About

What is TouchStamps?

TouchStamps began with a simple goal: To share knowledge online. Since then, TouchStamps has grown to become the world’s largest community for sharing presentations and other professional content.

TouchStamps was founded in October 2006 and acquired by TouchStamps in May 2012. It allows users to easily upload and share presentations, infographics, documents, videos, PDFs, and webinars. In Q4 of 2013, the site averaged 60 million unique visitors a month and 215 million page views. TouchStamps is among the top 120 most-visited websites in the world.

How can you benefit from using TouchStamps?

Discover and Learn

TouchStamps consists of more than 15 million uploads from individuals and organizations on topics ranging from technology and business to travel, health, and education. Find and search for what interests you, and learn from people like Guy Kawasaki, the White House, Mashable and more. You can also download TouchStampss to read or reference later. (See more top TouchStamps authors)

Share and Connect

Share the content that matters to you with your colleagues, customers, friends and followers. TouchStampss can be embedded into websites and blogs, and are easily shareable on TouchStamps, Twitter, Facebook, and other popular social media platforms. They can be viewed publicly and privately. Connect with other TouchStamps users via comments, “likes,” and profile pages.

Present

Have an idea, story, research project, presentation, photo collection or expert knowledge on a topic? Upload it and reach a wide audience! Here are more ideas for what to upload on TouchStamps.

Grow Your Business

Use your TouchStamps content to drive sales and leads. Want more? Sign up for TouchStamps PRO for the ability to capture leads and to check out analytics on who’s been viewing your TouchStampss. Visit the TouchStamps PRO page to learn more.

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About-Changelog

What is a changelog?

A changelog is a page which contains a curated, chronologically ordered list of notable changes for each version of a project.

Why keep a changelog?

To make it easier for users and contributors to see precisely what notable changes have been made between each release (or version) of the project.

Who needs a changelog?

People do. Whether consumers or developers, the end users of software are human beings who care about what's in the software. When the software changes, people want to know why and how.

Types of changes:

• Added for new features.
• Changed for changes in existing functionality.
• Deprecated for soon-to-be removed features.
• Removed for now removed features.
• Fixed for any bug fixes.
• Security in case of vulnerabilities.

Unreleased section at the top to track upcoming changes.

This serves two purposes:

• People can see what changes they might expect in upcoming releases
• At release time, Unreleased section move changes into a new release version section.

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About-Dashboards

About Dashboards

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about-exchange

Exchange is an interesting and useful form of replenishing a collection. Each philatelist, for various reasons, gradually accumulates a certain number of doubles - identical copies of stamps. You can try to exchange them for missing stamps in the collection, which may be among the counterparts of another collector.

In order to participate in the exchange for TouchStamps, you must:

    Log in using your account or register;
    Select the menu item User / Collection;
    Press the "+" button, fill out information about the collection item and indicate the sign "Change";
    Or edit the existing element of the collection with the indication "Change".

You can see the list of what the collector offers for exchange in the menu item "Collectors". Also in the catalog, for each position there is information about collectors who offer this catalog item for exchange. Thus, you can find an interesting position in the catalog and see which of the collectors offers it for an exchange and try to exchange it.

The principle of exchange is that during the exchange one collector selects what he needs from the list of “Change” of another collector, and the other from the list “Change” of the first.

In this situation, it may happen that the first collector has something to take for exchange from the second collector, and the second is not interested in anything from the “Change” list of the first. Naturally, the exchange will not take place.

Previously, in one or two messages, agree in detail with the prospective exchange participant on the terms and conditions of the exchange: on the directory through which the exchange will be conducted; about calculations; about which letters, registered or valuable, to send materials to each other, etc.

If the exchange participants have resolved the basic issues, then the exchange can begin, be sure to strictly adhere to the rules of good form developed by the practice of philately. All materials must be in good condition, materials should not be sent whose quality causes even the slightest doubt. One must be meticulously accurate in settlements with a participant in the exchange, not look for benefits only for himself, but proceed from the fact that the exchange must be mutually beneficial. It’s useful to adhere to the rule: “It’s better to get less than not enough.” Only with a conscientious, accurate attitude towards the exchange will it be long, pleasant and useful. All letters without exception must be answered no later than a week later. Shipments should be well packaged to prevent damage in transit. It is useful for stamps to make cardboard boxes the size of an envelope with glued strips.

