Mint or postmarked stamps?

Mint or postmarked stamps?

The first problem facing a would-be Philatelist is deciding if collecting mint or postmarked stamps. Whatever the decision, it is necessary to keep in mind first of all that the postmarked must be separated from the mint.

MINT STAMPS

Mint seals are copies that have not been used for the postal service. They have no postmark or seal which annulled it. In...

Stamps: nationality

Stamps: nationality

The nationality of the stamps is one of the forms of manifestation of States, as well as beat currency. There are very few exceptions to this maxim and already long ago. There are some emissions that correspond to private entrepreneurs, as the Prince Turn und Taxis, made from 1852 to 1867 in almost all Germany, based on special privileges.

International agreements of limited scope...

Stamps: shape

Stamps: shape

In practically all philatelic publications such as catalogues, the shape of the stamps is often indicated in millimeters. The first data that figures corresponds to the horizontal dimension and is limited to the bullet, i.e., excludes the perforation and the margins. The variety of formats and dimensions is complex and you can say they exist in various forms: square, rectangular, triangular,...

Stamps: colour

Stamps: colour

The colour of the stamps is not always random. In the service of international correspondence colors vary according to their use. Initially, the Universal Postal Union adopted the dark blue color for the stamps for postage of simple letters, red for the postcards and green for press rate. Currently these provisions have been abolished and the colors are often used to distinguish copies...

Stamps: perforation

Stamps: perforation

Stamps, as a result of the big series that are issued, may not be printed one at a time. The leaves appear with a certain number of copies and divides them by means of perforations. The function of these holes is to separate the specimen with the hands, without having to resort to scissors or other instruments. In connection with the separation, the stamps are divided into perforated and not...

Stamps: paper

Stamps: paper

The paper is a quality that distinguish one stamp of another, even both of the same series. If two copies with the same illustration and identical characteristics, are printed on different paper type, they should be considered as individual items and can in no case be as repeated.

There are many types of paper for the printing of stamps, some of them, the most important are:

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Stamps: watermark

Stamps: watermark

Watermark is the picture that can be seen when we look at the backlight a stamp. The watermark is an element that guarantees the authenticity of the copy, as well as paper currency and ringing values. The watermark is visible to the naked eye but occasionally is necessary to resort to a watermark detector to distinguish it clearly.

Watermark layout, there are stamps in which each...

Stamps: gum and reverse

Stamps: gum and reverse

The vast majority of collectors show their interest in the stamps that retain their origin gum. The main problem that a philatelist can face if he want to keep the gum of his stamps, is the progressive deterioration of the copy. Gum, over time, cracks resulting in microorganisms that form so-called rust spots, which can extend to the role of stamps, thus destroying the specimens.

To...

Stamps: official perforations

Stamps: official perforations

Occasionally, some new stamps can be pierced by individuals (banks, entities, etc.). This practice is intended to prevent thefts but causes total loss of the value of the stamp. Sometimes, the motive is purely postal and bound States are themselves who pierce officially stamps with initials, numbers or different symbols. In most cases, it's rounded holes made with a machine to the affection...

Stamps: drawing and stamping

Stamps: drawing and stamping

Ways of stamping stampls, resulting in different commercial valuations, this means that two stamps with a same drawing, same colour, identical perforation type of paper or watermark may vary in your pricing if these have been printed by different procedures:

 

Typographic printing: is obtained with a steel mould...

Stamps: surcharge

Stamps: surcharge

We call surcharge to signs, numbers, inscriptions and motifs reproduced in a second phase on the stamps already printed. The most common reasons for the surcharge is the update of the postage rates. In this way, the initial face value of the stamp, is cancelled and replaced by a new value. So, the new sample becomes "surcharged stamp". In Spain, more typical surcharge examples are those of...