Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
09:03:11am
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There is no "proper" way to collect.
I like my coils in pairs or strips. I don't use a printed album so I'm free to collect whatever I like, whatever I find! If you like pairs, you could create a page for your album to display them that way.
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Coil pairs and other multiples help to prove (not always) that a stamp is a coil, and not just a trimmed sheet stamp made to look like a coil.
Some collectors collect coils in multiples for different reasons.
The Scott National Album for United States Stamps provides album pages for coils in singles and pairs. Supplemental pages are available to collect coil plate number strips.
Many coils, especially older ones show a line along the perfs where the printing plates come together. Collectors collect those in pairs, which are appropriately called "coil line pairs". These appear at intervals in a coil roll, depending on the stamp, and usually carry a slight to modest premium compared to a regular coil stamp.
Coils with plate numbers are collected in various multiples starting with singles up to around strips of five. These also appear at intervals, depending on the stamp, with a premium in value compared to a regular coil stamp.
Information about all these collectibles is found in the Scott US Specialized Catalog.
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08:45:18am
A number of British Colony coils were created using sheets of stamps that were cut into strips and these strips were joined together to create a roll of stamps. Since they are normal looking stamps the only way to determine that they are coils is to have the join that appears between every ten stamps (assuming the strip is 10 stamps long). In that case you would want to collect them in pairs to have the join. See the pictures below of a coil join and strips of coils all from the 1930's.
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These are also called “paste up” coils.
I’ve found used examples on piece in kiloware, so it pays to carefully examine older on paper material as soaking would have separated the coil pair.
Here is an example:
It helps to hold the piece up to the light so you can see the join piece:
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02:30:16pm
Are these "paste up coils" listed in Scott's - I've never heard of them? Do you have any idea if Canada did any of them? I'll have to play around with Mr. Google!
More: They are listed in my Canada specialized. I found a couple for the 1929 George V set, 160i and 161i each for about $60. I must have a look to see how many more exist. The call them paste - up pairs. I assume if they were soaked they would come apart. Does anyone out there have any other Canadian examples you could post a photo of - I found one of the George V ones and it appears to be two regular coils pasted together. Thanks for putting me on to this, but I would assume they would be very easy to fake.
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04:56:55pm
You won't find paste-up coils listed in any of the catalogs - except as comments. The problem is that they can be faked so the catalogs disregard them. As a result, when you find them they are not very expensive. I am always on the lookout for them.
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05:10:09pm
I did see them mentioned in my Canada Specialized Unitrade with prices for the couple I found in the $60 range. I went into E-Bay and had a look. The prices seemed to be in two categories - reasonable for no certificate, but once the certificate was included the price went up drastically. I guess that is explained by kgivstamps comment, there are lots of fakes out there. I would say the only way to be sure you got the real deal is a certificate from a reputable authenticator or tied to cover. I think I'll stay away unless the price is right and I am very convinced!
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Is it true that the paper is thicker where the coils are pasted together ?
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06:40:06pm
I've never handled one - I just found about them today, but it would be thicker at the join since there would be two layers of stamps. They would be very easy to fake since all you would have to do is glue the edges of two stamps together. I would think they would be impossible to authenticate unless they were tied to a cover. I'd love to have one!
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"Is it true that the paper is thicker where the coils are pasted together ?"
Yes, twice as thick because there are two layers at the join and leader.
The join is not two stamps glued together. The bottom layer is unprinted margin paper.
Paste up coils are not listed in a regular Scott’s. I use Hibernian as my Irish coil reference.
Coils are a fascinating area of philatelic study. Stamp collecting is a never ending learning experience, true?
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06:50:37pm
You have coil pairs, line pairs, se-tenant pairs, tete-beche pairs, gutter pairs and all those other wonderful things!
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I've had this scarce coil strip of 12 for sale for a while now. I know why it hasn't sold, because, well, where do you put a strip of 12? I can't bring myself to break it down into six pairs even though they will sell readily
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"Paste-up" is a term explained in the introduction of my 2016 edition
of the Scott Specialized Catalog of United States Stamps & Covers.
It states, "The junction of two flat-plate printings joined by pasting
the edge of one sheet onto the edge of another sheet to make coils.
A two-stamp example of this joining is a 'paste-up pair'. See Splice."
Then, we look in the General Glossary further on in the Introduction
and we find their definition of the term 'SPLICE' -
"The junction of two rotary-press printings by butting the ends of the web
(roll) of paper together and pasting a strip of perforated translucent paper
on the back of the junction. The two-stamp specimen to show this situation
is a 'spliced pair.' Splices occur when a web breaks and is repaired or
when one web is finished and another begins."
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In Australia, we call paste-ups "coil join pairs"
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08:09:54am
Australia is one of the few countries that have special perfs for coils. They vary across the stamp design. It was intended for earlier separation.
