Victoria 1901: 2-D Naish Without Watermark

It would have to be inverted and in any case the angle is too wide to be the "V" in the V over Crown watermark.

I studied the stamp against a strong light last night and I am now 100% convinced there is no watermark. All that can be seen is the design, which is fully visible through the paper, and the cancellations. There is absolutely nothing else, not even the hint of a watermark.

It's actually quite a large watermark, so the only possibility is if it is extremely displaced so that a very small portion is on the stamp. However, I can't see any evidence of this, even in the corners, where sometimes a small portion of a watermark can be seen.

I wonder if there is someone in western Sydney who has a Signoscope who would be willing to check the stamp for me.

Perhaps you could check with someone from a local stamp club?

http://club.philas.org.au/

I see there's one in Penrith, but there's no meeting until February 1.

You'd only need to contact the club (email) to find out if someone can help you.

of course the best is to check it in real life.

But as you asked here in the forum, we can give better answers with a better image: as suggested by 64idgaf you could change the options in your scanner software to give an image with less brightness. Ideally next to a stamp with an easy watermark of this type to compare. I am sure the area which I mentioned will become either more clear - in one or another direction.

I'll certainly give it a go. It seems I need to find out if there's an Autocorrect function and turn it off. I'm not sure whether it's a good idea to add lighter fluid to the stamp while it's scanning - the light seems to be pretty hot!

Hi jimjam,
As others have suggested...Do a 'wet' scan (stamp wet with watermark fluid), all image filters and other image 'enhancements' off.
Don

OK, I think I've done what was asked:



By now, I'm starting to feel like a fool for not being able to see the watermark. When you were a kid, do you remember when people would show you trick images and laugh at you like you were an idiot if you couldn't see what it was? I feel like that now!

indeed I don't find the mentioned area anymore :). Let's see what the Australia experts will say.

Thanks for the better scan, I cannot see any watermark (bear in mind I am 600 miles away).

From my understanding, the reason inverted and upright watermarks are seen in equal % is because the watermarked paper had 480 impressions, was cut in half and then half of that sheet was fed into the printing press and 120 stamps were printed. The sheet was then removed, turned and reinserted so the other half of the sheet could be printed with the stamp impression upside-down in relation to the first printing.

The watermark was placed to accommodate each stamp and this value was of a regular size, the paper was designed for this sized stamp.

It is hard to determine how a no watermark stamp could occur.

I'm glad I didn't know that or I probably wouldn't have got into the habit of checking my Victorian stamps for watermarks!

The only explanation, surely, is that at least one printing was done on unwatermarked paper.

No Sir.
the watermark indicant / symbol, may have been dislodged from the dandy roll.

Would that mean that there could be as few of these as one?

No, there could be any number.
It's a long shot, but one never knows in Philately.
It was a dashed long time before the reversed C, in the C of A Dandy roll was discovered.

If the symbol did fall off the dandy roll, depends how long before it was discovered.
I doubt that this is the answer, but it has to be an option left open, until it is disproved.

All along, I thought an option was an incorrect dandy roll for the shape of the stamp, but 64idgaf post tends to put this out of consideration.
I have been too lazy to research the watermark v the paper.

Watermarks on this stamp are usually readily seen when the stamp is simply lain down on a black background but some them can be really tough.

If you have tried all other methods from previous posts such as the watermark tray, try the method below with the dry stamp.

When hunting for a watermark, you're looking for a pattern that is different to the design, so the key in this instance is that the design is almost all curves and the 'V' on the V over crown watermark is made up of straight lines.

Turn the face of the stamp away from you then try holding a very bright small LED torch (or USB microscope light) close behind it so that it shines through the stamp to you. Look (from an angle so that you don't blind yourself!) for the straight lines of the V, which contrast with the other distracting curves in the design.

When all else fails, I find that those lines are usually discernible.