Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
What to do about this? I could, I suppose, make a note of all relevant stamps in the albums, and extend my wants list accordingly (and no doubt considerably), but is it worth the trouble and expense for what is essentially an aesthetic matter? What do you do: throw them out and get better stamps, or ignore the matter entirely? (The competition exhibitor and the investor may naturally be concerned with fine used or fine mint, as will high-end dealers, but what of the ordinary collector of stamps?)
Thinking about this leads me to ask why some stamps are poorly-centred. Is it bad workmanship, which could be rectified by better professional procedures? Or is it practically unavoidable, considering the number of stamps that are printed? I assume it is the machine that feeds the sheet into the perforator that is at fault, or is it the perforating machine itself, or even the printing process of the image onto the sheet? Is there a little person who looks at every sheet to check for errors, before ruthlessly casting aside those on which the images hit the perforation, and passing the rest?
(A certain ignorance about stamp production may be apparent here – if so, my apologies and gratitude if you set me right.)
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I know next to nothing about stamp production, so I'll leave that to others. But centring (or, in a nod to my U.S. of A. heritage, "centring")? This is my take on that subject:
Off-centre stamps drive me bananas. I can't abide ones that the Scott catalogue defines as Very Good (VG) — perfs touching the design on at least one side. To me, those aren't VG but VB — "Very Bad". To me, if two perfs on two sides cut into the design, well, those are GA — "God Awful"!*
I generally avoid buying stamps if they are less than Fine (F), which means somewhat off-centre. If I find a copy of a stamp that I need that's in Very Fine (VF) condition (i.e. very well centred), I'll buy it as long as I can afford it, especially if I know that it's hard to find in VF condition. I often upgrade from V to VF.
I suppose it's my background as a photographer that leads me down the VF path. To my mind, a stamp's margins and perfs are as much a part of it as the design itself, and a stamp without "acceptable" margins is a stamp not worth having. Note how the 6-centavo stamp in this Philippine Islands set stands out even among stamps of not-great centring:
Bob
* Of course, many early stamps rarely exist in VF or even F condition; I do happily accept VG copies of those.
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I agree. Any time the perfs touch the design, you have a substandard stamp. It really cheapens the term "Very Good."
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Of all the stamps in my stock-books, most of which will remain there forever, I take no heed as to whether they are well-centred, or lean towards one or even two edges. Lately, however, I have been ‘putting up’ more stamps into properly organised and written-up albums, and I am beginning to notice the poorly-centred ones.
What to do about this? I could, I suppose, make a note of all relevant stamps in the albums, and extend my wants list accordingly (and no doubt considerably), but is it worth the trouble and expense for what is essentially an aesthetic matter? What do you do: throw them out and get better stamps, or ignore the matter entirely? (The competition exhibitor and the investor may naturally be concerned with fine used or fine mint, as will high-end dealers, but what of the ordinary collector of stamps?)
Thinking about this leads me to ask why some stamps are poorly-centred. Is it bad workmanship, which could be rectified by better professional procedures? Or is it practically unavoidable, considering the number of stamps that are printed? I assume it is the machine that feeds the sheet into the perforator that is at fault, or is it the perforating machine itself, or even the printing process of the image onto the sheet? Is there a little person who looks at every sheet to check for errors, before ruthlessly casting aside those on which the images hit the perforation, and passing the rest?
(A certain ignorance about stamp production may be apparent here – if so, my apologies and gratitude if you set me right.)
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re: The Well-Centred Stamp
I know next to nothing about stamp production, so I'll leave that to others. But centring (or, in a nod to my U.S. of A. heritage, "centring")? This is my take on that subject:
Off-centre stamps drive me bananas. I can't abide ones that the Scott catalogue defines as Very Good (VG) — perfs touching the design on at least one side. To me, those aren't VG but VB — "Very Bad". To me, if two perfs on two sides cut into the design, well, those are GA — "God Awful"!*
I generally avoid buying stamps if they are less than Fine (F), which means somewhat off-centre. If I find a copy of a stamp that I need that's in Very Fine (VF) condition (i.e. very well centred), I'll buy it as long as I can afford it, especially if I know that it's hard to find in VF condition. I often upgrade from V to VF.
I suppose it's my background as a photographer that leads me down the VF path. To my mind, a stamp's margins and perfs are as much a part of it as the design itself, and a stamp without "acceptable" margins is a stamp not worth having. Note how the 6-centavo stamp in this Philippine Islands set stands out even among stamps of not-great centring:
Bob
* Of course, many early stamps rarely exist in VF or even F condition; I do happily accept VG copies of those.
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11:30:33pm
re: The Well-Centred Stamp
I agree. Any time the perfs touch the design, you have a substandard stamp. It really cheapens the term "Very Good."
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