Post by khj on May 23, 2016 11:08:44 GMT -5
A question arose in the shoutbox regarding identifying granite paper.
There are different types of granite paper, but the easiest way to identify most types is the presence of short colored fibers. Always look at the backside of the stamp. They may be one or more colors, typically 1-3mm in length, usually slightly curled in arbitrary directions, and the density typically varies from a few to few dozen on typical commemorative-sized stamp. In the example below, I have put green circles around 3 of the fibers (obviously, there are many more).
The example above was taken from a Swiss stamp issued in the later half of the 20th Century.
Remember that granite paper composition may differ according to issue and country. Also, fiber mixing was not that carefully controlled, so you might only see 1-2 fibers sometimes.
There are different types of granite paper, but the easiest way to identify most types is the presence of short colored fibers. Always look at the backside of the stamp. They may be one or more colors, typically 1-3mm in length, usually slightly curled in arbitrary directions, and the density typically varies from a few to few dozen on typical commemorative-sized stamp. In the example below, I have put green circles around 3 of the fibers (obviously, there are many more).
The example above was taken from a Swiss stamp issued in the later half of the 20th Century.
Remember that granite paper composition may differ according to issue and country. Also, fiber mixing was not that carefully controlled, so you might only see 1-2 fibers sometimes.