Here are two examples of the 2d value from the 1940's. Note that the left one is a coil join, but the right one has perforations that are larger toward the center.
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In Germany coil stamps are usually collected in strips of 3 or 5. Every 5th coil stamp has a number printed on the back. Till 1995 large rolls (10 000 stamps) had blank fields pasted to the last stamp. This was used because the rolls were also in vending machines, so the last stamp could be taken. The number on the back of the stamp is the only way to identify a German coil stamp. The S A stamps have this counter number on the back of the foil.
Older German coil stamps didn´t have a counter number an are collected in strips of 11 or 15 to identify them as such.
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This stamp is listed as Scott # 442. Correct me if I'm wrong but the ONLY scenario for this stamp is that it was either the first or the last stamp in the roll, right? If so, seems like it would be either stamp no. 1 or stamp no. 500 out of a 500 stamp roll. I'd call that a rare stamp.
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06:21:43pm
Is it possible that it could have been cut from the end two stamps of a booklet pane? Is there any sign on the right hand side that perfs might have been trimmed. The cut looks a bit crooked to me, is it a straight line? Or it could be as you say, one stamp from the end of a coil roll! If it is it would be rare but I don't think any catalog I have seem prices something like this!
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The laft margin appears even with the stamp border. The right margin appears narrower at the top ? Possibly trimmed?
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Check the color of the straight edges seen on edge!
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One big advantage of collecting coils - especially the US 3rd Bureau Issue (Washington/Franklin) coils - is that it is easier to see any watermarks - especially the single line watermarks - when examining multiples as opposed to single stamps.
Personally, I much prefer to collect coils as pairs, and most of my W/F coils - especially the valuable ones - are certified as well. Too darn many fakes out there!
Caveat emptor
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
19 Jul 2019
09:03:11am
I have a question. I notice a lot of coils are collected or sold in strips of 2. My album calls for individuals and Scott's catalogue prices them individually. What is the accepted way and does it really matter? If I buy a strip of 2, if possible I display it that way. If there is not room I separate them. Just curious if anyone knows the first recognized coil stamp.
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re: coils
There is no "proper" way to collect.
I like my coils in pairs or strips. I don't use a printed album so I'm free to collect whatever I like, whatever I find! If you like pairs, you could create a page for your album to display them that way.
Login to Like
this post
10:37:55am
re: coils
Coil pairs and other multiples help to prove (not always) that a stamp is a coil, and not just a trimmed sheet stamp made to look like a coil.
Some collectors collect coils in multiples for different reasons.
The Scott National Album for United States Stamps provides album pages for coils in singles and pairs. Supplemental pages are available to collect coil plate number strips.
Many coils, especially older ones show a line along the perfs where the printing plates come together. Collectors collect those in pairs, which are appropriately called "coil line pairs". These appear at intervals in a coil roll, depending on the stamp, and usually carry a slight to modest premium compared to a regular coil stamp.
Coils with plate numbers are collected in various multiples starting with singles up to around strips of five. These also appear at intervals, depending on the stamp, with a premium in value compared to a regular coil stamp.
Information about all these collectibles is found in the Scott US Specialized Catalog.
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Collecting King George VI from all countries, and King Edward VII and King George V from the West Indies.
26 Jul 2019
08:45:18am
re: coils
A number of British Colony coils were created using sheets of stamps that were cut into strips and these strips were joined together to create a roll of stamps. Since they are normal looking stamps the only way to determine that they are coils is to have the join that appears between every ten stamps (assuming the strip is 10 stamps long). In that case you would want to collect them in pairs to have the join. See the pictures below of a coil join and strips of coils all from the 1930's.
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re: coils
These are also called “paste up” coils.
I’ve found used examples on piece in kiloware, so it pays to carefully examine older on paper material as soaking would have separated the coil pair.
Here is an example:
It helps to hold the piece up to the light so you can see the join piece:
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
26 Jul 2019
02:30:16pm
re: coils
Are these "paste up coils" listed in Scott's - I've never heard of them? Do you have any idea if Canada did any of them? I'll have to play around with Mr. Google!
More: They are listed in my Canada specialized. I found a couple for the 1929 George V set, 160i and 161i each for about $60. I must have a look to see how many more exist. The call them paste - up pairs. I assume if they were soaked they would come apart. Does anyone out there have any other Canadian examples you could post a photo of - I found one of the George V ones and it appears to be two regular coils pasted together. Thanks for putting me on to this, but I would assume they would be very easy to fake.
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Collecting King George VI from all countries, and King Edward VII and King George V from the West Indies.
26 Jul 2019
04:56:55pm
re: coils
You won't find paste-up coils listed in any of the catalogs - except as comments. The problem is that they can be faked so the catalogs disregard them. As a result, when you find them they are not very expensive. I am always on the lookout for them.