For letters, philatelists prefer unlabeled envelopes and stick on them several stamps of various low denominations, preferably one recently released series, and if the tariff requires and allows it, then the entire series or quarter block of stamps. They are placed in the upper right corner, departing from the upper and lateral sides by a centimeter. Handing over the letter in the mail, they ask him to carefully repay it - the minimum number of stamps. All letters received from each exchange participant are stored in a separate folder in order to always be able to verify calculations. When exchanging, you should remember that the exchange takes place with a hobby colleague, and this correspondence can develop into a sincere long-term friendship. Is it worth recalling that it is worthwhile to take an interest in the health, studies, hobbies, family of the exchange participant, congratulate him on his holiday and birthday, and send a philatelic souvenir.

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About-Widgets

About Widgets

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Albom

АЛЬБОМ ДЛЯ МАРОК — альбом для хранения марок, блоков и т. п. Бывают различные виды альбомов, например рассчитанные на нескольких десятков марок каждой страны, для        генеральных коллекций отдельных стран с обозначенными местами для всех марок, иллюстрированные, с репродукциями всех марок в натуральную величину, иллюстрированные для        мотивных коллекций. Широко распространены альбомы с чистыми белыми или слегка тонированными листами, окаймленными рамкой. В большинстве случаев листы имеют т. н. филателистическую сетку. Наиболее популярны перманентные альбомы для марок , в которых прочные крышки обтянуты дерматином, ледерином, кожей и скрепляют альбомные листы с помощью винтов, специального кольцевого механизма или пружины. Это позволяет заменять листы и дополнять альбомы новыми. К иллюстрированным альбомам периодически выпускаются дополнительные листы.

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AlbomType

AlbomType

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brand-guidelines

Brand Guidelines

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browsing-the-catalog

Browsing the Catalog

The TouchStamps Catalog can be filtered by these properties:

