In philately, a regummed stamp is any stamp without gum, or without full gum, that has had new gum applied to the back to increase its value.
Unused stamps with full original gum (OG) on the back are worth more than stamps without gum or complete gum, for instance those that have been mounted using a stamp hinge.
Until the 1970s, it was common for stamps to be mounted using hinges and there was little difference in value between unmounted and previously hinged stamps. Since then, a significant price difference has developed between the two types of stamps and unscrupulous stamp collectors and dealers have been tempted to regum previously mounted stamps to make them appear as if they have full original gum.
Regumming may take place just to remove traces of mounting or to disguise more serious faults or repairs, in which case the whole stamp may be given new gum. Regumming to hide repaired faults is not new but regumming to remove traces of mounting is a relatively recent development.
Detecting regummed stamps
Such alterations are often easily detected with the naked eye due to differences in colour or texture between the old and new gum. In addition, a stamp where all or a large part of the gum is fresh may sometimes be detected by placing it in the palm of the hand where warmth will cause the stamp to curl in a different direction to the same stamp with the original gum.
Another test is to use a magnifying glass to see if gum has gathered on the perforation edges of the stamp. This will not occur with an original gum stamp as the normal method of stamp production is to perforate a whole sheet of stamps after the sheet is first gummed and then printed. This means the gum is evenly distributed on the back of all the stamps contained on the sheet before perforating. The perforating process does not perfectly cut the paper. Fine tears develop along the round areas of the perforation edges because of this process. Also, when the stamps are torn to separate them from the sheets, fine tears along the perforation tips develop. These fine tears from perforating and tearing render tiny hairs descending from the edge of the stamp. Examination of these hairs will help detect a regummed stamp. Remember, with this test it is important not to look at the gum, but rather the perforation edges. The edges will be somewhat hairy on an original gummed stamp, but on a regummed stamp the hairs will be glued together in varying degrees. This gum may also gather unevenly at the perforation edges. On expert regumming jobs the person making the alteration may file the perforations to restore the original look to the stamps edge, but they almost always leave an imperfection or two that may only be caught by an expert.
If none of the normal tests are definitive then collectors will often obtain an opinion about the stamp's status from an expert, who will examine the stamp and may even analyse it chemically. This is known as having the stamp expertised.
Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare or reside only in museums.
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage. Then the stamp is affixed to the face or address-side of any item of mail—an envelope or other postal cover —which they wish to send. The item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark or cancellation mark—in modern usage indicating date and point of origin of mailing—is applied to the stamp and its left and right sides to prevent its reuse. Next the item is delivered to its addressee.
Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth century with the rapid growth of the postal service, as a never-ending stream of new stamps was produced by countries that sought to advertise their distinctiveness through their stamps.
For postage stamps, separation is the means by which individual stamps are made easily detachable from each other.
In philately, gum is the substance applied to the back of a stamp to enable it to adhere to a letter or other mailed item. The term is generic, and applies both to traditional types such as gum arabic and to synthetic modern formulations. Gum is a matter of high importance in philately.
The Inverted Jenny is a 24 cent United States postage stamp first issued on May 10, 1918, in which the image of the Curtiss JN-4 airplane in the center of the design is printed upside-down; it is one of the most famous errors in American philately. Only one pane of 100 of the invert stamps was ever found, making this error one of the most prized in philately.
The Penny Red was a British postage stamp, issued in 1841. It succeeded the Penny Black and continued as the main type of postage stamp in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 1879, with only minor changes to the design during that time. The colour was changed from black to red because of difficulty in seeing a cancellation mark on the Penny Black; a black cancellation mark was readily visible on a Penny Red.
This is a list of philatelic topics.
In philately, a mint stamp is one which is in its original state of issue, is unused, has never been mounted and has full gum, if issued with gum. The term applies equally to postage stamps and revenue stamps.
Stamp albums are books used to house a collection of postage stamps.
In philately, stamp hinges, or mounts, are small, folded, transparent, rectangular pieces of paper coated with a mild gum. They are used by stamp collectors to affix postage stamps onto the pages of a stamp album.
A souvenir sheet or miniature sheet is a postage stamp or a small group of postage stamps still attached to the sheet on which they were printed. They may be either regular issues that just happen to be printed in small groups, or special issues often commemorating some event, such as a national anniversary, philatelic exhibition, or government program. The number of stamps ranges from one to about 25; larger sheets of stamps are simply called "sheets" with no qualifier.
In general, philatelic fakes and forgeries are labels that look like postage stamps but have been produced to deceive or defraud. Learning to identify these can be a challenging branch of philately.
Philatelic expertisation is the process whereby an authority is asked to give an opinion whether a philatelic item is genuine and whether it has been repaired or altered in any way.
In philately, a lettercard or letter card is a postal stationery item consisting of a folded card with a prepaid imprinted stamp. That it is folded over gives the writer twice as much room for the message compared with a postal card. The message is written on the inside and the card is then folded and sealed around the edges. The recipient tears off and discards the perforated selvages to open the card.
Postage stamp paper is the foundation or substrate of the postage stamp to which the ink for the stamp's design is applied to one side and the adhesive is applied to the other. The paper is not only the foundation of the stamp but it has also been incorporated into the stamp's design, has provided security against fraud and has aided in the automation of the postal delivery system.
The Washington–Franklin Issues are a series of definitive U.S. Postage stamps depicting George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, issued by the U.S. Post Office between 1908 and 1922. The distinctive feature of this issue is that it employs only two engraved heads set in ovals—Washington and Franklin in full profile—and replicates one or another of these portraits on every stamp denomination in the series. This is a significant departure from previous definitive issues, which had featured pantheons of famous Americans, with each portrait-image confined to a single denomination. At the same time, this break with the recent past represented a return to origins. Washington and Franklin, after all, had appeared on the first two American stamps, issued in 1847, and during the next fifteen years, each of the eight stamp denominations available featured either Washington or Franklin.
The value of a postage stamp in the stamp collecting market depends on various features of its condition. Among the features assessed are centering, margins, and gum.
Edward Loines Pemberton was a pioneering philatelist and stamp dealer who was a leading advocate of the scientific school of philately and a founding member of The Philatelic Society, London, now The Royal Philatelic Society London. Pemberton was entered on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921 as one of the fathers of philately. He was born in New York City but educated in Britain by relatives when his parents died shortly after his birth. His son, Percival Loines Pemberton (1875-1949) was also an eminent philatelist.
The Halfpenny Yellow is the first postage stamp issued by the Crown Colony of Malta. Depicting Queen Victoria, it was only valid for local postage and it was originally issued on 1 December 1860. It was the only stamp issued by Malta for two and a half decades, and during this period various reprints were made with differences in colour shade, perforation and watermark. When control of Malta's postal service was transferred to the island's colonial government on 1 January 1885, the stamp was withdrawn and it was replaced by a set of definitive stamps.
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