Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 13 Oct 2019 02:03:35pm
I've just started collecting cut squares or envelope stamps as part of my US BoB. Value is not a primary concern but I do have a question. I see a lot of these trimmed to a circular shape leaving the envelope stamp undamaged. To me they don't look as good as the cut square, but what happens to the value? Newer ones are usually only a few cents anyway but some of the older rarer ones command a high price. Is this price still valid if they are trimmed?
If the "stamp" is "cut to shape", it is generally worthless.
According to the Scott US Specialized, cut squares on 20th century cut squares must have at least 1/4" on the two cut sides. The other two sides should have as large a margin as possible. Some other requirements relating to the margin size exist, depending on the envelope, but those are the basics. The larger the margins, the higher the value, providing that the stamp in the cut square is mostly centered. The less the margins, the lower the value. The catalog has images to show the proper margins for three conditions.
Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 15 Oct 2019 05:01:56pm
re: cut squares
What in Heck is a PNC3 or a PNC3? Been a collector for damn near almost 50 years and have no idea what you are referring to. I'm not a huge fan of cut squares either, but I'm willing to learn!
sorry, I actually defined terms earlier, but in another thread, and didn't realize i was talking acronym soup here. my apologies. Thanks, Al, for rescuing me.
Harvey, the current convention for PNCs (mint ones, anyway) is to have plate number o the center stamp and flanked by two examples on each side. This goes out the door when there are multiple stamps se-tenant, and then you often see PNC11s or PNC9s (sets of 5, 4, in strips of 11 or 9, respectively)
It's quite rare to find these guys used in such configurations, except on philatelic mail
David
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