Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Login to Like
this post
My personal thought would be to see what does it look like when mounted. Is the thin so severe that the darkness of a black mount would show through the design? If so, my personal desire would be to not add it to my collection. But, if the thin does not affect the display... and the damage versus acquisition cost is acceptable, I would go for it until a better copy might present itself.
Login to Like
this post
I would tend to agree with Terry on this.
One other thing I would like to see if I were considering this purchase would be
to see it with a light behind it so as to see the full extent of the thinning.
Login to Like
this post
If it is an expensive enough stamp and the price is right there are people who can either "fill" a thin or reback the stamp .. all depends on what your goals are....
Login to Like
this post
1/4 of the total surface area is not a "small thin".
I too would be interested in thin repair methods as I have a number of stamps in my collection that would benefit some treatment.
There are many I have discarded, since I did not believe repair was possible. If proper materials are found it would still be difficult to match the exact color. This reminds me of dentists trying to match tooth color for a filling.
Login to Like
this post
I like mutts.
If priced right, I would have no problem.
I have given several stray big dollar stamps a good home purchased at a heavy discount because of a thin, or other flaw on the backside, some big some little however they are beauties on the side you see. If not flawed I would not be able to purchase many of those big buck stamps.
I also have a stray dog that others thought not good enough to be of value, he and my other mutt are my best buds.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Thank you all for your good responses.
@fredcdobbs: I love your philosophy. That's been my general collecting path also.
It's the $1 Columbian and it's on Hipstamp for $129. If I knew for sure that the stamp faced up with no sign of the thin I would grab it in a heart beat but with Hipstamp you dont seem to be able to ask the seller a question and I dont want to "chance it". It looks pretty deep to me and it might be so deep as to come down to a small pin hole. Pin holes are a no go.
Login to Like
this post
I, too, have a few "mutts" in my collection - for many of the same reasons mentioned here.
I am not the type of stamp collector/philatelist that must have a totally sound copy of every stamp.
Neither way is right or wrong...for numerous reasons on both sides of the coin.
Its all in what you like!
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
For my mutts, once yhey get mounted, I tend to forget about the defects unless it is has some visible issue like missing corner or awful cancellation. I have too many other stamps to get.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
It all comes down to price and if it displays well in an album.
As far as pin holes... back in the old days of Nassau Street, stamp vendors would come out at lunchtime in the street to attract office workers. It was customary to display stamps for sale on a tack board display, skewered on pins! So it’s part of history. I don’t know how everyone else feels but I think it’s kinda cool to think that stamp was hawked that way in the good ole days!
Login to Like
this post
I bought a shoebox full of GB #33's back in the 80's and there were several long threaded strings of stamps in the mix. They used to hang them on a corkboard at the stamp fairs. I think the longest one had over 100 stamps on it..Wish I had kept a couple of them intact.
Login to Like
this post
Since we're talking stamp condition, here's one I just bought. It's nicely cancelled so you can see the entire central image, it's used so I don't have any gum worries. It's nicely centered. I'm not concerned about the straight edge since it's naturally occurring and represents a smaller portion of the overall stamp issue than those perforated all around. It's pretty and I will enjoy owning it at a small fraction of the cost of a mint copy.
6 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Tom, I'd check that straight edge against a ruler. Might be a trick of the perspective, but it looks a little concave. Better safe than sorry.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Ernie,
My main collecting interest is cancels on U.S. so I have a few with thins and other defects. For my U.S & Canada collections I'm a little more picky. That thin you show is too much for me, it looks like the ink from the front is visible so it you use black mounts it will show darker at the thin.
Tom,
Straight edges don't bother me. There are even fewer straight edges available due to them being reperfed. Your stamp shows part of a guide arrow on the top left perf. The perfs on the right side don't look right to me.
Vince
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
That bend in the straight edge may be just a bend in the stamp. It's a photograph, not a scan.
Nice addition to the collection!
