Watermarks
Also called paper varieties.
Period: 1840 onward
Invisible in normal handling and frequently the difference between a common stamp and a scarce one. The same design printed on watermarked and unwatermarked paper is two catalogue entries.
What you are looking at
A design impressed into the paper during manufacture, visible as a lighter area when held to light or wetted.
What to check
- Hold to a strong light first — some watermarks show immediately.
- Otherwise place face down in a black watermark tray with a few drops of watermark fluid. The design shows as a darker outline.
- Never use water on a used stamp with a coloured cancel, and never on a mint stamp with gum — both cause damage.
- Note the orientation: inverted, reversed and sideways watermarks are separate catalogue varieties and often scarcer.
- Common types include crown, anchor, multiple small crowns, and script letters. The catalogue for each country illustrates them.
What it is worth
Like perforation, this is where value lives in otherwise identical stamps. It is also where beginners lose money, buying a common variety at the price of a scarce one.
Confused with
Laid paper shows regular parallel lines and is not a watermark. Ribbed and granite papers are also paper varieties rather than watermarks.
Questions about this
How do you identify watermarks?
Hold to a strong light first — some watermarks show immediately. Otherwise place face down in a black watermark tray with a few drops of watermark fluid. The design shows as a darker outline.
Are watermarks valuable?
Like perforation, this is where value lives in otherwise identical stamps. It is also where beginners lose money, buying a common variety at the price of a scarce one.