This site was last updated
on January 22, 2020
A division of
High Resolution Image of repaired Württemberg Stamp
Due to the many emails we receive with questions
relating to our service we have attempted to save you and us some time by
creating a FAQ "Frequently Asked Question" page. Please just follow
this link to the FAQs as we are certain that this will go a long
way in providing you with answers. If you have questions or concerns that are
not adequately addressed, please feel free to contact us at: FCIstamps@gto.net
If you would like to have help with calculating any repair costs and you have
access to Microsoft Excel, we can email you our Excel template. All you would
need to do is fill in the information and it will calculate the estimated
repair cost for you.
Thanks
Hans and Anne Marie
We are a small Canadian company dedicated to the preservation
of postage stamps, covers and other paper collectibles. We have been in
business since 1985 and have developed a global customer base. The company was
founded by Hans Sitt Sr. who in his time was an avid stamp collector. The
company was originally known as L. Armstrong Stamp Restoration Service, named
after his former daughter-in-law. He, as is the case with many collectors,
could not always afford to stock his albums with premium quality stamps. Yet,
he still liked to add copies of these somewhat rarer varieties, even if
somewhat flawed.
At that time it did not seem possible to find anyone
to repair and restore these items at a reasonable cost. Over time, much
research was done in order to learn how to restore and preserve articles of paper.
Since then, our ever-growing experience has allowed us to supplement our
techniques with new and improved methods and procedures. We can offer
affordable quality restoration and repair work, which will help to ensure the
integrity of your collection for years to come.
We operate this business on a part time basis with
Anne Marie now virtually exclusively performing the restoration work. I find I
have limited time to work on items myself but will lend a hand if and when
required. Therefore, depending on the quantity of material submitted to us and
or the complexity of the work required, it may take from several days to a few
weeks for us to return your order. If work is time sensitive it will be best
for you to email us so that we can provide you with a reasonable estimate of
how long it will take us to complete the work on your order.
We repair/restore postage stamps, covers and other
paper collectibles in order to maintain them in the best possible condition for
the enjoyment of philatelists and other collectors throughout the world. We
offer a wide range of services. Much of our work relates to repairs of items
with flawed or missing gum, repairing thins, torn papers, missing corners or
perforations and reperforating. We also clean soiled stamps and covers and can
remove or improve many types of stains. If necessary, we can rejoin separated
perforations and repair creases, often by keeping the original gum in tact. The work is not exclusive to stamps and covers but
also includes most any collectible papers.
As with any repair work, there are limitations to what can be done.
Unfortunately for some items, it is not possible to achieve a marked
improvement on their condition. Unless you give us specific instructions, which
would allow us to perform whatever work we deem necessary, we would return such
items as received. If in doubt, we are happy to have you mail us any items for
evaluation and will promptly get back to you with a quotation regarding the
feasibility of repairs and associated costs.
Please feel free to take a look at our Price/Services list for more detail. No
matter where you are located, we would like to be able to add you to our
growing list of satisfied customers.
Some stamps in Canada and the United States for example
are now over a century and a half old. Due to their age, being handled by
people and often less than favourable storage
conditions, many stamps have begun to show signs of deterioration.
Really, there is little difference between repairing postage stamps, works of
art or for that matter any other collectibles. If it were not for the fact that
many of these items were properly cared for and from time to time repaired or
restored as needed, many such items would now no longer be around for us to enjoy.
Surely, it would be a great loss to all if collectibles were discarded only
because they were damaged or of otherwise lesser quality. With every item meeting
this fate another piece of history is lost. If we want to keep our hobby, and
in many cases our investment alive, then it is necessary to stop or at least
retard this aging process so that future generations may also enjoy these
collectibles. Home
We intend to restore and repair postage stamps, philatelic items and
paper collectibles at reasonable prices employing the highest quality
workmanship.
(We strongly advise and encourage philatelists to fully disclose any restorations
or repairs of which they are aware upon disposition of these items.)
We charge no more than 20% of the value based on
recent Scott catalogs. (Due to their cost, we replace them only every few years
and currently are still using 2011 catalogues). The basis for our charges are either the mint or used catalog (Scott) price of the
stamp, as the case may be. For repair
cost valuation purposes we do not discount the catalog
value due to a stamps physical condition.
We charge this amount UP TO our Regular Price (i.e. for Regumming
this would be $7.50 USD). For a complete pricing schedule please consult our
price lists which can be accessed directly from the bottom of this web site.