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
I definitely belong the club where a space-filler is better than an empty space, especially where it's doubtful I will have a pristine example due to cost or availability. Bad perfs, thins, fiscal cancels and creases will all suit me. I will reject fakes although it does cross my mind that self-produced picture of the stamp with a facsimile overprint could make for a better display. I saw this being used by a seller of Thai revenue sets on album pages outside the GPO in Bangkok for the very expensive values. We expect to see printed pictures of the stamps on older album pages so to do the same in colour would be acceptable to me on those extremely difficult stamps while waiting for the real one to fall into my lap.
In the end it becomes the big question on why we collect. If it's for investment then it could never be acceptable to have space-fillers. If it's for the pleasure then the answer could be different.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
"It's the $1 Columbian and it's on Hipstamp for $129. If I knew for sure that the stamp faced up with no sign of the thin I would grab it in a heart beat but with Hipstamp you dont seem to be able to ask the seller a question and I dont want to "chance it". It looks pretty deep to me and it might be so deep as to come down to a small pin hole. Pin holes are a no go. "
I personally will not pay $129 for any thinned US stamp. But then $129 is different money to different people.
Less than a year ago, one could contact Hipstamp members through messages. I wonder why they changed that. There should be no benefit to the site and the buyers from this limitation.
Login to Like
this post
07:32:26am
"Less than a year ago, one could contact Hipstamp members through messages. I wonder why they changed that. There should be no benefit to the site and the buyers from this limitation."
I have not been active on Hipstamp for over a year, but this statement surprised me, so I went and checked.
You can message a seller, but you must be logged in. See this screen shot:
Roy
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Oh, wow. Thanks Roy. I guess I didn't look hard enough. I just recently started paying closer attention to their weekly auctions. Thank you.
Login to Like
this post
The auction listing mentions "small thin spots". To me, it looks like most of the stamp is sheared off but I would SO love to have this stamp. Can anyone see this clearly enough to comment? Its tough to gauge thins from a scan
Login to Like
this post
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
My personal thought would be to see what does it look like when mounted. Is the thin so severe that the darkness of a black mount would show through the design? If so, my personal desire would be to not add it to my collection. But, if the thin does not affect the display... and the damage versus acquisition cost is acceptable, I would go for it until a better copy might present itself.
Login to Like
this post
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
I would tend to agree with Terry on this.
One other thing I would like to see if I were considering this purchase would be
to see it with a light behind it so as to see the full extent of the thinning.
Login to Like
this post
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
If it is an expensive enough stamp and the price is right there are people who can either "fill" a thin or reback the stamp .. all depends on what your goals are....
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
1/4 of the total surface area is not a "small thin".
I too would be interested in thin repair methods as I have a number of stamps in my collection that would benefit some treatment.
There are many I have discarded, since I did not believe repair was possible. If proper materials are found it would still be difficult to match the exact color. This reminds me of dentists trying to match tooth color for a filling.
Login to Like
this post
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
I like mutts.
If priced right, I would have no problem.
I have given several stray big dollar stamps a good home purchased at a heavy discount because of a thin, or other flaw on the backside, some big some little however they are beauties on the side you see. If not flawed I would not be able to purchase many of those big buck stamps.
I also have a stray dog that others thought not good enough to be of value, he and my other mutt are my best buds.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
Thank you all for your good responses.
@fredcdobbs: I love your philosophy. That's been my general collecting path also.
It's the $1 Columbian and it's on Hipstamp for $129. If I knew for sure that the stamp faced up with no sign of the thin I would grab it in a heart beat but with Hipstamp you dont seem to be able to ask the seller a question and I dont want to "chance it". It looks pretty deep to me and it might be so deep as to come down to a small pin hole. Pin holes are a no go.
Login to Like
this post
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
I, too, have a few "mutts" in my collection - for many of the same reasons mentioned here.
