The purpose of the Worldwide Illustrated Stamp Identifier is to provide a visual tool to assist in identifying the country of origin of particularly challenging stamps. On this page are stamps with no clear country inscription. With its heritage as the first stamp producing nation, Great Britain is the only country that by tradition does not inscribe the country name on its stamps. However it is not uncommon for stamps from the very early days of the postage stamp to lack the country name or for new postal administrations to overprint stamps of other countries without indicating the new country name. In addition to very old stamps, you will find special use stamps, such as postage due or official use stamps, which have no country name.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
See more Hungarian stamps at the |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Worldwide Illustrated Identifier Start Page
Stamps with Chinese Characters
Stamps Using Greek, Hebrew and Other Writing Systems
Introduction to Stamp Identification
Minor variations in collectible stamps can mean the difference between a common item and a great rarity. This introduction to the art and science of stamp identification covers provides an invaluable overview to the field covering such topics as finding your stamp in a catalogue, design variations, watermarks, printing methods and papers.
Understanding Stamp Values
The subject of stamp valuation is a deceptively complex one. While at first glance, determining the value of a stamp might appear to be a simple matter of turning to one of the many available reference catalogues, in fact the stamp catalogue is just the beginning of the process. This overview presents some of the major topics in stamp valuation, setting you on course to making confident purchases and understanding the ultimate worth of your collection.
The Grinnell Missionaries - Stamp Collecting's Greatest Controversy
First seen in 1919 when high school teacher and stamp collector George Grinnell claimed to have discovered dozens of rare early Hawaiian stamps, the Grinnell Missionaries have become perhaps the longest running controversy in stamp collecting. To this day experts and collectors alike still debate whether they are clever forgeries or the find of a lifetime.
