Many people still use the traditional 'hold-to-light' method for checking short or shifted bands, especially in the summer when the real darkness necessary for a UV-lamp is in short supply. Years ago this method was also used as a first check to find out whether the stamp had phosphor missing altogether - we could even do that in the post office and I remember looking at my first 1980 £3 Wedgwood PSB and saying to myself - "oh, they've changed the phosphor bands again" as I found the bands on the se-tenant pane shifted. I soon shifted that on my next trip to Stampex!
So what do we make of this:
It's a mix of stamps, the 1p and 11½p definitely se-tenant and the 14p and 11½p maybe not. Certainly the 11½p have left bands and if the 14p is - or was - joined as a pair, then that will have 2 bands - which are not visible by this method.
Fortunately the bands are visible to the Uvitec lamp, confirming that there is nothing amiss, aside from a lack of postmark on these! It also makes it much easier to see that the stamps are joined, at least in pair even if it is not a block of 4.
So remember, a UV lamp is a very worthwhile investment. What good finds have you made, with or without a UV lamp?
Is there a way visually (without a lamp) to tell the difference between all over phosphor & missing phosphor of the same issue (1970's stamps?) Thanks
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