Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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it depends. for a face-different collector, not at all. that is, if you only collect one of each DESIGN, the watermark, and likely the perfs, paper, gum, and phosphor, are immaterial.
many stamps were issued only on paper without watermarks or only on paper with watermarks, which makes detection irrelevant (unless searching for potential, unknown errors).
for someone who wants to know which one of the many KGV varieties the stamp is, then finding the watermark AND its orientation are essential.
And, if one is looking for an excuse to visit Bellevue for an extended period, try watermarking the US WF issues.
David
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and if the US WF ones don't get you a holiday try the GB Wilding 3d purples
Merv
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If you are trying to fill a pre-printed album, with a space for each different watermark, it is essential. It is also expensive, dangerous and messy. 
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My answer is, "How long is a string?" Or, as David said, "It depends." There are no philatelic police ready to pounce on collectors who ignore watermarks, and there are legions of philatelic books, catalogues, journals and monographs ready to supply watermark collectors with more information about watermarks than they could use in a lifetime. Most collectors, on a 1 - 10 scale of watermark interest are somewhere around 3 or 4.
Watermarks (or absence of watermarks) are attributes of stamps. Stamps that are alike except for watermarks are different stamps. If you wish to ensure that any of your stamps that look alike on casual examination are actually different stamps, then you have to watermark them.
Watermarks can be important in terms a stamp value, or because they reveal information about the stamp's "story". Examples are the common pre-war / Second World War German definitives picturing President Paul von Hindenburg. When the stamps were issued in 1932, they had the "network" watermark typical of that period for German stamps. In 1933, after Hitler assumed power (and he really did assume that he had a right to take over), the stamps were re-issued with a watermark of Nazi swastikas.
I've always wondered if Hindenburg was aware of the change in the watermarks. He was no saint himself, but he couldn't stand Hitler, nor could Hitler stand Hindenburg, whom he characterized as "the old reactionary". I expect that Hindenberg was not aware of the change in watermark; one of the reasons that Hitler came to power was that Hindenberg was beginning to suffer from dementia, and was easily persuaded by "advisors" and by Hitler himself to give more power to the Nazis. Hindenburg died in 1934, but such was his popularity that stamps and postal stationery with his portrait continued to be used throughout most of the war. That probably galled Hitler, who received royalties for every Hitler stamp that was sold.
Bob
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Thanks for the information and the history lesson, I really appreciated it!
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Watermarks are just one small part of the knowledge that a "successful" philatelist needs. You've got to understand or at least be willing to learn about different types of perforations, printing processes, paper, ink, cancellation types and other postmarks, gum, mounting and storage requirements, forgeries, constant plate varieties, and "EFOs" — Errors, Freaks and Oddities.
If you get into postal history, you need to understand, or try to understand, postal rates and routes, censorship, Universal Postal Union regulations, and the protocols regarding mail that cannot be delivered for whatever reason — the recipient has moved, or the mail was damaged in a plane crash, train wreck, or ship sinking. If you get into military mail, you'll need a basic understanding of field post offices. Then there is POW mail, contaminated mail, airline test covers, postage due mail, forwarded mail, dead letter office mail, turned covers (envelopes re-used by turning them inside out), "paper-saver" covers (used envelopes which have had the stamp and addresses covered by blank labels so they can be used again with different addresses and stamps, etc.
There is good news, great news, really: A "stamp collector" is someone who decides that stamps are cool and starts looking for ones that he or she likes. You don't have to learn everything all at once. In fact, you can never learn everything about philately. No one has yet, and no one will. I have a friend who has spent his entire life (he's in his 50s now) working in the philatelic trade. He started in high school and has always worked for stamp dealers, full time as far as I know. He is the most knowledgable collector I have ever known, so it gives me great pleasure when I can sometimes teach him something about philately that he didn't know!
Bob
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After reading some threads about watermarks, how necessary is it to determine if a stamp has a watermark?
