cardstock and not an envelope. Is it possible that maybe someone had it for a while and then decided to use it on a postcard later? I'm not sure, but I can tell you it really is very firm and doesn't seem to be thick paper. So from what I'm getting is do not remove the first. But try to remove the rest of the paper from the second. I did soak one of these stamps before (not this one) and it just fell apart because it was so thin. I'm definitely not a collector. But I have been trying to find out why someone is so interested in the few stamps I inherited and has on multiple occasions offered me $300 for them. So far from what I can tell is these two seem to be the better stamps. I'm not trying to just ask what mine are worth since I can see that it goes so well for everyone else that seems to do so on here. So I am willing to try to figure out which of these stamps the person seems to be so interested in since I have a feeling there must be something here that's worth more then the $300 they seem to be so willing to pay. My reason is because recently my son was using my car and on the way home from work, he was in an accident. He's okay, but my car was not. So now I'm without a car and although I have something saved to put towards another car, at this point it's not enough to get another as nice as the one I just had. So I am happy knowing that they will at least ad $300 more to my car fund. With how insistent the person seems to be about buying them, I'm willing to put the work into finding out what seems to be in the stamps that they're so interested in. So I don't expect for any of you to tell you how much value there is in the few that I inherited. Given the fact that I do collect other items that it has taken me some years to gain the knowledge on, I wouldn't just expect the answer for nothing and would still like to know enough to be sure of what's here. I do appreciate everyone's advice. It's been helpful so far. I did read somewhere last night about a similar penny red stamp. That instead of fully soaking it to use a qtip dipped in warm water to soak the paper instead of the entire stamp, so I think I will try that. I know I tend to use a lot of slang and bad grammar and for that I do apologize. So yes "should I try to remove it" would pertain to "soaking" since that's the proper way to "remove" or "take it off". I do collect a lot of different items, and I always research proper care, cleaning, and restoration for each of the items before doing anything that may cause any damage to an item. Hence why I'm on this message board asking all of you for advice on how to proceed with these. I do appreciate all of your help, knowledge, and advice so far. I apologize for the novel that I just wrote.

If you only have a few stamps, let's say less than 100, why don't you post all of them here and we can offer our opinions? Perhaps one or two stand out above the others. Just a thought.

The two stamps you have shown are not even close to being worth $50, let alone $300.

If someone is pressuring you to sell them, I'd be cautious... If one person is jumping to pay $300; someone else may be willing to pay $500.

Send more photos and you will get much more information. The more you know, the more comfortable you will be in accepting an offer.

I appreciate your help so far. But I did in fact say there were only a few but to be honest, I only meant a few that are worth anything more then $1. There's about 9 pages total. Most of which seem to be pretty common and/or used. So I'm sure most wouldn't be worth even asking about. I will try to go through them all to pull out the ones I believe might be worth more then a dollar or two and post. That way I don't feel like I'll just be posting a bunch of nonsense that isn't worth all of you even bothering to look at. I'm not real good at taking and posting the pics. It does take me a little while to get the pics attached to my reply's. So I will try to do it as I'm going through. But it may take me a while to post since if I put them all in only a few pics, I believe they will be too far for all of you to be able to give me enough info on them. Thank you so far for your help. I'll try to take a pic of a few to see if more than one in a pic is acceptable.

I am confused. You ask why someone would offer $300 and later imply that you know the value.

If I were you, I would take the $300 and count yourself lucky. Looking at the "best" that you have posted I don't think that a rarity in good condition is going to slip by.