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How to Spot A Fake Stamp or Forgery? August 31, 2006

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Postage stamps are one of the most collected items in the world. However, they are also considered as the most faked, regummed and counterfeited items.

The following are basic tips and advice to know which is fake and which is not.

Gum or re-gummed, that is the question

First things first, what does it mean when a stamp is said to have been regummed?

A regummed stamp basically means that the stamp no longer contains gum in its one hundred percent original content.

A gum is said to have been original when the gum is produced from the United States postal authority or any other official postal authority such as Newfoundland or Canada. The instance a particular individual has applied his own gum blend to the stamp’s back is the instance wherein the stamp is considered as officially regummed.
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Knowing The Stamp’s Grade and Condition

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Collecting stamps is a worthwhile if not a very lucrative hobby. But more than simply gathering them, it is just as important that their condition and grade be well determined by its collector.

Serious stamp collecting requires discipline and sufficient knowledge thereby allowing the collector to save appropriate money and time to build a strong and sufficient collection.

Believe it or not, there are available catalogs that provide an outline of a stamp’s relationship between its grade and value. Even modern-day technology such as the internet offers no respite from sound stamp descriptions since some stamp faults could very well escape the eye of the scanner.

Basically, the grading and condition of a stamp is the same for all stamp collectors in any part of the world. So how does a stamp get to make that all-elusive grade? What is a grade?
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Tips to Make Your First Stamp Album August 30, 2006

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Collecting and bringing stuff together is fun and it can be rewarding too when your collection gets noticed by other people who may even want to buy your collection. People collect dolls, cars, toys, and almost anything that can be accumulated. For some, there is nothing like collecting stamps.

Before you decide on starting a stamp collection you must first determine what kind or type of stamps you are going to collect. You can collect any kind of stamp but it would be more valuable if you collect a certain kind of stamp. You can choose to collect stamps according to their types, formats, purpose, or condition.
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