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re: Is it necessary to ID watermarks?
it depends. for a face-different collector, not at all. that is, if you only collect one of each DESIGN, the watermark, and likely the perfs, paper, gum, and phosphor, are immaterial.
many stamps were issued only on paper without watermarks or only on paper with watermarks, which makes detection irrelevant (unless searching for potential, unknown errors).
for someone who wants to know which one of the many KGV varieties the stamp is, then finding the watermark AND its orientation are essential.
And, if one is looking for an excuse to visit Bellevue for an extended period, try watermarking the US WF issues.
David
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re: Is it necessary to ID watermarks?
and if the US WF ones don't get you a holiday try the GB Wilding 3d purples
Merv
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re: Is it necessary to ID watermarks?
If you are trying to fill a pre-printed album, with a space for each different watermark, it is essential. It is also expensive, dangerous and messy.
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re: Is it necessary to ID watermarks?
My answer is, "How long is a string?" Or, as David said, "It depends." There are no philatelic police ready to pounce on collectors who ignore watermarks, and there are legions of philatelic books, catalogues, journals and monographs ready to supply watermark collectors with more information about watermarks than they could use in a lifetime. Most collectors, on a 1 - 10 scale of watermark interest are somewhere around 3 or 4.
Watermarks (or absence of watermarks) are attributes of stamps. Stamps that are alike except for watermarks are different stamps. If you wish to ensure that any of your stamps that look alike on casual examination are actually different stamps, then you have to watermark them.
Watermarks can be important in terms a stamp value, or because they reveal information about the stamp's "story". Examples are the common pre-war / Second World War German definitives picturing President Paul von Hindenburg. When the stamps were issued in 1932, they had the "network" watermark typical of that period for German stamps. In 1933, after Hitler assumed power (and he really did assume that he had a right to take over), the stamps were re-issued with a watermark of Nazi swastikas.
I've always wondered if Hindenburg was aware of the change in the watermarks. He was no saint himself, but he couldn't stand Hitler, nor could Hitler stand Hindenburg, whom he characterized as "the old reactionary". I expect that Hindenberg was not aware of the change in watermark; one of the reasons that Hitler came to power was that Hindenberg was beginning to suffer from dementia, and was easily persuaded by "advisors" and by Hitler himself to give more power to the Nazis. Hindenburg died in 1934, but such was his popularity that stamps and postal stationery with his portrait continued to be used throughout most of the war. That probably galled Hitler, who received royalties for every Hitler stamp that was sold.
Bob
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likes this post.
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re: Is it necessary to ID watermarks?
Thanks for the information and the history lesson, I really appreciated it!
Login to Like
this post
re: Is it necessary to ID watermarks?
Watermarks are just one small part of the knowledge that a "successful" philatelist needs. You've got to understand or at least be willing to learn about different types of perforations, printing processes, paper, ink, cancellation types and other postmarks, gum, mounting and storage requirements, forgeries, constant plate varieties, and "EFOs" — Errors, Freaks and Oddities.
If you get into postal history, you need to understand, or try to understand, postal rates and routes, censorship, Universal Postal Union regulations, and the protocols regarding mail that cannot be delivered for whatever reason — the recipient has moved, or the mail was damaged in a plane crash, train wreck, or ship sinking. If you get into military mail, you'll need a basic understanding of field post offices. Then there is POW mail, contaminated mail, airline test covers, postage due mail, forwarded mail, dead letter office mail, turned covers (envelopes re-used by turning them inside out), "paper-saver" covers (used envelopes which have had the stamp and addresses covered by blank labels so they can be used again with different addresses and stamps, etc.
There is good news, great news, really: A "stamp collector" is someone who decides that stamps are cool and starts looking for ones that he or she likes. You don't have to learn everything all at once. In fact, you can never learn everything about philately. No one has yet, and no one will. I have a friend who has spent his entire life (he's in his 50s now) working in the philatelic trade. He started in high school and has always worked for stamp dealers, full time as far as I know. He is the most knowledgable collector I have ever known, so it gives me great pleasure when I can sometimes teach him something about philately that he didn't know!
Bob
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