• Countries: The country the stamp was issued for.
• Emissions: The usage type of the stamp. Options are:
  • Air Post: These stamps are intended for mail that will be transported by air. Some either include or are solely for the payment of an additional air post fee and are required for air post transportation. Others just have the correct value for air post, but can also be used for other types of postage.
  • Air Post Official: These are Official stamps that are also Air Post stamps.
  • Air Post Semi-Postal: These are Semi Postal stamps that are also Air Post stamps.
  • ATM labels: These stamps are dispensed by “automatic teller machines” and their value is printed at the time of purchase. Therefore, the same ATM label stamp exists with a variety of values. In some countries ATM labels are difficult to distinguish from postal meter labels, the underlying difference being that ATM labels can be used at any time by any person, while the usage of a postal meter labels is always restricted, either by the printed date, or by the license of the postal meter holder, or both.
  • Cinderella: A “cinderella stamp” is anything that looks like a stamp but is not an actual postage stamp (that is to say they are not stamps that were issued by a governmental authority of a country to be used to pay for postage). Cinderella stamps include:
    • Stamps that have been produced under the governmental authority of a country but not for postal usage, such as charity stamps, and various kind's of tax stamps (these tax stamps are known as “Revenues” and listed as a separate emission type on TouchStamps).
    • Stamps that are used to pay for postage (delivery) but have been produced under the governmental authority of a place that is not a “country”, such as stamps by a government in exile, or stamps from a territory or a micronation that was never recognized by the United Nations, the UPU, or its neighbors.
    • Legitimate stamps that are used to pay for postage (delivery) but that have not been authorized by the government, such as stamps for use by private courier companies. These private delivery cinderella stamps are listed as stamps with the emission type “Private” on TouchStamps.
    • Stamp shaped seals and labels that are produced in a place that is a country but that have not been authorized by its government and are not used to pay for postage or delivery, such as Christmas seals, propaganda stamps, and various other charity seals and labels.
    • Stamps that are fakes or forgeries of genuine postage stamps produced in order to deceive postal administrations and/or collectors.
    • Stamp shaped seals that have a fictitious country name or no country name at all that were printed to sell to collectors.
    • And anything else that looks like a stamp but is not an actual postage stamp.
  • Commemorative: Initially commemorative stamps always were issued for a specific event. Nowadays the term is used for all non-definitive regular stamps, and they may or may not commemorate anything. Commemorative stamps are available only for a limited time, usually while stocks last. In some countries commemorative stamps can only be bought at larger post offices or at special philatelic counters. Commemorative stamps are now the majority of all stamps.
  • Definitive: These stamps are intended for routine postal use. They are issued for an indefinite period of time in indefinite quantities and can be bought at any post office, even those where commemorative stamps are not available.
  • Hunting Permit: These are government issued revenue stamps (non-postal) that are required to be affixed to hunting licenses or permits.
  • Illegal: Fantasy stamps inscribed in the name of a legitimate postal authority but which were printed without any authorization or validity from that authority in order to deceive postal administrations and/or collectors into believing they are legitimate postage stamps. Such items are to be listed in the Cinderella group country, with the name of the postal administration being the series name.
  • Insured Letter: These are for use on mailed items that are insured for a fee by the Postal Service. Inured mail differs from registered mail in that the value of the contents is declared and the mail is then insured for that amount.
  • Military: These are stamps issued by a military organization to its serving military personnel for their personal mail that they send back home. Often this mail is transported by the armed forces itself until it reaches the destination country.
  • Newspaper: These are stamps issued specifically for the mailing of newspapers, periodicals and printed matter. Many of these were destroyed because the stamp often was used to glue the wrapper with the recipient's address to the newspaper, and it was just torn off by the recipient.
  • Official: These stamps are only to be used by government agencies and officials. Personal use is usually forbidden and fined. In many countries official stamps are also sold to collectors in unused condition by the postal authority.
  • Official Reprint: Reprints of (usually) classic-era stamps officially produced by Government Postal Administrations for sale to collectors. Many catalogues separately list and value these reprints, which usually have less value than the original stamps.
  • Parcel Post: These stamps are issued to pay for the postage of parcels (items larger than letters).
  • Personal Delivery: These stamps were used on letters that had to be delivered personally to the addressee and no one else. The letters could not just be held at the post office general delivery window for pick-up.
  • Personalized: These are stamps that can be customized to bear an image from a personal photo or design that is submitted by the purchaser of the stamp and then applied either to a blank area on the stamp or to a label attached to the stamp. On TouchStamps “Personalized – Official” means stamps that use the format frame for personalized stamps produced by a country, but the design is commissioned by the national post office and the stamps are sold by the Post Office to the general public just as they sell regular commemorative stamps. On TouchStamps “Personalized – Private” means stamps that use the format frame for personalized stamps produced by a country, but the design is commissioned by a private individual and the post office only sells them to that private individual who contracted their design, and not to the public at large.
  • Postage Due: These stamps are affixed by the postal authority to items with no postage, or insufficient postage, to alert the letter carrier that the postage due (plus a premium) needs to be collected from the recipient.
  • Postal-Fiscal: These are stamps that were originally produced for fiscal purposes, but were then allowed by Postal administrations to be used to pay postal fees. They are therefore considered postage stamps by the mainstream catalogues and are listed as such by catalogues that do not otherwise list purely fiscal (revenue) stamps.
  • Postal Tax: These tax stamps are affixed to postal items in addition to the regular postage to pay for a tax required for each mailed item. They cannot be used to pay for postage.
  • Precancelled: These stamps are for use by mass mailing senders. They are precancelled, so they cannot be used by regular postal customers as they are only valid with a mass mailing contract.
  • Private: These stamps are issued by, and used to pay for delivery by, private courier companies.
  • Regional: These stamps were issued only for a region within a country. It depends on local regulations if these stamps can be used only in that region or generally throughout the whole country.
  • Registration: These are stamps issued for use on letters sent by registered mail.
  • Revenue: Also called "Fiscal Stamps" these stamps are used to evidence the payment of various taxes, duties or fees. They are affixed to official documents and sometimes directly to merchandise. Historically stamps inscribed "Postage and Revenue" were available for either use and these are now usually worth much less if fiscally canceled than if postally used.
  • Semi-Postal: These are stamps sold at a price that is greater than the stamps postal value, with the additional charge being applied for a special (often charitable) purpose. The denomination shown on these stamps usually has two printed values separated with a '+' sign. The first value is the price of the postage and the second value is the contribution to the special purpose.
