Do You Know The Difference?

Do you know the difference between a stamp flaw and a stamp fault?

Some collectors might not like to say they do not know which is fair enough. I hope this info helps someone.

As a collector I have been taught that a stamp flaw is something that happens to a stamp during the process of printing the stamp.eg Line Through Four Pence, Rusted Cliche, DieII in Penny Red's,etc

A fault, in a stamp is damage that occurs after the stamp is printed. Damaged perfs, Paper Thin On Back Of Stamp. Rip, Crease, Rounded Corner,etc

Amen to that. Not enough people know the proper terminology.

Thank you, KGV Collector, for bringing this to our attention. Frankly, I never considered the difference in terminology and have learned something new. Again...

flaw (flô)
n.
1. An imperfection, often concealed, that impairs soundness.

fault
n.
Something that impairs or detracts from physical perfection; a defect.

The term which is used in Philately which I prefer, is variety.

Although I do like fault and imperfection.

Hi stallzer.

It is good to get the global feel for the terminologies.

In Australia flaw and variety go hand in hand. Looking at it now I should of included variety but I always use flaw.

Fault definitely means damaged to me.

With the small area that we get for our title descriptions on our online stamp auctions, the smaller words are being used more and more. Even abbreviations abound. It is a very easy for collectors to get caught out.

All I am trying to do is bring this issue to the surface. We get so many newer collectors on SCF I am just trying to help them a little and your comment has helped a great deal stallzer. Thank you

For the record I have been under the impression that flaws occurred sometime during the printing process whether it be in the die, ink, or machine. A Fault occurred after it was in the hands of a collector or in the mail. system.