Why Is Centering Less Importantant Outside The Us?

As a collector of British Empire and early South America I am particularly fussy about acquiring stamps that are very well centered. I know it isn't necessarily important for every collector but for me it adds significantly to the aesthetic appeal.

Fortunately, I never seem to have to pay much of a premium, if any, for a perfectly centered stamp versus one with irregular margins. Of course, they take hunting down but once found the cost is nearly always based on a percentage of catalogue price without a multiplier for centering.

US stamps are a completely different matter with high multiples being asked for stamps that are well centered. Clearly centering matters far more to US collectors.

Are other collectors also passionate about collecting well centered non-US stamps? Is this just a US phenomenon or are the States ahead of the curve and we'll see higher demand for centering worldwide in the years to come?

There is "centering", and there is "graded centering"; they are 2 different things. "Centering" has always mattered to collectors everywhere, and there was always a premium put on it. However that premium was usually fairly small most of the time.
"Graded centering" is a relatively recent phenomenon and has caused a certain type of collector to spend huge amounts in an attempt to have a better collection of certificates than anyone else, largely as an exercise in ego boosting. This has done great harm to the hobby by destroying multiples to create jumbo stamps, although it has made some dealers a lot of money; they think it's great for the hobby of course.

Before the advent of the electric eye in the late 1930's and early 1940's, line perforated U.S. stamps were not very well-centered. Other countries may have been using comb and harrow perforating earlier and instead of line perforating.

Many were and many were not. A lot depends on the quantity issued and who was issuing it. Several of the early classics had almost no margins as well, which made well centered stamps all but impossible.

we're back to what people are willing to pay. To me it's not so important so I save a little money.

I collect well-centred UK and US and I think on the whole finding well-centred UK is much easier. So I think it's supply and demand. Plus maybe the whole Grading thing in the US has affected it, but mostly I still think it's inadequate supply because the US postal authorities were bloody slow to work out how to center a stamp!

Many Commonwealth line perfs of the KGVI era, usually perf 14, are very difficult to find well-centered. My experience with Commonwealth is that Americans are indeed more sensitive about centering. However an "ugly" stamp is an ugly stamp, even for UK-based collectors.

Overall freshness and full perfs seem to be more important to UK collectors. Americans seem to be relatively tolerant of mild degrees of gum toning and "shortish" perfs.

As an American, I find myself being more concerned with centering. As a collector of French colonials, this means the hunt to fill spaces is made a bit more difficult since French colonial stamps up to the mid-1930s (and even to a degree after) are notorious for poor centering.

As for short perfs and toning..here are my theories. US stamps of the classical period (and even today) are for the most part perforated in lower gauges than Commonwealth stamps. US stamps tend to be 10.5, 11, 12 (and coils can be as low as 8) whereas most Commonwealth stamps are 13.5, 14, 15. Less holes, more paper, more chance the perf separation will not be clean. So American collectors are a bit more forgiving of a few shortish perfs (say missing up to 1/3 the length) because of how the stamps were perforated in the first place.

I think the acceptance of a degree of toning is from the legacy of collectors who collected in the era before air conditioning. Given the sub-tropical climates of much of the USA for much of the year, toning/tropical gum is something that just happens naturally. Since toning is not caused by a fungus like say foxing or rust or mildew, American collectors are somewhat more accepting of stamps which might have a bit too much of a tan for the average Commonwealth collector.

Just my theories...

The demand for USA stamps seems higher and US collectors want multiples so over the years we saved all the old stamps wheras alot of other countries we only have what was saved by collectors of the older days.

Some interesting comments; thanks guys.

I have a theory of my own which leads me to believe that premiums for well centered stamps will increase for all countries...

If you've been collecting for more than 20 years or so then you started your collection before the advent of the internet. You probably picked up stamps from your local dealer, the occasional fair, a local auction.... Either way, choice would have been somewhat limited and if a stamp came up that you were interested in, you bought it; there simply wasn't a multitude of same catalogue number stamps to make the comparisons.

Roll forward to today and you can often find many examples on the web of the same stamp, which can be can then be compared one against the other in order to pick the best example. So a well centered collection becomes a far more achievable aim than it ever was before.

I reckon the gap between the better and not so good examples of the same stamp will grow ever wider as quality becomes increasingly sought.

nick - That's an interesting theory, well made.
If so that should also result in the opposite effect on the low-end of the scale, that those not-so-nice copies at the local dealer (and on ebay) gets less attention. Which I think seems to be the case.
Luckily for lunatic-general-WW-collectors (like me...), interested in filling more empty spaces rather than paying premium for centering.
One mans trash may easily be another mans gold...

I would rther have a fvf centered stamp with untoned gum and no short perfs than a vfcentered stamp with toned gum or a short perf.

Agree with Eye.

Australia KGV issues with the government perfin OS was typically used on poorly centered sheets so as to give the general population the best centered stamps over the counter.

So well centered perfin "OS" examples are even more sort after than non perfin's stamps.

One very good way to find fraudulent examples of perfin OS is to look very closely at very well centered stamps.

Although out of my collecting fields another difference between countries is the Canadians seeming preference for SON (Socked On the Nose)cancels where in the UK and ? elsewhere ? the preference is for the cancel to leave the profile of the person on the stamp clear.

AQ

I think the SON preference is relatively recent. The longstanding preference was for a light cancel, but that does carry the risk of facilitating a fake cancel.

As I collect worldwide, and don't buy individual stamps, I really don't care very much about centring. Of course, if it's a choice, I'll keep the better centred copy, but I wouldn't lose five seconds of sleep over it.