Tips To Follow To Identify Rare Postage Stamps

By Scott Wagner


For years now, people interested in collecting stamps have continuously focused their efforts towards getting the remaining ones in the market. They use their skills to get the Rare Postage Stamps which have a greater value as compared to the common ones. They move around the world spending much time and energy in getting them. The task requires one to have stamp collecting knowledge which includes identification of errors and perforations.

Age is another essential factor that makes them scarce especially when they get older. Additionally, they are becoming rarer because collectors are continuously keeping them in permanent collections. This makes the collecting process to be more valuable as the value of each stamp increases with time.

There is a need for one to have skills of differentiating each stamp from another. There are mint ones which are also known to have a fine condition. They are rare to find as they are considered to have a great value which in turn increases their prices as they still have their original gum, no defects and do not have cancellation marks. However, used ones have lost value as none of the above characteristics can be sold at a lower cost.

It is important to use a perforation gauge to help in taking measurements the number of perforations on the edge of a stamp. Those which look nearly identical in most cases have different perforations. Some of these perforations may be infrequent which leads to an increased value of a stamp. Therefore, it ought to cost more than you would have expected after identifying it.

One is expected to know the best resource materials that can provide information which will help in differentiating a stamp from another. You need to research with utmost care to understand those that are rare from common ones. Among the best references is the Scott Catalog. You will understand the rarest stamp was used in year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six which is the most valuable.

One needs to check on the printing errors. The printing sometimes would have some mistakes leading to the printing of wrong details on a stamp. They would get distributed before the mistakes are realized. An example of such a case is when inverted Jenny an airmail stamp which had a pane of one hundred printed upside down prints. This mistake resulted in increased value to the stamp.

The content error is another issue to consider. You should check the content provided on them and compare with what is on the Scott Catalog. There are times when the printing sheets have wrong information without anyone noticing. A stamp used in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-four had the image of rodeo star Ben Pickett but instead his brother Bill was the one supposed to appear.

Use of the Scott Catalog is one of the best ways to acquire the needed information and be informed on how to differentiate a stamp from another. It is important to note that the information provided on this reference material is updated annually. Therefore, any information you would wish to check is readily available to help identify their values.




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