Is a light wrinkle removable?

Matttodd1

I just got this scott 63 back from PSE, and apparently it has a "small paper wrinkle". I didn't see it before (and maybe couldn't find it now). I'm wondering if I soak it and press it, if it may come out. Is it like a bend (which I have been able to remove), or a crease (which can't be fixed, as the paper fibers are broken). When I saw this, I thought "that's the nicest 63 I've ever seen!" In any case, it's a beautiful stamp!



Matt

edueku

No, it's impossible to repair broken paper fibers, which occur in wrinkles and creases. You can make it less apparent, but you can't fix it(my ex-fiancee is an art conservator, with experience in paper items, who I learned quite a bit from)You should have been able to see that in fluid before you submitted it, you have to watch for "whiting up" too, even if there is no dark line while it's still in fluid. Has to be visible if it's a wrinkle, and PSE called it. I have dipped stamps with no apparent lines or dark areas, but at the moment the last of the fluid was about to evaporate, two or 3 white lines or even a white small line appears out of nowhere. Depending on severity, these may cause a deduction or be ignored, especially if there are no dark lines.You could really save yourself some money by scrutinizing your stamps more closely, on these older stamps $30+ a stamp can get pricey. I know you are an experienced graded collector, but look , look close, then look again. BTW I heard a while back from a reliable source that PSE is holding back on the fee based on grade structure, so a BIG BIG BIG round of thanks to PSE from us collectors of lesser means, we will stick with you through this gray spot in the economy.

What other stamps did you get back Matt, I am excited to hear? I went to my first stamp show in about 3 or 4 years, hadn't gone for a while because I got tired of the same dealers an the same material(AND DEALERS TRYING TO SELL ME "SELF-GRADED" STAMPS AT NEAR SMQ PRICES!!!"). Just got back from a show I used to frequent, there was a big batch of covers that were fairly fresh ,found some jumbo and XF - Superb stamps, a couple may be worth a cert and the others are decent enough for an album space(Recently any stamp that is well centered with better to large margins goes into my album even with a tiny fault ). I have decided to submit only the stamps capable of a super high grade or at the very least a 95 for pre 1918, if there is a doubt it goes into my album. Seems 95 vs 98 stamp values are like coins now: an AU-50 is worth $50 while MS-60 is $450, for me I'd go down one grade for the cost difference, or just skip the certification/authentication.

I'm getting serious about submitting some ideas to PSE about some different ways for graded stamps to be certified: not a slab and not paper cert. Still sketching out final ideas , but the idea of being able to use a traditional album(without clackity1/4 inch thick pages for slabs) or an entire page for a paper cert and one stamp would be nice. I think the one thing I've missed with graded, was the enjoyment factor and completeness factor. For example most collectors who like albums, want to look at their 1902-3 2nd bureaus on a neat, complete and labeled page with a heading at top to identify the issue. This is near impossible without an over-sized page with slabs(I used sportcard pages for my capsules with no room for anything else) and impossible with paper certs unless you only place the stamps on a page, I didn't like having the certs in a separate place either. The fact is, slabs seem better suited to coins. Anyway I have some ideas, I'm still working on them.

Matttodd1

Thanks Zac. I would encourage you to share your ideas with PSE. I think they're open to good suggestions.

I'm so busy that I don't often dip the stamps I get, and so I do miss small faults like these. I tend to take them with me on my bus/train ride to work and although I can look at them very closely in bright light, it's not the kind of place I can easily dip the stamp. I may have to try it sometime just to see what the reaction is

I've decided to keep the 63 with the wrinkle. I have a 63 in grade of 85 that's sound, but I like this one better, so I'm switching them.

Of the last batch I just got back, the highlight is this handful of 98's and a 98J here:

Scott 374 98


Scott 375 98


Scott 377 98J


Scott E3 98


Scott 305 95 (This is only a 95, but I like it)


Matt

edueku

I like the 305 the best!

Matttodd1

Thanks Zac. I like that one a lot too!

Matt