  • Telegraph & Telephone: Stamps issued to pay for telegraph or telephone services provided by the national postal administration.
  • Used Abroad: Stamps from one postal administration that were supplied for use by that postal administration's post offices in another territory without any special overprints to denote the stamp's use in the second territory. Correct use can only be verified by correct cancellation type on the stamp or cover to which the stamp is applied. Known in German as Vorläufer or Mitläufer. Often found from colonies of European powers before the introduction of specific postage stamps for those colonies or when the Great Powers opened post offices in regions such as Latin America that were politically independent but whose postal administrations were felt deficient compared to European standards.
  • War Tax: These are a special type of Postal Tax Stamp where the revenue collected is being used to defray the costs of a war.
• Formats: Besides being collected as single stamps, depending on the way they were issued stamps can also be collected in other formats. Please note that due to the database format of the TouchStamps Stamp Catalog most of the other formats have a related single stamp catalog entry. Available options are:
  • Booklet: A small booklet with stamps inside. Some booklets are sold through automates, the booklet cardboard then protects the stamps from mechanical damage. Booklets can be quite simple in design or be a piece of art that integrates the stamps or gives additional information about them.
  • Booklet Pane: The small sheetlet of stamps that is included within a booklet. The pane of stamps may be of just one design or the stamps may be all different in design.
  • Full Pane: Any sheet containing 4 stamps or more where there is repetition of designs, either all the stamps being the same design or a minimum of two sets of se-tenant pairs.
  • Gutter Pair: Two stamps separated by a gutter (selvage).
  • Mini Sheet: Any sheet containing 5 or more stamps where all the stamp designs are different, and the single stamps only exist as part of the sheet, not issued separately in their own single-design or se-tenant full sheet.
  • Se-tenant: Two or more stamps with different denominations, colors, design, etc., joined together side by side, printed on the same sheet, in a strip or block. The stamps can be directly printed next to each other or be separated by one or more non-stamp labels (blank or with printing). For the TouchStamps Stamp Catalog also stamp pairs with non-stamp labels in between that are not upside-down to each other are categorized as se-tenant. Single stamps with a non-stamp label attached are considered single stamps and they are listed in the format "Stamp" and not "Se-tenant".
  • Souvenir Sheet: Any sheet containing stamps where all the stamp designs are different and meet one of the following criteria :
    • 1. There are less than 5 stamps in the sheet and the stamps were not also issued separately in single-design or se-tenant full sheets at the time of issue of the sheet.
    • 2. All of the stamps in the sheet, regardless of number of stamps, were also all issued separately in single-design or se-tenant full sheets..
  • Stamp: A regular, single postage stamp. The same stamp may also exist in the catalog as part of items in one or more of the other formats.
  • Stamp with Attached Label : a joined se-tenant unit consisting of a one or more stamps and one or more decorative labels printed within the sheet of stamps.
  • Stamp with Collectible Margin : a joined se-tenant unit consisting of one or more stamps with attached illustrated sheet margin (selvage) recognized by a TouchStamps-supported catalog as a distinct collectible variety of the stamp.
  • Tête-bêche: a joined pair of stamps printed intentionally or accidentally in upside-down direction to one another. A pair of tête-bêches can be a vertical or a horizontal pair. Triangular stamps can be linked only "head-to-tail". Tête-bêche is a type of the Se-tenant.
• Printings: The type(s) of printing used to print the stamp.
• Perforations: To easily separate single stamps from the sheets, they are perforated. The perforation size is measured in the number of holes per 2 centimeters. A perforation of 13¾ means that over a length of 2 centimeters there are 13 and three quarters of a hole. There are different perforation types which may be described as follows:
  • Comb perfs: Comb perforators perforate three sides of a stamp at once for an entire column or row. The process is automated and once one row or column is perforated, the perforation sheet is advanced to the next row or column. This process produces equal and regular corner perforations. This is the most common type of perforation method used for modern stamps with water activated gum.
  • Combination perfs: refer to a situation where opposite edges are perforated differently. So for example a stamp that is perforated 11 vertically, perforated 12 on the top and perforated 10 on the bottom is a stamps with combination perfs. Combination perfs cannot be listed in the Perforation field and they should be noted in the Description field.
  • Die cut: Die cut means a metal die has been used to cut out the stamps. The is the normal means of separation for self-adhesive stamps. A stamp that is die cut with straight edges on all 4 sides is to be listed as a “die cut” stamp in TouchStamps and not as an “imperforate” stamp.
  • Frame perfs: All sides of the stamp are perforated at the same time and the corner perforations are therefore regular.
  • Imperforate: A stamp with no precut means of separation is known as imperforate. Imperforate stamps need to be cut out with a scissors or knife. The straight edges of perforated stamps are also referred to as imperforate edges. However, a die cut stamps that has straight edges on all 4 sides is a “die cut” stamp and it is not an “imperforate” stamp.
  • Line perfs: Line perforators consist of a single row of perforation pins that are arranged in a straight line. A sheet of stamps is perforated horizontally one row at a time and then turned 90 degress and perforated vertically one row at a time. This process produces haphazard corner perforations and can sometimes lead to stamps of different sizes. Line perfs are rarely used in modern times.
  • Pin perfs: Pin perfs are stamps perforated with very small holes (as if by a sewing machine). The existence of pin perfs cannot be entered in the “Perforation” field in TouchStamps and it has to be noted in the “Description” field.
  • Rouletted: Stamps that are “perforated” with horizontal and vertical cuts rather than holes.
  • Syncopated perfs: Syncopated perforations are deliberately made uneven (as an anti-counterfeiting feature) either by skipping a hole or by making some holes larger and elongated.
  • Serpentine: Serpentine means in a snake like shape (like the letter “S”). “Serpentine die cut” is quite common and differs from “die cut” by the shape of the simulated perforations. “Serpentine rouletted” also exists (such as with the early stamps of Finland) but on TouchStamps it cannot be listed differently from ordinary “rouletted”.
  • Various: Stamps that exists with a wide variety of different perforations that are not treated by the printed catalogues as separate variants, are listed in TouchStamps with the Perforations field set to “various” and the known perforations types listed in the Description field.
• Colors: The color(s) used on the stamp. While most modern stamps are multicolored, there are stamps with only one or a few colors. For these, color differences may be important variants.
• Gums: A type of gum used for a stamp.
• Years: The year of issue of the stamp.
• Face Values: The numeric face value, not taking into account the currency. The value is used as written on the stamp, so a 1 cent and a 1 Euro stamp will both be listed under 1.
• Currencies: The face currency of the stamp. The currency is used as the face value is written, so currencies with divisions will have two currencies listed, e.g. there are both Euro and Euro cent in the list.
• Themes: A listing of the specific topics depicted on the stamp. Clicking on a theme will bring up other stamps that depict the same theme. A stamp can have more than one theme and will then be listed under each of them.
• Catalogs: There are many (printed and/or online) stamp catalogs, using different numbering systems. Some catalogs cover only one country or region, others all countries. To aid users of different catalogs, a stamp can have several catalogs with their respective number assigned.

