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Used stamps must, likewise, be in the same perfectcondition. Absence of the gum is, of course, expectedon the used stamp. Cancellations must be very light andpreferably centered exactly upon the stamp. This iscalled "socked on the nose" by collectors.
I have described the ultimate in condition demandedby collectors. For modern stamps, such perfection is nottoo hard to obtain in individual stamps. However, it isfar from possible to obtain such super-fine stamps of thenineteenth century. For such stamps "condition" has adifferent meaning. Perfection is, of course, always soughtafter but is seldom obtained when we deal with the nine-teenth-century issues, and the older the issue the less weare able to approach perfection. Hence, for unused nine-teenth-century stamps original gum is not expected but,if present, it fetches a considerable premium. The bestpossible centering of the design is required for a stampto be in "very fine" condition, but "very fine" as a des-cription has an entirely different meaning for an earlynineteenth-century stamp than when applied to a modernissue. |
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