On 11/26/2012 7:46 PM, gogu wrote:
Good morning gentlemen!
A terminology question:
some times I encounter on eBay an S/S described as "mint no gum" and when I
ask if it's MNH or MH, I receive the following answer: "it's not hinged but
has no gum"!

With 'hinged' interpreted as a adjective describing the present state,
not hinged now, this seems as much as can be said accurately. The sheet
might have been hinged in the past and washed away, and the seller might
or might not know the complete history.

This answer does not enlighten me a lot, since an S/S can be issued
originally with...no gum but it can also have lost its original gum for
various reasons, so it can't be regarded as MNH!
What is your opinion?

To my knowledge, MNH is intended to mean unused with gum as issued,
undisturbed. MH means gum disturbed, by whatever means, with hinging
being the most common means. Gum completely washed off is maximum
disturbance and worse than merely being hinged. Reasons for being washed
include: the item was glued down to mount it; it became stuck to other
items due to moisture in storage; it had multiple hinges; or the gum was
of a type that would damage the stamp. It can also mean the item is
actually used but uncanceled or lightly canceled and the ink removed.

For items issued without gum, I hardly see hinging as an issue, as the
traces can be washed away*. Do catalogs mention when issued without gum?

*It is possible that there might be invisible gum traces detectable with
expensive lab equiqment.

TJR