Hello, I am sorting through some stamps from Great Britain. The designs of the stamps were used in several different issues, but the Scott's catalog says that they have different watermarks.
When I hold one of the stamps up to the light I can't see any watermark at all. Is there some trick to doing this? How big is the watermark? Do I need a magnifying glass?
To see a watermark on a stamp you have to have a dark dish or tray, preferably black, and some form of watermark fluid. Personally I use lighter fluid, like zippo or ronson. Put the stamp in the tray facing down and wet it with the fluid. The watermark will show darker than the rest of the stamp.
Thanks, seems more involved than I thought it would be. Would you do this for MNH stamps as well? I would be afraid or ruining the gum (or whatever is on the back).
The stamps I have are some of the "Wilding" series of British definitives, but I think they are all used.
Watermark detection with watermark detection fluid or Ronsonol (lighter fluid) for that matter is generally safe for mint stamps and will allow visual detection of the watermark without harming/disturbing the gum. Of course, as always there is bound to be exceptions to generality and I would be reluctant to use such agents on hi-catalog value stamps without further consultation.
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Posted 04/22/2009 10:01 pm
