Self-adhesive or gummed, what do you collect?
More and more stamps are being issued as self-adhesive. This is not surprising, as most people who send letters or cards prefer using a self-adhesive stamp to having to lick it themselves.
Yet I hear from many collectors that they prefer collecting gummed stamps to self-adhesive ones. Sometimes I even hear, 'I collect stamps, not stickers!'
Isn't that a bit of a topsy-turvy situation? Stamps were initially issued to send mail. The fact that collectors came along later to collect those nice pictures is a side effect. Incidentally, a side effect that became increasingly important for (commercial) postal administrations. So when more and more self-adhesive stamps appeared and the above-mentioned concerns from collectors also reached postal administrations, it was decided to continue issuing gummed stamps as well. Often, these are precisely the commemorative stamps that disappear into stamp albums more often than they appear on letters.
To return briefly to that 'upside-down world': aren't it precisely the gummed stamps that should be considered philatelic craftsmanship, and aren't the self-adhesive stamps the 'real stamps'?
I would like to hear your perspective on this viewpoint via the comments.
I collect both, though I prefer not to have self-adhesive ones mint. You never know how they will stand the test of time. Just look at the Dutch sheets from the 90s. First they developed brown sticky edges, then the stamps started falling out. I have a number of mint American stamps from 2006-2007 where the white paper is turning a brownish tint. I also have mint Iraqi stamps from the same years. By now, those are completely brown.
Used self-adhesive stamps have advantages and disadvantages. A disadvantage is the difficulty in soaking off stamps from some countries, ranging from difficult to impossible to soak off. An advantage is fewer damaged stamps, as people cannot tear off the perforations. Exceptions aside, such as "Beleef de Natuur," which are perforated in the old-fashioned way and not die-cut.
I collect the annual collection of Dutch stamps. That automatically means that I collect gummed and self-adhesive stamps. I prefer the perforated self-adhesive stamps (such as those from 'Beleef de Natuur'). I agree with what Lars writes that the quality of the stamps declines over the years. However, I do have the impression that the self-adhesive stamps from recent years are of better quality. When the stamps are not simply perforated, they are more like stickers than stamps. I can live with it, although I personally prefer gummed stamps.