Let's All Welcome A New Philatelic Description Term: The Partial Pair

Looks like just bad trimming to me.

What do you think?

Jim

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-PO-Seal...AOSw7NZbrYPU

Well, it sort of is, isn't it?

Perhaps we could call it a stamp and a half?

Stamp with jumbo margin at bottom?

How about bonus offering: Buy 1 get 1/2 for free!!!

Is a partial pair valued at 1.5 times cv?

Alas, the term has been used on ebay before. The fact that it is ludicrous has never stopped anyone before.

I don't know. It's not a full pair, so what would you call it? It seems to me it's a partial pair, meaning part of a second stamp and all of the first stamp. It's just a descriptive name. so why make an issue of it? I hadn't ever heard the term before, but now if I see it I'll know what it is. That's how language works.

'cuz it's along the lines of "almost pregnant," "nearly died," "close to very fine," and so on.

All of these are nonsensical terms.

Jim

So if you have a half stamp at the top, the space between the stamps, and a half stamp at the bottom, what would this be called? Wouldn't that also be called a partial pair? If so, I suppose one would need to define how much of the top stamp and how much of the bottom stamp that would have to be present to call such an item a partial pair?

If a stamp pictures a pear and it were bisected, would this be a partial pear?

I guess this wasn't punny enough!

"cuz it's along the lines of "almost pregnant," "nearly died," "close to very fine," and so on. All of these are nonsensical terms."

But that's my point. It's not nonsensical if it means something. It means it's part of a pair of stamps, but not the entire pair. That's a legitimate way to describe these things. What else would you call it? The example of sloppy use of stamp grading terms is clearly an annoyance, but it's a (mistaken) value judgment by someone. Naming a partial pair of stamps is not. It's an identifying label so we know what someone is talking about. New names are created all the time. This is a new one I hadn't heard before, but it makes sense.

I don't so much care, by the way, about "partial pairs" which I don't think I've ever seen any of, but I do care that language, including new identifying names which make sense, not be considered as silly. I don't think this name is at all silly.

Lots of people have "nearly died," by the way. But I'd say "partially pregnant" was the sillier term (not "almost pregnant" which I imagine has happened many times!). All in good humor!

How is "neary died" or "close to very fine" nonsensical? They make logical sense to me. I know what they mean.

"Almost pregnant" doesn't but I can think of a situation in which anyone would ever use it. If they did, sure it's non-sensical, but that doesn't mean other terms are.

A "partial pair" is simply a "jumbo single". At least until you have about 90% of the second stamp. Then it becomes a "damaged pair".

"Very close to fine" is nonsensical if for no other reason then it is totally subjective.

People use "Almost VF" rather than "FVF" or "F+" because being merely better than an average "Fine" example isn't as potentially lucrative as "just a smidge below VF".

Puffery.

And I agree with Bart. These are at best jumbo singles.

P.S. I'm surprised no one has started using the term "pairish" to describe items like these.

Do they border on never hinged?

VLH (very light hinge) - a description I've seen on ebay.

Rumor is, there are those who believe they are sanctified (NH).

VLH (very light hinge)is a description that goes back to before any of us were born. I have seen it in VERY old time collections.

In the case of the OX18 how about simply "OX18 NG/NH showing about one third of the adjacent stamp below"