Perfins were made by organisations in an attempt to prevent theft of stamps by their staff. Some organisations overprinted stamps for the same purpose. Stamps with perfins applied by governments are usually included in stamp catalogues. Those with perfins applied by businesses aren't. Some people collect perfins although, in general, the stamp with a perfin will have less value than a normal stamp because of the mutilation of the image.
Being such a weird person collecting JUST perfins I have to react on "the stamp with a perfin will have less value than a normal stamp because of the mutilation of the image."
Hmm ... why someone pays a hundred times more e.g. for an Austrian stamp with a special perfin than for a normal one?
It's another - newer - collecting field that has its place in philately already, and if you take a look at ebay you will see how many people cherish these stamps.
GeoffHa and tommtomm are both right. In years past, perfins were damaged stamps to most dealers. Before the internet, you could buy thousands for pennies (or get them for free). Now that the generalist dealers have limited or no voice in what is "collectible" the specialists come to the fore.
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Posted 01/12/2017 09:39 am
