Why is forever slashed on stamps?
The postal service says the word “forever” is crossed out in the online image to prevent counterfeiting. Forever Stamps are still valid forever.
Why do stamps have perforations?
In most cases, the perforations within the stamp design are created by the business or organization that purchased the stamps from the post office. Perfins identify the proper owner of the stamps and act as a security device to discourage theft or improper use. Perfins are known on stamps from more than 200 countries.
What are Perfin stamps?
In philately, a perfin is a stamp that has had initials or a name perforated across it to discourage theft. The name is a contraction of perforated initials or perforated insignia. They are also sometimes called SPIFS (Stamps Perforated with Initials of Firms and Societies).
What does Rouletted mean in stamp collecting?
Rouletting is a means employed for the separation of stamps, like perforation in purpose, but unlike it in character. Rouletting cuts little slits in the paper between stamps, alternate spaces being left uncut.
What is a corner block of stamps?
In philately, a block is a group of four or more un-separated stamps. Blocks are of interest not only because they are rarer than individual stamps, but they also preserve relative positions of stamps as they were originally printed, information that is crucial to understanding how the stamps were produced.
Are plate block stamps worth anything?
Plate blocks are normally more valuable than regular blocks of stamps because they are usually rarer; there may be only one plate block on a sheet of stamps, though this is not a hard and fast rule.
Are Perfin stamps worth anything?
How much are they worth? As a general rule, a perforated stamp is a damaged stamp and as such a figure of 10\% – 20\% of catalogue value. Perfinned stamps on cover are worth more when the cover identifies the user of the perfin.
What does SG mean in stamp collecting?
SG. This stands for Stanley Gibbons. The SG is either followed by a number or a letter. This reference can then be used to look up the stamp in the Stanley Gibbons catalogue. Each country’s first issue is normally SG1, however there are some exceptions.
How do you know if a stamp has a perforation?
However, the tradition of perforation is so strong that more recent self-adhesives have a wavy diecut simulating the perforation. It can be recognized by studying the edge of the stamp closely; true perforations will have torn paper fibers on each tooth, while simulated perforations are smooth.
What happens if you put stamps too close to each other?
Postage stamp separation. The key decision for the perforator is the spacing of the holes; if too far apart, the stamps will not separate easily, and the stamps are likely to tear, but if too close, the stamps will tend to come apart in normal handling. In a few cases the size of the holes has been a factor.
Why is the backing paper on postage stamps rouletted?
At first the backing paper was itself solid, but in a repeat of history, is now slightly rouletted so as to facilitate tearing off blocks of stamps without having to remove them from the backing. Since the diecut goes all the way through the stamp, any shape will work, and the original self-adhesives were straight-edged.
What is a postage stamp?
A small adhesive piece of paper of specified value issued by a postal authority to be affixed to a letter or a parcel to indicate the amount of postage paid. Postage stamps are the most commonly used stamps and have a fixed amount of postage noted on them. Also, postage stamps are sold in a number of different forms.