Mint v Used -- I prefer unused for stamps in albums, whether thematic, country, or whatever. In addition to single stamps, I also like to find multiples, and proofs and essays.
I do not get excited about the gum side, however, and in fact love to save money when a stamp with uncommonly gorgeous centering and color is still cheap for lack of pristine gum.
I also enjoy postal history and uses and rates, and for that not only want used but on cover, in the correct time, using the correct rate, but non-philatelic. Off-cover used stamps, especially with indistinct smudge cancels, hold less interest for me, and I also subscribe to the ''until I can find a mint one'' philosophy for those.
A new factor in this debate is the advent of self-stick stamps, and as far as I know the jury is still out on the best way to collect them unused, whether to try to preserve the gum or to remove it, and if so how. We may not yet know the long term effects of the various chemical formulas used for these, and there may be some interesting surprises in decades to come. The first US self-stick, the 1975 Christmas 10 center, is now mostly seen as mottled and stained, and a flawless copy from which the gum was prudently removed in time may turn out to be a late 21st century rarity. Same story for many current items? Only time will tell.
Used stamps that are worth more than their mint counterparts are especially challenging to find on authentic covers sometimes. Some of the cheapest wallpaper that was designed for collectors may have seen very limited authentic use, even that contrived by collectors, and make for rather scarce and desirable covers.
Bob in WA
|
) 
on Aug-26-07
at 23:07:21 PDT
) 
) 
member
) 
) 
)
on Aug-26-07
at 01:08:20 PDT
