Guides
Stamp collecting guides
Practical answers for collectors and the curious: how to identify a stamp, what the inscriptions mean, and what makes one worth more than another.
How to Identify a Postage Stamp: A Step-by-Step Guide
Find a stamp's country, issue year, denomination and variety by reading its inscriptions, design, perforations and printing, then confirm it in a catalogue.
Read guide →What Country Is This Stamp From? Foreign Stamp Inscriptions Explained
A lookup table of the country names printed on stamps, from Helvetia and Magyar to Nippon and CCCP, with tips for stamps that show no country at all.
Read guide →Are My Old Stamps Worth Anything? How Stamp Value Really Works
What actually makes a stamp valuable: rarity, demand, condition and errors, why catalogue value isn't selling price, and how to judge an inherited collection.
Read guide →Mint vs Used Stamps: Condition, Gum and Grading Explained
What MNH, MH, used and CTO mean, how centering is graded from Poor to Superb, and which faults lower a stamp's value.
Read guide →Types of Postage Stamps: Definitives, Commemoratives and More
Learn the difference between definitive, commemorative, semi-postal, airmail, postage due, official and revenue stamps, and why it matters for collectors.
Read guide →How to Measure Stamp Perforations and Find Watermarks
Use a perforation gauge to measure holes per 2 cm, tell perforated, rouletted and imperforate stamps apart, and reveal hidden watermarks safely.
Read guide →