The Signoscope is highly recommended by dealers for difficult stamps to see with fluid. For those collectors of German stamps – we also have some nice images of early German Watermarks you may enjoy. No I am not a chemist but was just interested to find out what exactly I have been using to detect watermarks. link to USA 1890-1893 Last Bank Note Definitives #219-229 category 1890-1893 Last Bank Note Definitives #219-229 Uses a position lever (handle) for fast removing and inserting stamp tray and to adjust the pressure

The sale of these stamps was unauthorized, and the Bureau had not printed the stamps in question. This was the first documented attempt to defraud the United States Postal Service. One major “tell” of the counterfeits was that authentic 2 cent George Washington stamps were engraved, while the stamps offered for sale were lithographed (no etching, so lithographed stamps are smooth to the touch). Why Counterfeit Stamps Were Probably Only One Factor

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The triangles worked, but the Bureau wanted more of its own “signature” on postage stamps. It had been printing money and securities as well as revenue stamps since 1862 and had been using watermarks on all of the above since about 1878. One question many people have is “ why would anyone counterfeit stamps or try and reuse them?” The answer to that is simple economics. Before stamps, postage was prohibitively expensive for most people, and sending one letter often costed an entire day’s pay. Making Postage Affordable Stamps have been treated since the 1950s in various nations with nearly invisible luminescent ink “bands” that show up on stamps when the stamp is shown under a UV light. The purpose of this was to make sorting and postmarking mail easier. Increased Automation Thanks for the responses! I say "controversial" because some of my friends feel that the Roll-a-Tector risked damaging the stamps (apparently with known cases), and if so, my crude DIY scheme logically must be far more dangerous.

This is defined as a better than 90% chance of accurately showing a watermark and accurately detailing it is shape and form. Any method that does not show the shape or at least a general form is not included in our list. It Must Have A Reasonable Chance Of Not Damaging The Stamp

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Not to sound too cynical, but I have tried some (electronic) devices for watermarks, perforations, etc., and they typically seem to over-promise and under-deliver. That said, I have no experience with this particular device. If a person handled the stamp before it has dried, the corrosive nature of the liquids can eat away at the gum. The same, however, can be said for watermark fluid, which is considered harmless to stamps when the proper directions are followed. The Stamp Must Be Left In Near Identical Condition Paper starts out as wet, pulpy fibers that are laid in a tray. Before the pulp dries, metal wires are pressed into the pulp and the paper thins where the wires touch it. This creates a watermark.

This is a disposable watermark detector and may be useful only for a short time, probably less than a day. Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. Stamp watermarks are important. They can make the difference between an ordinary stamp worth a few pennies and one worth hundreds of pounds. While some methods of identifying a watermark on a stamp are easier than others, few are failsafe. Some can damage a stamp, while some that will not damage a stamp are not completely dependable. Below, we go through the pros and cons of each method, after we give you an overview of stamp watermarks. What Is A Watermark And Why Is It On My Stamp?

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This is a work in progress and I want to show my efforts in scanning various stamps to get the best view of the watermark. I’ll cover getting the best scan of the face of my stamps in another article. I’m not a sophisticated user of scanners or image editing software so this is how I tried to make best use of these systems to improve my philatelic skills. Why Scan Stamps and Stamp Watermarks? In a couple of cases, the majority of the watermark became visible in the Morley device, where my previous efforts using a light couldn't detect them. A couple of the other stamps were also identified, not by seeing the whole watermark, but be seeing either a slight curve or a slight straight edge next to the first C - enough to give me a clue as to which it was. I know this is an old thread, but I'm new here. I see a couple of posts about using rubbing alcohol for a watermark detection fluid. I have never tried this, but I'd be very reluctant. Some brands are 70% alcohol. Some are 50% alcohol. The other 30-50% is WATER. Both the alcohol and the water are polar solvents, which means that they should BOTH dissolve the gum. Carbon tetrachloride, benzene, Ronsinol, and the commercial detectors are all non-polar solvents, which means they will wet the stamp without reacting with the gum. They will just ruin the ink of modern stamps, as pointed out.