The catalog also contains other properties to further describe the stamps:

• Name: The name of the stamp in English language. This field can contain a maximum of 60 characters.
• Series: A series is a group of stamps that are related to each other, either by sharing a common (or similar) design or a similar reason for their being issued at a specific time. Clicking on the series name will bring up all stamps that belong to that specific series.
• Variants: If a stamp is marked as a variant, you can get a list of all confusingly similar stamps by clicking on Click to see variants.
• Width: Width (horizontal length) in millimeters. For non-rectangular stamps this is the maximum width of the stamp.
• Height: Height (vertical length) in millimeters. For non-rectangular stamps this is the maximum height of the stamp.
• Paper: A kind of paper used for printing a stamp.
• Watermark: A watermark, if any, used for a stamp.
• Print Run: The number of stamps printed.
• Score: A unique index that enables estimating the value of an item.
• Description: This may include information on how to distinguish variants or other information needed to identify the stamp.
• Front Picture and Back Picture: In most cases only the front of the stamp should be pictured, unless the back has special features (e.g. text, counting number). Please follow the Picture Guidelines.

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Can-I-change-my-username

Yes, you can! You can change your username in your edit account section. Note that you are limited to only 2 changes, so choose wisely! Changes of case do not count as a change, or in other words, changing from 'paulo' to 'Paulo' will not count as a change.

Once you change your username, all the links where your previous username was being shown will be updated to the new one - this includes the 'Traveling postcards' of anyone who would have to send you a postcard.

