Identification
How to Tell If a Stamp Is Mint or Used
A mint stamp is unused: it has never been through the post, its face is clean and unmarked, and the back usually still carries its gum. A used stamp has been through the post and bears a cancellation, a postmark across its face. The quickest test is to look for a cancellation: a postmark means used, while a clean face with gum on the back means mint.
At a glance
Mint stamps
A mint stamp has never been used for postage. Its face is clean and unmarked, and, if it has not been disturbed, the back still carries the gum applied when it was made.
Used stamps
A used stamp has done its job in the post and carries a cancellation, the postmark struck across it to prevent re-use. The cancellation may be light or heavy, clear or smudged, and its quality affects the stamp's appeal. A used stamp has no usable gum on the back, having been soaked from its envelope or affixed and cancelled. Most stamps in most collections are used.
The nuances worth knowing
Two points that complicate it
Gum is not everything. A mint stamp may have full original gum, disturbed gum, or no gum at all (unused without gum), and these are valued differently. The presence of a cancellation, not the gum, is what makes a stamp used.
Cancelled to order. Some stamps were cancelled deliberately while still in full sheets, never having been through the post. These cancelled-to-order stamps can have a neat cancellation and full gum at the same time, which can confuse.
Why it matters
Whether a stamp is mint or used, and in what grade, is a key part of its value, since the two can be worth very different amounts, sometimes the mint far more, sometimes the used. Our guides to condition and value and our quality and grading standards explain how we describe every stamp, mint or used, front and back.
Frequently asked questions
Look for a cancellation. A postmark across the face means the stamp is used. A clean, unmarked face, usually with gum on the back, means it is mint.
No. A mint stamp may have full gum, disturbed gum, or none at all. What makes a stamp used is a cancellation, not the state of the gum.
A stamp cancelled deliberately while still in full sheets, never having been through the post. It can have a neat cancellation and full gum at once, which is why it can be mistaken for either mint or used.
It depends on the stamp. Sometimes mint is worth far more, sometimes used. Condition and grade, alongside scarcity and demand, decide the figure.
Founder and stamp dealerLast updated June 2026