Re-Gumming Is a Sticky Predicament

Question: I have noticed that some dealers sell stamps with a guarantee that their stamps have not been re-gummed. But how can you tell the difference between original gum and re-gum? Should I just take the dealer’s word for it?

Also, why are some early British Commonwealth stamps more expensive in used condition than in mint? My guess is that far fewer were actually used than produced. In that case, isn’t it possible for someone to cancel such mint copies today and sell them as used for more money?--R.K.

Answer: It is often difficult to tell the difference between re-gummed stamps and their original gum counterparts. If a dealer is long-established, you can usually take his word for whether or not a stamp has been re-gummed.

The average proprietor of a neighborhood stamp shop has a remarkable degree of business honesty when compared with a lot of other professions. When Herman Herst Jr., the famous New York stamp dealer now retired in Florida, met the commissioner for Auction Licenses of New York City at a party, the commissioner told Herst that if all businessmen were as honest as stamp dealers, there would be no need for government regulation of business ethics.

One way you can distinguish real gum from faked gum is to compare it with other stamps of the time period. Also, re-gumming tends to spread the gum onto the surface of the stamp, so if it looks as if there is some gum on the stamp’s front, it may have leaked there during the re-gumming operation.

If a stamp is expensive (say, more than $50), you should be careful about paying a lot of extra money just to obtain original gum, because it might have been faked. Generally, the cheaper stamps costing less than $5 or $10 each are not worth the trouble to re-gum.

The whole purpose of re-gumming, of course, is to make a stamp appear to be post office fresh, in “mint” condition, in spite of actually having lost its original gum since the day it was sold at the post office window.

It is common knowledge that many (if not most) mid-19th-Century rare U.S. stamps that seem to have undisturbed original gum have in fact been re-gummed to enhance their market value. A re-gummed stamp is definitely worth less to a discriminating collector than an original gum stamp.

Your other question about mint versus used British Commonwealth: Yes, it does mean that the stamp is rarer or in heavy collector demand when it catalogues more for used (canceled) than for mint. Cancels have indeed been faked on these stamps when the price difference is great between mint and used copies. Some early German stamps are like this--worth significantly more used than unused.

Only a cancellation expert for the time period and stamp issues in question can pass reasonable judgment on the authenticity of a cancel, especially if the stamp is no longer on its original envelope (“off-cover”).

My feeling is to buy them mint and don’t worry about the canceled varieties until you know enough about what genuine cancels look like. And it is forever true that if you don’t know your stamps, know your stamp dealer (when money is at stake).