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Pillar Of The Community
USA
867 Posts |
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Glad to know you are taking the time to evaluate your stamps. I am a U.S. collector and would be eager to have the opportunity to see and buy some of your collection.
Get your 50 posts and consider giving us a shot at your collection.
Butch |
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Valued Member
United States
93 Posts |
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Thanks for the ongoing responses and dialogue!
ray.mac, I appreciate the explanation. My only basis for comparison is Denmark and Sweden, where it was not that unusual for an early stamp to be postmarked YEARS after the initial issue date, especially once you got into the 1860's when stamps were more of a "known" item.
The more I look at these stamps, the more there seems to be to learn. I am still not sure how to tell the papers on the "bank notes" apart... white "wove" paper and "soft porous" paper. And then grills... they seem very hard to measure, since they often seem to be "clear" only on part of the stamp, and "weak" on other parts. A few people have told me "It doesn't matter, you ALWAYS have the cheapest version," but that hardly seems very wise advice, I would think? Especially on a batch of stamps collected by a non-specialist in Europe, far from the eyes of US specilaist collectors? Or maybe I'm missing something... But I buy hoards/stocks of Scandinavian stamps here in the US, and frequently find varieties and printings collectors "over there" would give their right arm for.
I suppose I will eventually become familiar enough with this material to where it doesn't take me 10 minutes to identify each stamp!
Thanks again,
Peter |
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Rest in Peace
United States
1189 Posts |
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Something I've found very useful for identifying grills is to scan the back of the stamp at high resolution and then blow it up on my computer screen. Much easier to count the number of indentations! And you're absolutely right - "It doesn't matter, you ALWAYS have the cheapest version." is just plain lazy.
10 minutes? I've spent hours on one stamp making sure I had it identified correctly!
Keep working on it, though, it does get a little easier with experience. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1348 Posts |
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Bill Weiss has mentioned on VSC several times that to make the grill stand out more, he scribbles pencil on a piece of paper, then rubs the scribbling with his finger, and then transfers some of the carbon to the grill. It can be erased then, without damaging the stamp.
Bill not only offers Expertization services on his own, he is still the expert who is sent all of the grills from APS for their expertization.
I've tried the carbon trick a few times, and it works well-- can be a big help when the grill is faint, and if not faint, it can be used to make the grill stand out more to see if the points are all in straight lines-- if not, good chance it's a fake grill.
Hope this helps, Ray |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
4106 Posts |
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ray.
Bill has done that to one or two of my stamps.. I don't like it... You can't erase it all, and if you do you are erasing part of the stamp paper.
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Valued Member
United States
93 Posts |
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Quote:
Bill Weiss has mentioned on VSC several times that to make the grill stand out more, he scribbles pencil on a piece of paper, then rubs the scribbling with his finger, and then transfers some of the carbon to the grill. It can be erased then, without damaging the stamp. Even if what transfers is just "graphite powder," that seems like a risky thing to do... I don't really know US stamps, but I wouldn't try that on any Scandinavian classics... ANY kind of rubbing (with an eraser, finger) tends to mess with the paper fibers and makes the stamps "suspect" as having been altered.
Interesting that someone who issues certificates recommends this... maybe the caveat here is "Don't try this at home kids-- I'm an expert."
~Peter |
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Replies: 21 / Views: 4,188 |
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Posted 02/22/2012 5:05 pm