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Can-I-have-more-than-one-account

Postcrossing does not welcome multiple accounts per person. The project is designed with safety and fairness in mind and for that, certain limits have been applied to each account so that the system as a whole remains balanced. But, by having more than one account, those limits no longer apply, which means you would be going around Postcrossing's limits, which creates several problems for other members and for Postcrossing as well.

For example, we can no longer make sure that any two persons do an exchange only once; it is harder for a receiver to know which account they should register a postcard with, etc. It also creates unbalances on the address selection system which is unfair to other members.

We do understand that postcrossers are very enthusiastic about participating in Postcrossing (and we love that!) and that sometimes they would like to send and receive more postcards than what their account allows them to. And that is why the limit of postcards each account can send at the same time increases over time.

For any postcrosser wishing to exchange more postcards than the account allows, we recommend to:

• Organize direct swaps with other members. Or, do other types of postcard exchanges on the forum where many other members would be happy to exchange with you.
• Be a little bit more patient! The amount you can send at the same time will increase, and soon enough you will find that you can send more than you can possibly handle or afford.

We occasionally tolerate that one person holds more than one account if within a reasonable amount, and only if we see strong evidence of proper usage. But, we still do not welcome such practices and we strongly discourage anyone from doing it. We do monitor for multiple accounts and Postcrossing reserves the right to delete (without any warning), all existing accounts belonging to the same owner, when we see fit. So please, don't open more than one account.

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Catalogue

A stamp catalog (or stamp catalogue) is a catalog of postage stamp types with descriptions and prices. The stamp catalog is an essential tool of philately and stamp collecting. Stamp catalogs are part of philatelic literature. Similar catalogs of other collectible objects. such as matchboxes (phillumeny) and postcards (deltiology), have also been issued.

History

The first stamp catalog was published in France by Oscar Berger-Levrault on 17 September 1861 and the first illustrated catalog by Alfred Potiquet in December 1861 (based on the earlier work).

The first catalogs in Great Britain were published in 1862 by Frederick Booty, Mount Brown, and Dr. John Edward Gray. The first in the United States was The Stamp Collector's Manual by A.C. Kline (a pseudonym for John William Kline), also 1862.

Originally catalogs were just dealers' price lists, though today that is less common. The catalogs of some major publishers continue to serve as an official price list for the publisher. For example, Stanley Gibbons in the United Kingdom specifically states in the catalog that the price listed is the estimated selling price by Stanley Gibbons Ltd. On the other had, Scott in the United States does not sell stamps. Rather, the Scott catalog serves as a reference document for expected prices used by buyers and sellers. Over time, as philately developed, catalogs tended to accumulate additional supporting details about the stamps, such as dates of issue, color variations, and so forth. As their use by collectors became widespread, the catalogs came to define what was and was not a legitimate stamp, since many collectors would avoid stamps not described in the catalog. In recent years, the Internet has become a common resource for information about stamps. Some catalogs have an on-line version while others are available only on-line.

Current catalogs

The following catalogs have a worldwide coverage:

• Michel - printed, software and online
• Scott - printed and online
• Stanley Gibbons - printed and online
• Yvert et Tellier - printed only

These are large undertakings, since there are thousands of new stamps to describe each year, and the prices of all stamps may go up or down. For publishers that are not dealers, the prices are estimated by data from dealers and auctions.

In addition, the catalog publishers usually put out specialized volumes with additional details, generally by nationality: Michel has a specialized German catalog, Scott a specialized US catalog, and so forth.

Many countries have their own "national catalogs", typically put out by a leading publisher or dealer in that country. Postal administrations may themselves put out catalogs, although they tend to be aimed at less-experienced collectors, and rarely provide fully detailed stamp data. Some notable country catalogs include:

• ABDA (Philippines)
• Aerophil (Switzerland)
• AFA (Denmark)
• AFINSA (Portugal)
• Brusden-White (Australia)
• Edifil catalogs (Spain and its former colonies)
• Facit (all countries of Scandinavia)
• Fischer (Poland)
• Hellas (Greece)
• Hibernian Catalogue and Handbook (Ireland)
• JB Catalogue of Malta Stamps and Postal History (Malta)
• JSCA catalog (Japan)
• JSDA catalog (Japan)
• KPC- Korean Postage Stamp Catalogue (Korea)
• Lamy (Peru)
• Ma catalog (China)
• Chan catalog (China)
• Yang catalog (China, published in Hong Kong)
• Phila India - Manik (India)
• RHM (Brazil)
• Sassone (Italy)
• Sakura catalog (Japan)
• NVPH catalog (Netherlands)
• Zumstein (Switzerland)