I am not the type of stamp collector/philatelist that must have a totally sound copy of every stamp.
Neither way is right or wrong...for numerous reasons on both sides of the coin.
Its all in what you like!
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
For my mutts, once yhey get mounted, I tend to forget about the defects unless it is has some visible issue like missing corner or awful cancellation. I have too many other stamps to get.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Approvals
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
It all comes down to price and if it displays well in an album.
As far as pin holes... back in the old days of Nassau Street, stamp vendors would come out at lunchtime in the street to attract office workers. It was customary to display stamps for sale on a tack board display, skewered on pins! So it’s part of history. I don’t know how everyone else feels but I think it’s kinda cool to think that stamp was hawked that way in the good ole days!
Login to Like
this post
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
I bought a shoebox full of GB #33's back in the 80's and there were several long threaded strings of stamps in the mix. They used to hang them on a corkboard at the stamp fairs. I think the longest one had over 100 stamps on it..Wish I had kept a couple of them intact.
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
Since we're talking stamp condition, here's one I just bought. It's nicely cancelled so you can see the entire central image, it's used so I don't have any gum worries. It's nicely centered. I'm not concerned about the straight edge since it's naturally occurring and represents a smaller portion of the overall stamp issue than those perforated all around. It's pretty and I will enjoy owning it at a small fraction of the cost of a mint copy.
6 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
Tom, I'd check that straight edge against a ruler. Might be a trick of the perspective, but it looks a little concave. Better safe than sorry.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
Ernie,
My main collecting interest is cancels on U.S. so I have a few with thins and other defects. For my U.S & Canada collections I'm a little more picky. That thin you show is too much for me, it looks like the ink from the front is visible so it you use black mounts it will show darker at the thin.
Tom,
Straight edges don't bother me. There are even fewer straight edges available due to them being reperfed. Your stamp shows part of a guide arrow on the top left perf. The perfs on the right side don't look right to me.
Vince
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
11:36:50am
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
That bend in the straight edge may be just a bend in the stamp. It's a photograph, not a scan.
Nice addition to the collection!
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
I definitely belong the club where a space-filler is better than an empty space, especially where it's doubtful I will have a pristine example due to cost or availability. Bad perfs, thins, fiscal cancels and creases will all suit me. I will reject fakes although it does cross my mind that self-produced picture of the stamp with a facsimile overprint could make for a better display. I saw this being used by a seller of Thai revenue sets on album pages outside the GPO in Bangkok for the very expensive values. We expect to see printed pictures of the stamps on older album pages so to do the same in colour would be acceptable to me on those extremely difficult stamps while waiting for the real one to fall into my lap.
In the end it becomes the big question on why we collect. If it's for investment then it could never be acceptable to have space-fillers. If it's for the pleasure then the answer could be different.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Approvals
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
"It's the $1 Columbian and it's on Hipstamp for $129. If I knew for sure that the stamp faced up with no sign of the thin I would grab it in a heart beat but with Hipstamp you dont seem to be able to ask the seller a question and I dont want to "chance it". It looks pretty deep to me and it might be so deep as to come down to a small pin hole. Pin holes are a no go. "
I personally will not pay $129 for any thinned US stamp. But then $129 is different money to different people.
Less than a year ago, one could contact Hipstamp members through messages. I wonder why they changed that. There should be no benefit to the site and the buyers from this limitation.
Login to Like
this post
BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 300 categories
03 Jul 2020
07:32:26am
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
"Less than a year ago, one could contact Hipstamp members through messages. I wonder why they changed that. There should be no benefit to the site and the buyers from this limitation."
I have not been active on Hipstamp for over a year, but this statement surprised me, so I went and checked.
You can message a seller, but you must be logged in. See this screen shot:
Roy
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Stamp Condition - Thins
Oh, wow. Thanks Roy. I guess I didn't look hard enough. I just recently started paying closer attention to their weekly auctions. Thank you.
Login to Like
this post