Unmarked Stamps On Postage - Stamp Community Forum (2024)

hi

I recently received a stamp catalogue, and the envelope it came in was filled with some lovely stamps but they were unmarked

can I reuse these stamps or is there some uv marking that might show the stamps had been previously used ?

will appreciate some help here

thanks
anil

The laws in different countries may vary, but generally, legally, you cannot re-use postage that has already served its purpose to pay for the cost of delivering a piece of mail.

Regardless of the stamps not being postmarked or otherwise cancelled, the stamps have done their job, and to reuse them is basically theft from the post office, by asking the mail carrier to deliver another piece of mail using the same stamps again without paying for the service.

Some countries and post offices have used different types of re-use prevention and detection techniques such as using adhesive that is very difficult to remove the stamps off paper without tearing them apart. With some inks the colors can bleed when soaked in water or other solvents. Also the post office doesn't like it when a stamp is stuck on paper, like cut off an old envelope, and pasted onto a new envelope, an obvious sign of re-use.

Depending on how astute your local postal carriers are, your mileage may vary. I have heard stories of people re-using uncancelled postage without it getting rejected, and I have also seen pictures of letters returned because of re-used postage.

Last note, your message says your location is Hong Kong but the pictured stamps are from England, so those particular stamps would do you no good on a piece of mail sent from Hong Kong anyway. Yes, the stamps are pretty, I would just save them as-is and enjoy them, instead of cheating the government and trying to save a few quid.

UK commemoratives post decimal are still valid for postage but it is illegal to reuse them if they have been used in the post.
Old UK definitive stamps are being phased out and are being invalidated and replaced with bar code stamps to cut the level of fraud with the old stamps. Barcodes on the new stamps may be scanned within the postal system to stop reuse even if they are not franked. Its likely that there will be increasing numbers of unfranked bar coded stamps that have been scanned.
The Royal mail web site gives this detail...the link takes you to the full article on the Royal mail web site
https://personal.help.royalmail.com...308/kw/FRAUD

Using or selling Counterfeit and reused stamps is a crime

It is a crime to knowingly use counterfeit or re-used stamps to avoid paying Royal Mail the full amount required for the postal service received. Anyone who does so may face criminal prosecution or Royal Mail may take civil action to recover money owed to us.

The list of fraudsters includes:
Any person who knowingly reuses or sells used stamps for postage, whether they have had cancellation marks and envelope removed or not, is committing fraud

Any person who knowingly possesses, distributes, sells or uses counterfeit stamps as a means of postage is committing fraud and/or an offence of counterfeiting

Any person importing, distributing, selling or otherwise assisting in the sale of counterfeit stamps is committing offences of fraud and/or counterfeiting

It is no protection for sellers of fake stamps to include a disclaimer such as "not for re-use" when selling used or counterfeit stamps. These sellers are still deemed to be committing fraud and/or counterfeiting if their intention is to distribute or sell fake stamps for use as a means of postage.

I consider "Mint" as to a stamp in a condition it is delivered to the Post Office for sale.
ie with mucilage.
ergo these stamps are used.

Who can tell me by looking if a stamp with no postmark came from envelop or I just take the gum off?

It is Mint No Gum

thank you for the replies. I agree it would be like cheating so will not reuse.
was wondering how to get them postmarked.
maybe we can just go to a post office in London when I visit to get them marked ?
or are they worth the same unmarked.

await some comments. thank you

They appear to be on grey plastic, so should lift off fairly easily in cold water
You have to be VERY gentle, or the stamps will separate,
The attract a better price uncancelled, but the difference is minimal
They are particularly nice still surviving in se-tenant form.

Se-tenant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Se-te..._(philately)

Great Britain First se-tenant stamps
(I would ignore the "rare" description)

Should be a se-tenant strip of 4 not 5

https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/131...enant-stamps

I take my MNG to the Post Office for cancel with recent issue stamps. And then the used stamp is not postally used they are CTO..

In my opinion both types of MNG are used. They are both not in mint condition.

Quote:
Great Britain First se-tenant stamps
(I would ignore the "rare" description)

However, you know better.
- In the 1950s, Wildings were issued se-tenant from stamp books
- On 13 September 1965, the first commemoratives (25th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain) were issued in se-tenant format.
- On 14 october 1966, the first commemoratives (900th Anniversary of the Battle of Hastings) were issued in se-tenant strip with format.

They were the first ever British definitive stamps issued as se-tenant strip.

It is not rare at all as FDC. BFDC sells several at GBP20-25. They sell special covers, usually at very high prices.
On Ebay, you can find FDCs from just over GBP 1.

Quote:
Should be a se-tenant strip of 4 not 5

No, that is SG725m. 2x2d + 3d + 4d + 1d = 12d = 1/- is the correct number of stamps (5).

So I query the strip of 5, the first two stamps are not se-tenant,
so that makes it an se-tenant strip of 4 ?

That is one perspective. The first two are se-tenant. They, however, are not distinct values that are se-tenant in the strip.

As shown is how they appeared on the roll. However, there is no (philatelic) law that says you must collect them in that way.

Buy a double strip, tear off the first and last four stamps. You, now, have a strip of five: 2d + 3d + 1d + 4d + 2d and that would make it a se-tenant strip of five again, if you add the restriction that no two adjoining stamps may be similar.

This, commonly, is considered a 'se-tenant' strip of five. Often printed to be attached to mailings sent out by Reader's Digest.