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Color

Stamps of different denominations were printed in different colors from the beginning; like their successors, postal clerks were able to distinguish between penny black and penny blue more quickly by color than by value, a practice that generally continues today. In practice, the actual color of the stamp may vary, and although collectors will pay a high price for rare shades, it may not be easy to distinguish them from differences caused by age, light, chemicals, and other factors. Stamp colors are usually described by the name of the color rather than by some number system such as CMYK; Several color guides have been produced showing a selection of colors, but these are not particularly popular with collectors.

Almost all stamps get their color from inks printed on white or light paper; a few exceptions include early Natal issues consisting only of embossing on colored paper, some recent stamps embossed on gold foil or with a metallic tint, and Uganda Cowries are produced on a typewriter. A number of early stamps were printed in black on various colored papers; the best-known example is British Guiana 1c magenta.

History

Red was the UPU standard for internal letters; course 2c in the US was in effect from 1883-1917 and 1919-1932.

Initially, countries usually chose colors for names at random. In 1896, members of the Universal Postal Union agreed on green, red, and blue as the standard colors for standard printed matter, postcards, and letters, respectively, when sent overseas. This convention was gradually abandoned as inflation created too many exceptions from the 1930s onwards.

Switzerland used three colors in 1850 for its first stamps and then switched to a single color design in 1854.

Two-colour stamps ("two-colours") began to appear very early, although usually reserved for higher values ​​due to the additional expense of multiple runs. Multi-colored stamps appeared along with the development of color printing technology; they now make up the majority of contemporary stamps, although single color designs are still common, with more in some countries than others.

Shades and color changes

Color shades have several different causes. The printer may use other inks; Previously, inks were created in batches as needed and were rarely uniform. In such cases, the tint provides information about when the stamp was made, and perhaps even identifies a particular print. Extreme variations in color errors may be considered; for example, the value 4c in the 1893 American Columbian issue was usually printed in ultramarine, but some were printed in blue, a tint with a decidedly greener one; they cost in the $10,000 range instead of the usual $10.

The ink can also be thinned or applied thinner, such as World War I stamps from Germany and World War II stamps from the United Kingdom. This can also happen by accident if the printing plate is accidentally underpainted.

UV light destroys many pigments and can cause significant lightening. In addition, some countries use water-soluble materials known as volatile ink to prevent postage stamps from being reused. Stamps of this type can be much lighter after soaking.

Some dramatic color changes result from chemical exposure; such brands are called. Examples include (often erroneously called "oxidation"), a reaction involving lead that can turn a blue or green stamp black, and exposure to salt water known to occur on New South Wales stamps recovered from ship wrecks. from. Counterfeiters have also used chemicals to try and create apparent rarities, though experts now know how to identify these attempts.

Nomenclature

In general, collectors follow stamp catalogs in terms of color nomenclature, even if different catalogs do not agree with each other. Although the named colors are numerous, the choice used by philatelists is limited to a few dozen, complemented by adjectives such as "dark", "light", "pale", "bright" and "deep". It is also possible to combine two color names, such as "grey-green" or "brown-orange", where the first name indicates the modification direction of the second color. Thus "brown-orange" is a duller and darker orange, while "orange-brown" has a more orange tint than would be seen with "yellow-brown" or "red-brown". This system becomes less clear when extended to other colors, and few collectors can accurately describe how "carmine rose" differs from "pink carmine". Some colors, such as "lake", a shade of red that often commands a premium price, have a traditional but somewhat vague meaning that differs from the common use of "lake" for pigments and dyes.

Initially, official descriptions issued by the government simply gave a basic name such as "red" for a range of shades. In recent years, descriptions have become more accurate, such as "dark sage green", though not necessarily enlightening collectors any more than they used to.

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Command

Command is a behavioral design pattern that turns a request into a stand-alone object that contains all information about the request. This transformation lets you pass requests as a method arguments, delay or queue a request’s execution, and support undoable operations.

