Scandinavian Paper Varieties

It's obvious to most that the early stamps from Scandinavian countries were printed on a variety of papers.

Recently I've seen many listings on ebay for "White Paper Variety" stamps for substantially more than Scott catalogue values.

I tried researching this in the Facit catalogue but was unable to translate through Google anything that made sense in English.

Any Suggestions?

Also would someone please translate the Danish word "Mindeark" into English.

I don't know about paper varieties but"mindeark" is "commemorative sheet" in english

eh..? Facit listings are bi-lingual (Swedish/English), so absolutely no need to translate anything. The English part is usually bit 'shortened', but all the essentials are still in there.

And you really have to narrow the definition of 'some classic scandinavian stamps'. Which country, which stamps/series - just about all Nordic countries/series provide some variations depending on how deep you go. For example if thinking classic Denmark, the FACIT listings are ~30 pages while AFA (far more specialized) covers the same in ~300 pages.

-k-

Oh, and mindeark... It's identical to USPS American Commemorative Cancellation souvenir pages (or German 'Gedenkblatt').

-k-

My 2007 Facit does have some Swedish to English translations, which is greatly appreciated, but most of the catalogue is not translated.

As an example: I find white and non-white papers used for Swedish stamps.

I find sellers on ebay (for example) asking a premium for white paper examples.
I am trying to find more information about the papers used and which issues have added value.

That's odd... Is it Facit Special, Norden or Sverige you have? Special has got most data and it is both Swedish+English (swedish part always first; followed by shortened version in English). Not so sure if the Norden or Sverige catalogues (both being simplified) are as bilingual.

And I'll ask again, which specific series? There are 300+ major issues for classic Sweden, and for many of them paper varieties are listed / known. For example if you look at Gustav V (left profile), Facit very clearly lists white paper stamps (say #177Ac or #177Cc).

But if you have got the simplified edition, then of course you will not see these listed.

-k-

i think most collectors IN Scandinavian countries are a little puzzled at this post.

you'll need to provide a link or screen dump when you post something like this.

reading between the lines and guessing, this would perhaps answer something.




when it comes to WHITE paper in Swedish stamps, most go by hunch towards whatever is valued the most when selling, and most are wrong.

Basicly, don't trust sellers on ebay, 95% of them have no, to little clue what they're selling.
do your research on the area you're collecting, and buy what you can see is correct. if you know your stuff you can find good deals on ebay.

Sorsh: Your page has the information I was looking for. What is its source?
Are the paper differences from different printings or could one printing use several different papers?

My frustration isn't with the Facit catalogue, it's a fine publication. My frustration is with translating philatelic terms in general. Google and other on-line sources to not translate philatelic terms very well. On line dictionaries are often worse.

Thank you all

Timm,

studying stamp paper is a difficult matter but not a mission impossible. Most catalogue describe different types of paper without really knowing what it is about.

Most stamp papers are white - i.e no colour/paint/ink added to the paper pulp in order to make it look different.

In the 1950-ies initially textile rags that were treated with washing detergents were recycled for paper manufacturing. These rags contained optical brightening agents that react whitish under an UV-lamp; later on these OBA's were added deliberately to make the papers look whiter [than white]. Either in the paper pulp or in the coating on top of the paper surface. And the OBA can be in the coating but not in the pulp OR not in the coating but in the pulp OR in both pulp and coating OR in neither of them.

As you notice it gets complicated!

The catalogues will NOT tell you enough!

You will have to study the stamps yourself using an UV-lamp if you want to go further ;)

Rein

I'm not Sorsh, but I can answer. That page is from Facit Special. If you are not seeing this at your copy, then you don't have the Special-edition. Page number should be roughly 50 (as it has been for past 30 years or so)...

You should also realize that the page/illustration shown applies to specific stamps of specific era. There is naturally more (as listed by Facit and other sources) when it comes to paper types on Swedish stamps.

-k-

I finely found that page in my 2007 edition of Facit and I discovered why I never seen it. It is page S69 and in my book. While checking the book page by page I discovered pages S68 and S69 were stuck together along the out side edge of the paper. I've owned the book for 3 years and never noticed it before. I cut the pages apart and found the information.

Thank you for your assistance.

telling the paper differences apart requires a lot of material to compare, once you're sure you have the correct one, you can "upload to brain".

some issues are pretty darn impossible to tell apart. and if you're not going to build a highly specialized Swedish collection I would advice not to bother with anything else than A3.