Quote:
Most mint stamps since 1940 are worth less than face valiue. their primary value is for postage and not many people want a ton of old stamps the have to lick.
Sorry, but that is an utterly irrelevant remark.
In the first place, OP mentions pre-decimal content. These have been invalidated for postal use more than 50 years ago. So, there is not the slightest relevance in a remark regarding the use as postage. Even if these stamps had been decimal stamps, the fast majority of stamps issued in booklets have been definitives. Almost all such definitives issued before 2022 and all of those from booklets have been invalidated.
The value is in the stamp booklets and not in the stamps.
OP is right in remarking he/she does not want to damage the booklets.
Also, it is unclear whether OP considers anything with pre-decimal stamps "very old" or whether OP is talking about King George VI or earlier stamps. If the latter, booklets tend to have value when in pristine condition.
I suspect we are talking either about Wildings or Machins (1952 - 1971).
Some editions are rare.
Some stamps only were issued from such books. As technical changes were implemented, some booklets were issued with a rare combination of panes of stamps with different characteristics.
The value is in the booklets as a whole and often not in the individual stamps.