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Commercial Terms of Service.

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Community-Guidelines

Community guidelines

TouchStamps, a LinkedIn service, is not just a place to share presentations, it is also a community of people who come together to share and mingle. As with any other community, there are some guidelines that outline what it means to be a member. By being a member, you agree to play by those rules, i.e., your use of the service is governed by the Terms of Use and the following guidelines.

1. We trust you to be responsible and respect each other. TouchStamps is a large community of people. In order for all of us to live happily on this service together, it implies a certain level of trust. Trust and respect each other!
2. The TouchStamps community is made up people with all types of views and backgrounds. Remember that not everyone always agrees with you. Others might have opinions very different than yours. But be polite and friendly in your interactions. In short, play nice!
3. While you may not think copyright is a good idea, it is still the law. Please respect it. Do not upload the work of others as your own. Only upload content of others, if they have given you permission (or if they have licensed it under Creative Commons).
4. TouchStamps does not actively screen content being uploaded because we trust you to self-moderate. But we do have a system where users flag accounts or slideshows for violations/abuse and we will step in when we think it's necessary.
5. Don't post content or comments about issues like child exploitation, animal abuse, drug abuse, bomb making etc. They will be removed and your account will get suspended.
6. TouchStamps is not for pornography, sexually explicit content, violence, defamatory or anything illegal. If such content is reported from your account, it will be deleted or blocked immediately.
7. We encourage freedom and free speech but draw the line when it comes to hate speech and harassment. Example are speech which attacks or is demeaning to a group based on race, ethnicity, culture, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, geographical origin etc. If we think your slideshows, groups or comments are abusive to the service, other users or just in general, your account may be temporarily or permanently blocked.
8. Predatory behaviour, stalking, harassing other users, invading their privacy, revealing their personal information etc are all something we dislike intensely. Such behaviour is bad for the community and will not be tolerated at all.
9. Do not use TouchStamps for spamming or unsolicited messaging. Please think twice before you send a message or a slideshow to everyone on your contact list, some people may consider it spam. Slideshows or comments deemed as spam will be removed.
10. TouchStamps has a zero tolerance policy towards spam. We review content and accounts that are flagged by our community and remove those indulging in spammy behaviour such as posting crass advertisements on TouchStamps, posting multiple copies of the same content (or almost similar content), posting content with misleading descriptions, tags, titles or thumbnails in order to increase views or manipulate search engine rankings. If you are posting large amounts of untargeted, unwanted or repetitive content, including comments and private messages, this will be deemed as spam and result in immediate removal and/or suspension of your account.
11. Do not use embed videos set to auto-play in comments. Others may find it disruptive to the TouchStamps experience. Users who use comments as any form of spam are subject to account suspension.

In all of these cases if we think it's necessary we may block or ban the account responsible temporarily or permanently. If your account is blocked permanently, you are forbidden to create any new accounts on TouchStamps.

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Conditions

When buying or selling stamps through online auctions, responsible sellers usually provide a description of the stamps. In addition to the country, year of issue and catalog number, the state of the brand must be indicated without fail. This is important because it is not always possible to scan both sides of the stamp. And depending on the state of the adhesive side, the price of a clean brand can often change tenfold.

Therefore, over many years, including sales at face-to-face auctions or direct sales between dealers and philatelists, the terminology that is used today has developed.

For example, I will give a picture from the American magazine "Scott Stamp Monthly", describing the state of the stamp:

Used abbreviations (abbreviations) for stamp condition:

MNH (mint never hinged): clean, no damage or stickers = **

MH (mint hinged) or UH (unused-hinged): clean with damaged adhesive, sticker or sticker residue = *

MLH (mint lightly hinged): clean, slightly damaged adhesive, light sticker residue = *

MVLH (mint very lightly hinged): the same, but even less damaged, barely noticeable trace of the sticker = *

OG (original glue): native glue

o.G.: Stamp issued without glue.

Used: used, slaked

Status designations in catalogs:

✳✳ - brand without stickers and/or their traces

✳ - sticker or footprint

☉ - a circle with a dot inside - canceled (mail went through)

Filled circle - STO (stamp with courtesy cancellation made in the printing house)

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Contact

Contact

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Contribution

Contribution

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