Stamp Identification — Country, Printing, Perforation

Identify a stamp

Answer what you are sure of and leave the rest. Every question is optional, and the list narrows as you go.

Country first, then the technical detail. Catalogues are organised by country, so nothing can be looked up without it. Then perforation, watermark and printing method — which is where the value usually sits, because two identical-looking stamps can differ enormously on a perforation count.

1.Where is it from?

optional

If there is no country name at all and the design shows a monarch's head, it is Great Britain — the only country entitled to omit it.

2.How was it printed?

optional

Run a fingertip across the design. Engraved ink stands proud and you can feel it; lithography is completely flat. This separates issues that look alike, and it is how most classic forgeries are caught.

3.How are the edges?

optional

Perforation is the single most important measurement in the hobby, and a gauge is the first tool worth buying. Counting the holes per two centimetres separates stamps that are otherwise identical.

4.Anything else on it?

optional

Pick anything that applies. Overprints and surcharges are a large category and among the most faked things in philately.

12 matches

Answer any question to begin