| Author |
 Replies: 14 / Views: 1,124 |
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
910 Posts |
|
|
|
|
Bedrock Of The Community
United States
10605 Posts |
|
|
Some watermarks are tough for everyone. And sometimes one has to leave the stamp in fluid for a minute or more before it becomes visible. |
Send note to Staff 
|
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United Kingdom
8579 Posts |
|
|
Make life easy for yourself. Collect France. No watermarks, hardly any perf differences. Bliss.  |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Valued Member
United States
119 Posts |
|
|
I feel your pain. I think we all do.
Watermarks have been the bane of my collecting since I began. Even with years of experience, there are times when you just can't tell. As you so eloquently show in your photos.
I wish you good fortune in your hunt for clarity. |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Bedrock Of The Community
United States
10605 Posts |
|
|
My attitude is that if a stamp can only be watermarked and it cannot be found, then it should be considered a single line watermark. The SL watermarks are more likely to have that happen. |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Valued Member
220 Posts |
|
|
And then there are people that swear they see something that isn't there at all. So far I have not paid any attention to US watermarks because I am not hung up about identifying and recording *most* stamps. I have a lot of them but keep my workload simple. No software, no database. For Commonwealth stamps I use a light to see watermarks. |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Bedrock Of The Community
United States
10605 Posts |
|
|
100 year old paper is often somewhat uneven, which can cause shadows. That can sometimes cause inexperienced collectors to think that they see a watermark when there is not one. Like everything else in philately, the more stamps one sees, the better one becomes at recognition. |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Bedrock Of The Community
12555 Posts |
|
|
Since the point of watermarking stamp paper was to prevent fraud how did the Post Office look for watermarks back in the day? Or did they? |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Bedrock Of The Community
United States
10605 Posts |
|
|
I doubt they cared. Of course it's a lot easier to find them in large multiples, especially with selvage. |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Valued Member
United States
14 Posts |
|
|
How do you all watermark stamps on envelopes, trying to determine if I have a US E4 or E5, doused it in fluid and can't really see anything. Hints appreciated! |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Moderator
United States
5094 Posts |
|
|
Quote:
How do you all watermark stamps on envelopes Sometimes (rarely), you can see a watermark using a very bright light. If the envelope opens correctly, position the light and try to look through the open envelope at the back of the stamp. Otherwise, removing and reattaching is another option. |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Bedrock Of The Community
United States
10605 Posts |
|
|
The cancel date can often be of help in that regard. And understanding the back story of when and why the watermarks changed can also help. |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
6328 Posts |
|
|
And many times it really doesn't matter from a postal history standpoint ... where the value is driven by factors other than the stamp. |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
910 Posts |
|
|
Quote:
Since the point of watermarking stamp paper was to prevent fraud how did the Post Office look for watermarks back in the day? Perhaps the reason for watermarked paper was to prevent paper theft. |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
|
Bedrock Of The Community
United States
10605 Posts |
|
|
Watermarks existed to help prevent counterfeiting. Since a typical post office would get stamps in panes, or at least large multiples, the watermarks would be easy to see if anyone was interested in seeing it. |
|
Send note to Staff
|
|
| |
Replies: 14 / Views: 1,124 |
|
Posted 11/30/2024 1:46 pm
