Grading Used Stamps.

I have my grading system but wonder how others feel about a couple of the more debatable areas. Mainly I am talking about modern stamps.

1. Postally used stamps but with no postmark?
I give them a fine used grading.

2. Cancelled to order with full gum or no gum?
I give them a very fine used grading.

Any comments on grading are very welcome. It is an area of great interest to me & an issue that affects us all. K.G.V

I have contacted 3 stamp dealers that I know quite well and got 3 different answers to the question of stamps that are postally used with no postmark or mint with no gum which really surprised me.

The first one said that he draws a postmark on the stamp with a light lead pencil. I could not do this and the answer shocked me! Grades them very fine.

The second one said why have you not got a rubber stamp with a circle on it yet. I could possibly do this but I am not comfortable with it. Grades them very fine.

The third one said he leaves them as is and that complaints are more about the type of postmark that is on the stamp and not that the stamp does not have one. Grades them very fine.

I really hope the third one is right because I think I will go with this approach? But I cannot call them very fine.

In Finland (and I reckon in most of Northern Europe as well) these are considered poorest of poor. Only stamp in damaged condition (thins, missing perfs, creases etc) can get lower than this...Usually I just give items as such to kids to play with, as nobody wants them.





A CTO-used stamp is IMO totally in it's own class... It's not mint, but not real used either... Cancel-wise there is very little point in grading these, but other factors (centering, perfs etc) do affect how I personally grade these...

A totally different beast are favour cancelled stamps; especially if featuring a socked on the nose cancel (and otherwise in faultless condition). These are something that I'd grade superb.


That said, all above is my opinion from Scandinavian perspective. If you can access a copy of Facit catalog (covers Scandinavian stamps in English and Swedish), please check it out. The preface of the catalog has IMHO one of the best explanations of proper stamp grading - this is system recommended by Swedish Philatelic Federation (and I'd definitely like to see it get much more acknowledgement worldwide).

Very interesting scb your information is gratefully received thank you.

It is amazing how grading changes from country to country. Generally in Australia the smaller the postmark the better.

I have read that in Germany a stamp that is socked on the nose with a postmark and is very clear is the best for the collector. It sounds like it is the same in your country. With modern stamps to me they cannot be graded as superb. This grading level I only use with my stamps from the 1914 to 1938 and a sock on the nose stamp is not even close to this grade to me. It must have the smallest postmark with totally perfect centering, perfect perfs and a good fresh look about them! They are extremely hard to come across!

I believe in America it is more about centering and in days gone by the gum would be always removed from mint stamps. If I am wrong in saying this I am sure I will be told.

What is now coming out for me is I need to be in touch with the grading standards of any given country. So scb your comments on grading are priceless to me and have put me on track. I hope some other comments on other countries grading differences to Australia's come out. I can certainly put together the right grading for the right country that is for sure but I have to know what that is before I can do this. One step closer. Thanks again! KGV

So different countries have different grading expectations.

The U.K and Aust have the same grading expectations!

Northern Europe's grading has been explained!

What about America and Canada?

spock what about India?

It would be very nice to hear about your grading expectations. KGV

I agree with SCB when it comes to CTO stamps, I do think they are in a class of their own. As far as I am concerned, the lighter the cancel the better, but I do prefer my used stamps to show some slight evidence of cancellation. Mint stamps with no gum are space fillers or, if US stamps, postage (as soon as I get my hands on a glue stick). I have come recently to appreciate SON (socked-on-nose) cancels, and will feature those in my album.

Thanks smauggie for your comments they mean a great deal to me!

Light postmarks are my general rule and as a postmark collector you cannot beat a good socked on the nose postmark they are so beautiful!

CTOs!! 10 years ago or even 5 years ago I would of said that CTO all belong together and nowhere else but as stamps now are being used so little on our postage especially high denominations I am finding to get some recent high denominations that CTOs are all I can source for my complete sets. I am finding that I need to change my mind set on them. I do not like it but what else do I do. We are heading into hard times for the used stamp collector. I do not think it will be long before used stamps are worth more than mint stamps for the modern collections. KGV

I prefer either sock on the nose or corner town CDS as a premium cancel on a used stamp, preferably with a date.

I consider stamps as stamps, be they CTO or otherwise.

Grading in my opinion should be the same whether they are used or mint. Used should make no difference unless the stamp is ripped, has a tear or whatever. Creases are ok in my opinion. Thus, I give the same value to my stamps be they were postally or not.

KGV, I have NEVER heard of that and am surprised it comes from a dealer. Such items I would consider outright fake.

I prefer used with a light non-smudged cancel, and a readable date and location. This Canada Bluenose ship is not too bad.

