(Efo) Errors Freaks And Oddities

ikandiggit gave me an idea to start a thread of these types of stamps. I figured we would have some to show off and could explain why it is either a error freak or oddity. I think this will be a fun thread that everyone can get involved in.

ERROR - Stamp with mistake in color,perforation or design.
FREAK - A stamp showing a production flaw which is not consistent, Including ink smudges and sand off center perforation.
(definition taken from Mystic Stamp Guide for Collecting Stamps)

Here are a few that I have in my collection. It's very common to find these types of errors. I'm no expert so if I called them wrong let me know.

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Here is a full misperf sheet of 1961 Christmas Seals.

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Thanks for the definitions -- I thought you were talking about me & Spock

No just Spock....LOL

Sharksfan......

Like the discussion about what is or is not a Cinderella EFO's are debated often.

Your Hansome Cab pair is not a mis-perf....it's a mis-cut coil.

I was taught that.....

Perf shifts are not errors....they are freaks.......things that occur in the same position on every printing are errors.....things that happen at occasional intervals during production (production flaws) are freaks such as perfing oddities.

Perfing omissions are errors.

Here's an example of a common type of thing that is often misconstrued

Color bleeding.......when a barrel of ink sits for a long time the formula can separate like oil & water......if the feeder line is positioned in or near the separation line the result can be dramatic but not many will be produced.


When the formula separates completely many thousands of stamps can be produced creating an error.....Toledo Brown.....&....Bronx Blue (top 2).......the number produced can sometimes determine the difference between freak & error.
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Starship personal cannot be included in the above definition. Sorry. Starfleet regulation 4.23.45aa.

Newfoundland misperf:

with no-notrare on definitions.

Modern Canada misperf (rare, interesting, but not constant, so thus a freak ). Wish there was a nicer word for these as I do enjoy misperfs myself. Ah, there is, oddity! Misperforations, not perforated regularly, or not die-cut correctly.



Note: the 'error' word is used often on ebay etc as it is searched for by other users, so a seller would be amiss (even though in error himself at including it) in omitting the word in his description so as to miss out on attracting interest perhaps. Perhaps. Maybe.

For example I search for error and just recently started searching for oddity or variety or EFO. You can rely on the categories but then what if someone didn't know what to call it or stuck it in the wrong category? Or, yes, misspelled it also. Can't win 'em all I guess.

'Error' sounds more 'proper' and expensive so thus is misused quite a bit actually. More proper usage would be EFO or freak or variety perhaps or oddity. To cover all the bases you would include all the words in a search.

Great topic / thread sharksfan11 !

USA Scott #3450 (I think) flag over, regular and misperf:



I lucked out and found that one is some kiloware from England. One man's trash is another's treasure they say.

Misperf on postcard:


Albino postal stationery:


Smeared/heavy inked surcharge:

Nice flag cancel too! Wow.

Puzzler......


That is an impressive looking mis-perf booklet stamp......some folks would give a handsome bonus for it.

Hello Battlestamp.....


Welcome to the club........nice freaks.....the albino seems to have just a bit of color at the bottom left.....is it the same as what should be there or is it just my imagination ?

Canada Unitrade and Scott Specialized catalogues #35viii 'strand of hair' variety: (not mine, but I had the pleasure to handle and sell it) constant variety in plate C, position 13 and 26 (from catalog). This had a Greene certificate also.

nr-notrare (Tom?), Thanks. It was a great find for me. I like these misperfs because with reduced eyesight they are still visible to the naked eye.

I like the Canada 'missing moose' also.
Block on ebay for $18,500 and block at Post Office for $20 + tax:
(They are really the same size, my skills with photos are at fault.)



What a find that would be.

Puzzler.....

Here's a link to the main EFO list I watch.......some folks seem to think things that were given away as faulty items when I was a kid are worth big-bucks now. I think in the future they'll be mighty disappointed......and you're right, I am Tom.

http://stamps.shop.ebay.com/Errors-...ts=261%2C260

Yes Tom, you could very well be right about that. Sometimes I think they are expensive because someone wants them that way to sell better.

Your link is a great resource for US stamps but doesn't have any Canada in it!

Can they put Canada as a sub-topic of USA stamps, then we could get better search exposure? And all my Canada stamps would suddenly be worth more because 300 million people would want them!

And of course to search worldwide truly you must learn the abbreviations and words in different languages for the stuff you are searching for.

Example in most languages Canada is Canada but in German at least it is Kanada. Took me years to figure that out. Hey, I think I will start a thread on this topic.

Doug