For stamps valued above $100.00 USD we bill an additional 3% of the catalog
list price. By doing this, we can afford to spend the additional time on an
item in order to give it the attention it deserves. I suppose, one always could
second-guess the work done and under large magnification come to the conclusion
that something could have been done better. But, as with anything else, this
comes down to a matter of economics. For example, it is not possible for us to
spend 4 hours repairing a thin and regumming a $20.00
stamp for a price of $4.00, (20% of $20). Hence our surcharge of 3% for stamps
listed at over $100.00 USD.
Conversely, it would still be economical for a collector to have a stamp
repaired, which is only valued at $5.00. The repair, regumming
etc. would cost only $1.00 USD. Although our charges are cumulative, the total
repair cost per item will never exceed 20% of the stamp’s, (mint or used),
listed catalog value.
An example would be as follows:
To fill a thin (regular price $18.00 USD) and to regum
($7.50 USD) a stamp with a catalog list price of $10.00 USD would cost the
lesser of 20% of the value or the Regular Repair Price. In this example the
Regular Repair Price adds up to $25.50 USD. However, due to the stamps low
catalogue value, the charge will only be 20% of $10.00 USD, which is $2.00 USD.
The cost to fill a thin and to regum a stamp with a
catalog list price of $600.00 USD would be the lesser of 20% of the catalog
list price or the Regular Repair Price plus 3% of the of the catalog price of
the stamp. In this case, the cost would be $18.00 + $7.50 + $18.00 (3% of
$600.00) for a total of $43.50 USD. This works out to only a total cost of
7.25% of the value of the stamps catalog list price.
For pricing of repairs to covers or other paper collectibles please email us a
description of the item, it's estimated value and the repairs desired. If
possible, please attach a jpg scan of the front and back of the item at 300 dpi
or greater, (if possible). This will help us greatly in determining the cost of
the repair. Depending on the work required, the minimum charge for repairs of
this nature would probably start at $50US.
When items are shipped to us, it is our policy to return these items the same
way as received. If stamps arrive by First Class Mail
we will return them by First Class Mail, if the shipment was registered, it is
returned registered - unless specified otherwise by the customer. By sending us
stamps by First Class Mail and us returning it the same way when no request is
made by yourself to return the items via registered mail you understand and
agree that we cannot be responsible for any stamps being lost in the mail. Please
note: Registered Mail is no longer available from Canada to the USA. We can
ship using First Class Mail, Tracked Packet or Express Post, (which is the most costly).
For
this type of work, the quality of workmanship is at best highly subjective in
nature. At times previous repairs done by others are exposed only after our
work has commenced. As we strongly believe in satisfying our customers, we
fully warrant OUR work. At our discretion, we will either rework any stamp(s),
which were not restored by us to your satisfaction or any money paid by you for
such repairs/restorations will be unconditionally refunded. It is understood by
both parties that any money refunded only applies to the repair cost charged by
First Choice International Inc. (FCI Stamp Restoration Service). Although we
take all reasonable care to protect any items entrusted us for restoration or
repair, YOU, the owner or its authorized agent, is solely responsible for any
loss or damage to your items while in our custody, however caused. Home
We use similar techniques to repair rips and tears,
thins in paper as would be applied by conservators treating any paper of value.
Much care is taken to repair physical flaws to the paper or to replace gum,
which might be damaged or missing completely. Most of this is very delicate and
time-consuming work and it is not uncommon to have to repeat procedures in
order to affect the proper repair. Usually, other than taking additional time,
this doesn't present us with problems as most of our processes are reversible.
Just for example, as part of our tool inventory, we designed
and manufactured a set of perforation dies consisting of 44 dies of varying
spacing and an accompanying set of 22 hole punches.
The perforation dies are manufactured in varying sizes starting with dies for a
perforation of '7' (spacing of 0.1125 inches or 2.856mm) up to a perforation
'16' (spacing of 0.0492 inches or 1.250mm). Our set of dies includes all dies
as referred to by the Kiusalas USA and Canada
Specialist Gauges. Sizes for our punches start at .023 inches (.711mm) in
diameter up to .046 inches (1.168mm) in diameter in .001 inch
(.025mm) increments.
We manufacture our own papers and water-soluble
adhesives. Our gum has special additives to obtain various degrees of
flexibility, colour and sheen. We also modify our gum
Arabic to ensure that it lays flat when applied.
