There is no more valuable substance in the world by weight and volume than original gum. Consider – the gum on a thousand mint US Ten Cent 1847s if miraculously removed, commingled and weighed would total about an ounce. And the value of such gum on the stamps is $20,000 for each stamp according to the latest Scott catalog (the difference between an” og” price and a “no gum” price) which makes our magic ounce of og worth a cool $200 million (a US #31 has a $23,500 premium for og making a thousand of them worth $235 million.) And og is increasing rapidly in value. The price of Nineteenth Century stamps with original gum has far outstripped the price of the same stamps without gum over the last twenty years. And this is for a substance that is invisible when you mount your stamps and requires the utmost care so as not to compromise or damage. And that is when you are fortunate enough to have bought og in the first place. I can’t tell you how many certificates from ten or more years ago I have seen reversed as to og and what buyers had bought as og is not now considered og. And don’t think that this won’t happen again in the future. The emphasis on gum seems silly and even dangerous to our hobby.
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