Stamp condition
The condition of a stamp, used to grade postage stamps in the stamp collecting market, is superficially expressed by how well centered the stamp is and how wide the margins of the stamp are:[1]
- Extra fine (EF) or extremely fine (XF) is a perfectly centered stamp with wide margins.
- Superb is sometimes used for a perfect stamp.
- Very fine (VF) is a well centered stamp with ample margins.
- Fine (F) is a stamp that is significantly offset up or down or to one side but still has four margins.
- Average (Avg.) is a stamp that is has no margin on at least one side with a portion of the design trimmed off or cut into by perforations. Except for rare or very old stamps average stamps are not collected or sold except as space-fillers or reference copies. Heavy cancellations which obliterate the design can also be considered.
- Poor Only great rarities such as the British Guiana 1c magenta, a stamp which is heavily canceled, soiled, and cut to shape, are collected in poor condition.
Many other factors besides centering and margins determine the description and value of stamps. Key among them in the case of mint stamps is the presence or absence of postage stamp gum and whether the gum has been disturbed:[2]
- Mint never-hinged (MNH or Mint NH, or just NH) is a unused, mint, stamp that has full original undisturbed gum, that has never been attached to an album page with a stamp hinge. Modern stamps are collected in this condition and older stamps sell at a considerable premium if they are in this condition.
- u/m: unmounted mint (mint never hinged) with full gum (Stanley Gibbons).[3]
- Lightly hinged (LH) is a mint stamp which was hinged with a modern stamp hinge which has been removed leaving only a slight disturbance to the gum.
- Heavily hinged (HH) is a mint stamp which was hinged with an old-fashioned stamp hinge the removal of which has damaged the gum, or which cannot be removed.
- Hinge remaining (HR) is a mint stamp which has part of a stamp hinge on the back.
- Original gum (OG): A stamp with the gum it was issued with, however deteriorated by age.
- No Gum (NG) Stamp has been soaked and the gum washed off, rarely, stamps are issued with no gum.
- Regummed (RG) Fresh gum, sometimes very like the original gum, has been applied to the stamp. If regumming is done in a clumsy way it is possible to detect it by examining the end of the perforations under a microscope where the fresh gum may interfere with the small strands of torn paper or even form small droplets.
Stanley Gibbon, which has vast experience in describing and selling older mint stamps uses the following to describe stamps with disturbed gum:[4]
- large part o.g: mounted mint (mint hinged) with the majority of original gum
- part o.g: mounted mint (mint hinged) with under 50% of original gum
Postally used stamps usually have no gum and these terms do not apply. An apparently used stamp with gum, for example from the former Soviet Bloc, may be Cancelled to order (CTO) and have little or no value to collectors.
Notes
- ^ Datz, Stephen R. (1999). Stamp Collecting. Loveland, Colorado: General Philatelic Corporation. p. 88. ISBN 0-88219-030-X.
- ^ Datz, Stephen R. (1999). Stamp Collecting. Loveland, Colorado: General Philatelic Corporation. p. 86. ISBN 0-88219-030-X.
- ^ Used by Stanley Gibbons to describe stamps being offered for sale on eBay.
- ^ Used by Stanley Gibbons to describe stamps being offered for sale on eBay.