Login to Like
this post
This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
26 Jul 2019
05:10:09pm
re: coils
I did see them mentioned in my Canada Specialized Unitrade with prices for the couple I found in the $60 range. I went into E-Bay and had a look. The prices seemed to be in two categories - reasonable for no certificate, but once the certificate was included the price went up drastically. I guess that is explained by kgivstamps comment, there are lots of fakes out there. I would say the only way to be sure you got the real deal is a certificate from a reputable authenticator or tied to cover. I think I'll stay away unless the price is right and I am very convinced!
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06:30:08pm
re: coils
Is it true that the paper is thicker where the coils are pasted together ?
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this post
This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
26 Jul 2019
06:40:06pm
re: coils
I've never handled one - I just found about them today, but it would be thicker at the join since there would be two layers of stamps. They would be very easy to fake since all you would have to do is glue the edges of two stamps together. I would think they would be impossible to authenticate unless they were tied to a cover. I'd love to have one!
Login to Like
this post
re: coils
"Is it true that the paper is thicker where the coils are pasted together ?"
Yes, twice as thick because there are two layers at the join and leader.
The join is not two stamps glued together. The bottom layer is unprinted margin paper.
Paste up coils are not listed in a regular Scott’s. I use Hibernian as my Irish coil reference.
Coils are a fascinating area of philatelic study. Stamp collecting is a never ending learning experience, true?
1 Member
likes this post.
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
26 Jul 2019
06:50:37pm
re: coils
You have coil pairs, line pairs, se-tenant pairs, tete-beche pairs, gutter pairs and all those other wonderful things!
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: coils
I've had this scarce coil strip of 12 for sale for a while now. I know why it hasn't sold, because, well, where do you put a strip of 12? I can't bring myself to break it down into six pairs even though they will sell readily
Login to Like
this post
re: coils
"Paste-up" is a term explained in the introduction of my 2016 edition
of the Scott Specialized Catalog of United States Stamps & Covers.
It states, "The junction of two flat-plate printings joined by pasting
the edge of one sheet onto the edge of another sheet to make coils.
A two-stamp example of this joining is a 'paste-up pair'. See Splice."
Then, we look in the General Glossary further on in the Introduction
and we find their definition of the term 'SPLICE' -
"The junction of two rotary-press printings by butting the ends of the web
(roll) of paper together and pasting a strip of perforated translucent paper
on the back of the junction. The two-stamp specimen to show this situation
is a 'spliced pair.' Splices occur when a web breaks and is repaired or
when one web is finished and another begins."
Login to Like
this post
re: coils
In Australia, we call paste-ups "coil join pairs"
2 Members
like this post.
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Collecting King George VI from all countries, and King Edward VII and King George V from the West Indies.
27 Jul 2019
08:09:54am
re: coils
Australia is one of the few countries that have special perfs for coils. They vary across the stamp design. It was intended for earlier separation.
Here are two examples of the 2d value from the 1940's. Note that the left one is a coil join, but the right one has perforations that are larger toward the center.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: coils
In Germany coil stamps are usually collected in strips of 3 or 5. Every 5th coil stamp has a number printed on the back. Till 1995 large rolls (10 000 stamps) had blank fields pasted to the last stamp. This was used because the rolls were also in vending machines, so the last stamp could be taken. The number on the back of the stamp is the only way to identify a German coil stamp. The S A stamps have this counter number on the back of the foil.
Older German coil stamps didn´t have a counter number an are collected in strips of 11 or 15 to identify them as such.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: coils
This stamp is listed as Scott # 442. Correct me if I'm wrong but the ONLY scenario for this stamp is that it was either the first or the last stamp in the roll, right? If so, seems like it would be either stamp no. 1 or stamp no. 500 out of a 500 stamp roll. I'd call that a rare stamp.
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
09 Jan 2025
06:21:43pm
re: coils
Is it possible that it could have been cut from the end two stamps of a booklet pane? Is there any sign on the right hand side that perfs might have been trimmed. The cut looks a bit crooked to me, is it a straight line? Or it could be as you say, one stamp from the end of a coil roll! If it is it would be rare but I don't think any catalog I have seem prices something like this!
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07:36:30pm
re: coils
The laft margin appears even with the stamp border. The right margin appears narrower at the top ? Possibly trimmed?
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this post
07:55:19pm
re: coils
Check the color of the straight edges seen on edge!
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this post
10:27:05pm
re: coils
One big advantage of collecting coils - especially the US 3rd Bureau Issue (Washington/Franklin) coils - is that it is easier to see any watermarks - especially the single line watermarks - when examining multiples as opposed to single stamps.
Personally, I much prefer to collect coils as pairs, and most of my W/F coils - especially the valuable ones - are certified as well. Too darn many fakes out there!
Caveat emptor
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