And now, the nominees for Understatement of the Week:

1. "This Canada Bluenose ... is not too bad."
2. ...



Great cancel on a great stamp.

Very true...To give an example of the meaning of SOTN in Finland, here's a clip from a review (of Finnish specialized stamp catalog) I did for my blog last week:


Superb SOTN copies continue to be extremely popular amongst Finnish collectors, and the 2010 catalog continues to price all items in this condition. On average superb grade SOTN copies are catalogued 5-20 times higher than normal grade copies. For example
- A 1937 Red Cross semi-postal high value is cataloged 3€ as normal grade used; a superb SOTN copy is 60€;
- A 1963 Lion type 0.05p stamp is cataloged 0.20€ in normal condition; a superb SOTN copy is 3€.
- 2009 Europa pair is cataloged 2€ in normal condition; a suberb SOTN copy is 7€.


And yes, the Canada stamp is very nice :)

great stamp Bee See. Nice inverted time plug too.

I used to be horrified that people would fake cancels. I do not and do not ever plan to. However, it does happen, and so must be watched for, if you want to.

But . . . to a new collector, who just wants the stamp to look nice and hasn't had the time to learn to appreciate cancels and their meaning and added value, a stamp that has a partial cancel that shows the stamp's design is better than one with any other type of cancel.

The condition of the cancel on a used stamp varies in importance to different collectors and one grading system should not be used for all collectors.

I am not condoning any tomfoolery of adding cancels after the fact or any kind of fakery or forgery. Just saying that as condition of an item is usually most important with any item that stamps could be considered the same way.

If a cancel seems to obliterate the stamp in any way, then that would be considered poor condition generally speaking. Except to a cancel collector OR someone who would appreciate having the opportunity to learn how something so seemingly trivial can add to the value of a stamp.

That means to advance the appreciation of cancels you would have to teach or provide the opportunity to learn about cancels to buyers. That's a lot of trouble and time and effort, so is not usually done. The return on investment is not seen as good.

Now with all that meandering down the side paths done . . .



They have been used, yes, but, unless they are on cover making up the required postage, I do not consider them postally used as there is no way to prove it.



CTOs are stamps. They are not used though. Again, their is no way to prove they were postally used. I consider their cancel to be part of the design of the stamp. To me, a collector who prefers to collect used stamps, they seem somewhat like mint cinderellas almost. Nice though. I have been known to soak the gum off of them.

You raise good points about the future and used and mint. Perhaps the best way to tell is to actually sell in different ways with different stamps and different titles to the groupings so that you can tell what sells and what doesn't. (and then let us all know!)

'Cause everybody has their own opinion! Selling is more about how folks perceive you and your belief in your product than in what the product actually is.

Thanks for all the great comments! For me it is one of those very humbling times of sharing that only happens for me on SCF. It is so nice not to be an isolated collector. Being apart of a group of people is just so helpful!

As for grading modern stamps! To advertise superb or very fine used stamps sounds like more trouble than it is worth because it means different things to different people. I will stick to fine used!

To say that some high denominations are CTO, sounds good!

Mint no gum would fit into the cheaper packets as the average stamp is worth 2c and they are good examples at this level.

Proof of being a postally used stamp is becoming more and more important as less stamps are being used on postage.

Bee See! What a beautiful stamp. That one would go straight into my postmark collection. Thanks for posting it!

I have done some more research with Australian stamp dealers on the issue of used Australian Decimal and to be quite honest I am disgusted. There seems to be a lack of interest in the used stamps generally and taking short cuts with them is very common. Some dealers do not even sell them as there is more profit in other areas of stamping. Maybe this is coming out in a bias, as a general rule I know most of them because of my attraction to KGVs.

First rule is to be totally honest at all times and make sure you know what being totally honest truly is!

Second rule is to under grade your stamps rather than over grade them!

Third rule is to treat buyers with respect and not contempt!

These are the 3 main areas that just seem to be lacking when I have asked for advice. The general attitude towards others seems to be how can I rip them off and not how can I get the best deal for the buyer. I do not agree that most people are fools, it is this statement that keeps ringing in my head. I still can not believe it has been said. There are some dealers I will not be doing any more business with and some others I am going to watch very carefully. I am ashamed in having to admit to this about some of the Aussie stamp dealers! How do they get away with it!

John,
I have witnessed collectors sniggering after
putting one over a dealer, it works both ways.
Be patient, observe, and be vigilant, the good guys
generally will surface over time.
That's why I like my local family stamp club,
nice people to be around.
I think you have found a nice dealer in Ian Boulton
I have found him to be a bonzer guy.