Yet another reason I've purged my collection of stamps with PSAG certs
"Unused" or "cleaned cancel", which is it?
https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/us-34-mint-with-psag-cert/49452162
https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/us-34-mint-with-psag-cert/49452162
Comments
I will say, there is NO service (even the PF) that is infallible. And expertizing work can be exhausting when you've got 100 items to get through in a day, it's easy to make a mistake. The PSE I can show first hand makes the same mistakes (see my rant in this link: https://www.hipstamp.com/forums/discussion/4152/whats-wrong-with-this-picture/p1).
One thing to note is that Stamp Certificates are not really certs in the sense of the word (as compared to say, ISO 17020 which is the certification of a body to perform "conformity assessments", and issue certificates, known as "Certification Bodies", of which none of the stamp services are such accredited), they are instead, as stated on such issued certs "Opinions". This is the culture created by such "certificate" issuing entities.
I suspect what happened with this one is, after being examined by 3 reviewers, their reports were in conflict, and whoever wrote up the opinion made a mistake in describing it, possibly without realizing their own conflict.
I would suggest, contact Randy Schumacher, send him an image and ask why the conflicting language. If you own the stamp with the cert, I know they will correct it at no charge (as all the expertizing services do).
I agree that no certification service is infallible. Here's a link to a stamp I recently purchased with an incorrect Scott# shown on the cert: https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/236-mintognh-pse-graded-xf-90-smq-35000/49016016, which I'll shortly be returning to PSE for correction. Over the years I've sent a few back to PSE for correction, although curiously enough I have yet to run across any incorrect PF certs within my collection. It seems that Larry is better than most at catching errors before the certs are sent out.
Thanks for the link to your PSE rant - I hadn't seen that before.
So many just stop looking for faults after the first major is found. I don't agree with the practice, but I understand it, and it often leads to differing opinions in cert.
Miss ID's or statements on certs are usually "copy/paste errors". They copy the image onto the cert form, but forget to update the text (as you pointed out in the cert above, and same issue with the cert I show in my rant).
It happens. But all of the services will update a "broken" cert at no cost... it's really their fault, so they should fix it. We always warranty our work, even at the risk of "differing opinions on condition" so long as the condition of the cert of the stamp is essentially the same (major fault, minor fault), unless we clearly missed something, against the "Big 3" (PSE, PSAG, PF). To date we've never had a cert returned.
I received this back from the APS Expert Committee a few years ago:
I didn't even notice the mistake when I first received the certificate back.
I listed it for sale with the certificate and someone else is now the proud owner.
But yes, just as likely to have a mistake. They all do. And they will all fix it if you just ask.
No question this is used, and also the top perfs have been scissor cut. (Probably at the time the letter was opened).
Note: This image was color enhanced in photoshop to make these cancel lines easier to see than in the original.
Second Edit Note: Surprisingly the process of uploading the image to Hipstamp also altered my image. When I compare the two side-by-side on the same monitor this one is much brighter overall "Green" than my Photoshop color channel manipulation... not sure why, but it's much easier to see in my image than the one that uploaded here.
This stamp constitutes "cleaned" (and not with just some light soap and water, which is undetectable).
Removal of a cancel is a delicate chemical process. which leaves the stamp altered.
If I had this in hand, and put it under a black light, this would jump out.