If I were you, I would keep it the way it is now and look for the missing stamp, even though the chance of finding the stamp is quite slim. Once the stamps are cut off, the cover only exists in picture even the missing stamp is found.

Normally, I would not offer more than a fair price for used stamps for such a cover. Some cases addressing significant postal historical meaning might be rare exceptions.

That raises a question which I was going to ask - Is it unethical to glue the ORIGINAL stamp back onto the cover if one finds it? One time during handling a cover, one stamp fell off (not sure if it was glued properly) and I decided to remove the remaining stamps.

This is a very interesting question. I can only offer my own view point. Other collectors may see this matter differently.

Firstly, lifting a stamp (or stamps) off a cover has been a very old practice. This is supposed to be done with extreme care by skillful persons under only necessary occasions, such as to determine watermarks of a stamp on cover. All precautions are taken to prove that the stamp was originally on the cover before been lifted. For this reason, I do think that if a stamp fell off a cover, it should be OK to glue it back, given that no additional make-up work were added.

It sounds logical for the purpose you described. I do have a small reservation on this though. If a Qing Dynasty cover has glue that belongs to 21st century provided that someone needs to lift the stamp(s) then put it(them) back in order to verify something, would it hurt the value of the cover a little bit?

I guess if we follow the process of a typical antique restoration then this is not an issue. Is this considered as a process of restoration even if the cover is not damaged to begin with?

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It sounds logical for the purpose you described. I do have a small reservation on this though. If a Qing Dynasty cover has glue that belongs to 21st century provided that someone needs to lift the stamp(s) then put it(them) back in order to verify something, would it hurt the value of the cover a little bit?

I guess if we follow the process of a typical antique restoration then this is not an issue. Is this considered as a process of restoration even if the cover is not damaged to begin with?

You brought up some very serious issue. I may not be able to comment on this in an objective way because I do not consider myself a typical collector. Anyway, here is my two cents worth opinion.

¡§Value¡¨ and ¡§price¡¨ are two different concepts without clear boundary in the philatelic world. The ¡§value¡¨ of it can be very subjective. The ¡§price¡¨ of a cover is some kind of consensus among collectors and dealers. We do not expect that everyone agrees upon the same price for an individual item, however, a deal takes at least two parties. The price of a cover is defined when a transaction is made. Given that all the details about the cover are clearly and honestly stated, there should not be any ethical concern. The case that you mentioned about modern glue instead of adhesive from Chin dynasty might bother a few extremely fastidious collectors. However, I would think that most collectors would accept if the appearance does not show any trace of alternation after the retrieved stamp has been put back. (Of course, the stamp must be the correct one.)

I do not compete in any stamp exhibition. I am not sure what will happen if a cover under the condition that we have discussed is put into an exhibition. This will need someone who is familiar with exhibition rules to explain.

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Agreed with the concept of "value and "price". My instinct tells me that most people would not attempt to perform such task. In some cases, certain value may overwrite the importance of finding whether the stamp carries watermark or something else.
On the price side, there are cases that one can increase the "price" of an antique if it is properly restored. Other cases are completely opposite when not done properly - polishing an antique made of brass for instance. In the case above, one must accurately reposition the stamp that was lifted earlier. Now how accurate is considered accurate could be very subjective.

I'm glad that we have this discussion. Collecting stamps is very subjective while selling stamps needs to be somewhat objective.

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