Is Re-gumming A Problem For Me? Part I Of II

Stamps are one of the most collected items around the world. With so many stamps available to collect these days; it is sometimes hard to tell when stamps have been re-gummed and when they are in their original condition.

Stamps that no longer contain all of the gum from when it was originally manufactured can often times be found to be re-gummed. Of course their value would then be less than those that have their original gum on them. Gum is original when it is produced from an official postal authority. Once an individual person has applied his own gum blend to a stamp’s backside, it is then considered to be re-gummed.

People choose to re-gum stamps to make them appear to be a nicer more enhanced product and thereby seemingly increase the value of the stamp.

There are several ways to detect if a stamp has been re-gummed. Stamps that contain a watermark can be easily seen on a stamp that has been re-gummed. Stamps with a watermark that have their original gum can be seen when the stamp is dipped in watermark using fluid. The watermark in the original gum can also be seen when the stamp is put up to a very strong light. If you notice that the watermark seems to have been impressed into the gum, then you should be suspicious that there is a problem with your stamp.

Please check back on Monday for the conclusion to this post.