Along with the above, we do have other specialty tools
so that we are able to provide you with some of the best restoration work
available today.
This is a topic, which often comes up in conversation
with collectors and dealers and it is one that we also have strong feelings
about, although it may be easy to guess which side of the discussion we lean
towards. Due to a difference in our views, we are no longer members of the APS.
The reason being, that the APS insists that repaired, restored or altered
stamps are to be identified with indelible ink. We, however, are of the opinion
that we spend a great deal of time and effort to restore a stamp's appearances
and are not prepared to deface these items with indelible ink unless the
customer, (whose property these stamps are), so wishes. It was for this reason
that we were 'expelled'.
We are of the opinion that there are no repairs or
alterations that we or anyone else could make, which would not be detectible with
very affordable present day technology; in most cases
without resorting to the hi-tech light, (crime), spectrometer as was purchased
by the APS. Often, rather simple methods can be used to determine whether or
not a stamp was restored or altered. Commonplace scanners that are found in
virtually every home can go a long way in exposing the repairs. We therefore
believe that indelibly marking a stamp is redundant. Besides, when using the
proper tools, it is not that difficult to remove an indelible mark should
someone want to do so.
Seemingly, some people at the top of this organization
have to rely on what we believe are slanderous remarks as a means of attacking
our service and credibility. I especially resent the implications that our
intent, (and that of our customers), is to defraud other collectors. We
strongly believe that OUR CUSTOMERS ARE HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY people. In the
30+ years in this business we have had no reason to believe otherwise. We
encourage all philatelists and other collectors, whether or not they are our
customers, to do what is legally and morally correct when they deal with
restored, repaired or altered stamps and covers.
Although our main interest is the restoration of
stamps, covers and other paper collectibles and return them to our customers as
quickly as possible, we do spend a considerable amount of time scanning images
of all items sent to us for repair, before and after the work is done. We do
this for both our own and our customers’ records. If requested by the customer
we can issue a high quality Restoration Certificate at
an additional fee of $10.00 US per page. (Depending on image sizes we can fit
up to 8 items onto one 8.5" x 11" sheet). Please specify your
requirements at the time of the order.
It must be understood, that our certificates only
verify the work performed by FCI Stamp Restoration Service, (Division of First
Choice International Inc.). They are not intended to verify the authenticity of
stamps or covers, or the restoration, repairs or alterations performed by
others.
Back in 1997 during the World stamp Expo in San Francisco, I was told at a
meeting with the board of the APS that our certificates are 'worthless'. I
suppose they have a valid point since it seems that someone in an office, hundreds
or even, thousands of miles away should be better qualified to tell you what done
than we, who did the actual work. If you need an expertizing service, I am
certain, that for a fee, the nice people at the APS or other accredited
agencies, companies or individuals will be more than happy to assist you.
High Resolution Image of COLOUR Certificate of
Restoration High Resolution Image of B&W
Certificate of Restoration
There are a number of good resource books available on
the subject of detecting restored, repaired, altered stamps as well as fakes
and forgeries. Most of this material is available from the American Philatelic
Society and some through your local stamp dealer(s) and now, probably on the
internet.
This is a very comprehensive subject on which volumes have been written. It
takes a lot of effort to address this topic in the depth that it deserves which
I believe has already been successfully done by a number of authors.
Some of the resources available are:
16.Scott
- Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue
17.Linn's
World Stamp Almanac
18.'How
to Detect Altered and Repaired Stamps' by Paul W. Schmid
19.'Out-Foxing
the Fakers' by Jean-Francois Brun
20.'Fundamentals
of Philately' by L.N. Williams
21....
and many others ...
There is also a soft-cover manual that was published by Midvale Philatelic
Gallery is called 'How to Regum Stamps'. The booklet
addresses a number of valid issues but in my humble opinion many of the
suggested methods of repairing and regumming stamps
are seriously flawed and may do more harm than good.
Perhaps one day I will add my own 2 cents worth on this subject.
The following lists provide our customers with
information on services available and costs involved. Please feel free to print a copy of any of the
following price/services lists. Please note: Services other
than those listed may be available upon request - pricing would vary
accordingly.
IT COSTS NOTHING TO BROWSE!
The only difference between the following lists is that the pricing is adjusted
to reflect different currencies.
Canadian
Visitors and Customers
U.S.
Visitors and Customers
International
Visitors and Customers
We welcome any reader comments or questions regarding our service.
Please call or email us at: