Thankyou John for these fantastic philately videos. Please keep them coming. This video is special to me as I am an Aussie and have all these stamps in my collection.
1. Lighter fluid is quite safe to use for watermark detection. If you have naked flames close to your stamps (with or without lighter fluid) you have a problem - stamps are also highly flammable! 2. Water mark detection is crucial if you collect early Australian stamps i.e. roos or KGVs as the watermark can be the only way to work out which series or year they were issued.
well thank YOU John, I wouldn't make these videos if people weren't watching, liking, commenting or subscribing. I appreciate the support and very glad that you are enjoying them :)
I don’t know if you know but naphtha also works for watermark detecting. If you go to any paint store a 1/4 of a gallon will cost you $12.00, and that should last a lifetime. I use it on my stamps and it’s very safe.
I saw a tv program where an antiques dealer gets from a customer a possible Z-grill Ben Franklin and calls in a professional appraiser who appraised the other two Z-grills. I was amazed he used lighter fluid to soak the stamp. BTW the stamp was not a Z-grill, he compared it to another stamp that had the z-grill. He explained the fluid evaporated quickly and does no damage to the stamp. He then said the Ben Franklin stamp was only worth $50 and there are many out there. Z-grills were only done for 2 years.
I think I remember seeing that scene as well... I think it was one of those Pawn dealer shows, and the person trying to sell it was super disappointed that it wasnt a Z-Grill. I got to look for that video somewhere....
I have the first kangaroo stamp in my collection, and have some of the other stamps in that series. One of my more favourite designs from Australia! Keep up the fantastic work!
I found a sideways watermark on a George VI definitive. When I looked it up in my Scott cat I was pleasently surprised on the catalog price. Then I noticed other issues had sideways watermarks. So check out all those definitives was the order of the day. I use a common brand of charcoal lighter fluid for this. Also this works real good on removing backing paper on self adhesive stamps that have been cancelled.
Very nice and informative video! So how can we find the "Water Mark"? I have some AU One Penny stamps, but they look just white or gummy on back. Can you get a picture of AU Watermarks anywhere? Thank for the hints. Michael.
Hello Michael, one useful resource to start with is Colnect.com Sort stamps by country and year and some of them will have images of the watermark... Several of the early Aussie ones have watermark patterns available. I hope this helps.
The 1 penny Roo stamp was released in 1913 and is always the first watermark because it didn't form part of the later releases which had the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th watermarks. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd watermarks are quite similar and can be hard to tell apart, but as I said, you don't have that problem with the 1 penny roo. Same goes for the 1/2 penny, 4 pence and 5 pence roos.
Lighter fluid is fine as long as the inks and substrate aren't soluble in lighter fluid. Many urban legends used to circulate about the collector who identified a rare stamp by watermark using lighter fluid - who then proceeded to set the stamp afire by careless placement of his cigar. The watermark fluids of my youth, which were generally fluorinated hydrocarbons, would tout their fireproof nature in the package as a positive feature.
I have my father's stamp collection that he won off of his brother when they were teenagers. It was their great uncle's originally. My Dad would have been 90 this year, so that tells you how old some of those stamps are. I live in Australia so a lot of the stamps are the Roos and The King. I am now going to go through every single of one of them and work out what watermark is which. Hopefully I have one of the 119 left in the world with the watermark on its side hahahaha
The first stamps issued by Australia were actually postage due stamps in 1902. The first kangaroo stamps mentioned in the video were not issued until 1913.
That makes sense! First deal with the issue of insufficient postage within the country and from abroad...then get to making proper postage stamps... 11 years later (only). cool. thanks for sharing!
There was another controversy not related to the monarchy. At the time, farmers considered kangaroos to be a pest animal, and many people objected to a pest being used as a national icon.
I did not know this, very interesting. It's hard for me to imagine a kangaroo as a pest (since I'm not a farmer in Australia)... So I guess I can relate it to a raccoon or a rat being my national icon... Yep I can see the controversy :) Thanks for sharing Hans.
Lighter fluid is perfectly fine for showing watermarks. Does not affect the stamp. Just don't smoke while you are doing it & don't drink the lighter fluid...
I have a King George V stamp of australia with a postal mark of 1930. The funny thing is, it has a face value of 1 1/2 pence but in letters it is printed as Three Half pence. I don't know what to do. I am really perplexed.
Well thank U oh Great Leader got my stamp info from you years earlier now @2022 as war causes economic collateral damage but I kept all my stamps for times like this 🤠. How do I sell them.
I use wound gas (we call it like that in German: Wundbenzin) from the pharmacy for stamps. It is important that it is really clean, free from metals. This is why you can't use the gas you get at the gas station, neither so-called cleaning gas.
Great vid! Yeah I didn't do the lighter stuff um just too flammable I used a uv light ,a toy one lol Haven't looked at my stamps for a few years now ....
I JUST bought a little UV light... also a kids toy, and you are right I do see the watermark. Not as clearly as the lighter fluid but definitely less of a safety issue :) Thanks for watching Cat, and get back into your collection! who knows what treasures you have forgotten about!!
Haha! Now I'll be the first person to tell you that... I have no idea what I'm doing..." agreed - it doesn't sound like a good idea!! But legit allegedly...
I put some lighter fluid looking for water markers on stamps..oll was good except for 3 stamps..it turned them see through or looks like its waxpaper..is this a forgery. Weird
The 'Roo' stamp was NOT Australia's first stamp after Federation in 1901. The first national stamp was the Postage Due stamps issued on 1st July 1902. Now that's over with, anyone have a £1 Brown & Blue 1st WMK MNH (ACSC 51A or 51B) Roo going cheap?
@@gustaaf1892 I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek about the Blue & Brown 1 Pound regarding MNH going cheap. Anything other than a MNH is going to cost $$, a MNH one is $$$+.
I have this Australia stamps and also other countries stamps that l want to sell. Can you please tell me where l can sell this stamps in Malaysia. Thank you very much.
Australia #1 is the 1/2 cent green and is worth $7.50 used and I think it is 1913. The Australian States stamps were much earlier, more difficult to locate and some are very expensive. Australia is a good country for a beginner to collect, as long as you don't collect the states - save that for later! Most Australian stamps are very affordable. Another good country for a beginner is Czechoslovakia, again because they are affordable and a complete collection is within reach. This series is excellent for beginning collectors, keep it up!
I am very fortunate to have inherited 1840 mint penny blacks and blues and early australian state stamps in mint as well as the 1st wmk roos to £2 they are all extremely valuable now but i would not sell them for all the tea in china it's not always about the money its the historical significance that my great grandfather handled these stamps and they cannot be replaced once broken up some rare Australian state stamps have gone up 30%+ just in the last 10yrs particularly in the early Queensland and Victorian stamp duty stamps!!! Its a hedge against inflation and is a better investment in the longer term than gold / shares/real Estate as they are not correlated to the stock market and they are no onger printing anymore these and we are in the digital age so they will go up even more cheers regards stewy Sheffield LONDON England 😀
I only check watermarks if there is a good reason to do so. For example in a lot of US stamps the same stamp may have either no watermark or could have any one of several different watermarks, in this case you must check. I don't think this is the case for the Australian stamp you were looking at. So It's possible that anyone who has this stamp ( including me ) might have the sideways watermark on their stamp in their album. I'll check later and l'll you know if I have the expensive variety, but don't hold your breath. There's something else that should be said about watermarks - sometimes there is one huge watermark covering the whole sheet, but if you have a stamp from that sheet that was missed by the watermark you can't tell if it is unwatermarked or just missed. You might also have a stamp just barely touched by the watermark. You really have to know what you are doing because the difference in value could be huge. When in doubt you pick the cheapest stamp. Great show - I somehow missed this one before!
Some really good points there. As you say, the trick is knowing what you are doing or supposed to be looking at, especially when it is a piece of the larger watermark. Thank you! :)
That’s what most folks think because it’s the lowest value, but surprised to find out the 1d red came first 1/ 2/1913. It’s interesting! www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2013/11/on-this-day-in-history-australias-first-stamp-released/
Hi...im a new Subscriber, and i so loving stamps😍. Im from jakarta indonesia. Nice video.thanks brotha. Rgrds; Rend Montemorra ( ZLataNZaccartaIndonesiA).
me gusta la filatelia australiana ,saludos de chile.
Yo también, Y las estampillas nuevas de Australia son muy coloridos y divertidos! Gracias por ver en Chile!!
This is a great hobby. It teaches you history and every stamp is a mini work of art.
Well said! :)
Thankyou John for these fantastic philately videos. Please keep them coming. This video is special to me as I am an Aussie and have all these stamps in my collection.
Excellent article. Very interesting. Thank you
1. Lighter fluid is quite safe to use for watermark detection. If you have naked flames close to your stamps (with or without lighter fluid) you have a problem - stamps are also highly flammable! 2. Water mark detection is crucial if you collect early Australian stamps i.e. roos or KGVs as the watermark can be the only way to work out which series or year they were issued.
Such a great video, really, really love them. I'm a new stamp collector, so everything here is just great. Thx again! John
well thank YOU John, I wouldn't make these videos if people weren't watching, liking, commenting or subscribing. I appreciate the support and very glad that you are enjoying them :)
I don’t know if you know but naphtha also works for watermark detecting. If you go to any paint store a 1/4 of a gallon will cost you $12.00, and that should last a lifetime. I use it on my stamps and it’s very safe.
Good to know! a 1/4 would be plenty, ill keep an eye out. Thank you Tim. :)
I saw a tv program where an antiques dealer gets from a customer a possible Z-grill Ben Franklin and calls in a professional appraiser who appraised the other two Z-grills. I was amazed he used lighter fluid to soak the stamp. BTW the stamp was not a Z-grill, he compared it to another stamp that had the z-grill. He explained the fluid evaporated quickly and does no damage to the stamp. He then said the Ben Franklin stamp was only worth $50 and there are many out there. Z-grills were only done for 2 years.
I think I remember seeing that scene as well... I think it was one of those Pawn dealer shows, and the person trying to sell it was super disappointed that it wasnt a Z-Grill. I got to look for that video somewhere....
ua-cam.com/video/d6SQnEfzPHQ/v-deo.html
what years?
I have the first kangaroo stamp in my collection, and have some of the other stamps in that series. One of my more favourite designs from Australia!
Keep up the fantastic work!
I found a sideways watermark on a George VI definitive. When I looked it up in my Scott cat I was pleasently surprised on the catalog price. Then I noticed other issues had sideways watermarks. So check out all those definitives was the order of the day. I use a common brand of charcoal lighter fluid for this. Also this works real good on removing backing paper on self adhesive stamps that have been cancelled.
Very nice and informative video! So how can we find the "Water Mark"? I have some AU One Penny stamps, but they look just white or gummy on back. Can you get a picture of AU Watermarks anywhere? Thank for the hints. Michael.
Hello Michael, one useful resource to start with is Colnect.com Sort stamps by country and year and some of them will have images of the watermark... Several of the early Aussie ones have watermark patterns available. I hope this helps.
The 1 penny Roo stamp was released in 1913 and is always the first watermark because it didn't form part of the later releases which had the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th watermarks. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd watermarks are quite similar and can be hard to tell apart, but as I said, you don't have that problem with the 1 penny roo. Same goes for the 1/2 penny, 4 pence and 5 pence roos.
Lighter fluid is fine as long as the inks and substrate aren't soluble in lighter fluid.
Many urban legends used to circulate about the collector who identified a rare stamp by watermark using lighter fluid - who then proceeded to set the stamp afire by careless placement of his cigar.
The watermark fluids of my youth, which were generally fluorinated hydrocarbons, would tout their fireproof nature in the package as a positive feature.
I have my father's stamp collection that he won off of his brother when they were teenagers. It was their great uncle's originally. My Dad would have been 90 this year, so that tells you how old some of those stamps are. I live in Australia so a lot of the stamps are the Roos and The King. I am now going to go through every single of one of them and work out what watermark is which. Hopefully I have one of the 119 left in the world with the watermark on its side hahahaha
Oh wow, it sounds like you have a special collection to look through and explore. Who knows what you may find. 😊 Enjoy!!
The first stamps issued by Australia were actually postage due stamps in 1902. The first kangaroo stamps mentioned in the video were not issued until 1913.
That makes sense! First deal with the issue of insufficient postage within the country and from abroad...then get to making proper postage stamps... 11 years later (only). cool. thanks for sharing!
I was born in Perth! I love Lizzy but I vote for the roo.
There was another controversy not related to the monarchy.
At the time, farmers considered kangaroos to be a pest animal, and many people objected to a pest being used as a national icon.
I did not know this, very interesting. It's hard for me to imagine a kangaroo as a pest (since I'm not a farmer in Australia)... So I guess I can relate it to a raccoon or a rat being my national icon... Yep I can see the controversy :) Thanks for sharing Hans.
I like yur videos.. can you do a video on imperial japan values and great britian.please
Lighter fluid is perfectly fine for showing watermarks. Does not affect the stamp. Just don't smoke while you are doing it & don't drink the lighter fluid...
I have a King George V stamp of australia with a postal mark of 1930. The funny thing is, it has a face value of 1 1/2 pence but in letters it is printed as Three Half pence. I don't know what to do. I am really perplexed.
English One half pence equal one pence in Australia
how about an inverted watermark?
Can you help me out with any info on a cancellation mark LINDA JA 2. 11 Tasmania
I believe it was not a sheet, but four part panel. If it was a sheet it wouldn't have been square. Because it was square it was rolled incorrectly.
Well thank U oh Great Leader got my stamp info from you years earlier now @2022 as war causes economic collateral damage but I kept all my stamps for times like this 🤠. How do I sell them.
I use wound gas (we call it like that in German: Wundbenzin) from the pharmacy for stamps. It is important that it is really clean, free from metals. This is why you can't use the gas you get at the gas station, neither so-called cleaning gas.
Great vid! Yeah I didn't do the lighter stuff um just too flammable I used a uv light ,a toy one lol Haven't looked at my stamps for a few years now ....
I JUST bought a little UV light... also a kids toy, and you are right I do see the watermark. Not as clearly as the lighter fluid but definitely less of a safety issue :) Thanks for watching Cat, and get back into your collection! who knows what treasures you have forgotten about!!
@@ExploringStamps Where do you buy a kid's toy UV light?
@@ExploringStamps Where do you buy a kids toy UV light?
I found one online for about $6, but they don't work particularly well on detecting watermarks.
Please, make a video on cinderella stamps.
😁 Here we go:
ua-cam.com/video/5VtVhDpQPpY/v-deo.html
Haha! Now I'll be the first person to tell you that... I have no idea what I'm doing..." agreed - it doesn't sound like a good idea!! But legit allegedly...
Well!!
nice info there mate..
wondering if it opens some eyes.. I wonder..
Wondering if the valuable 1 cent king george is only from 1 year only
On the Australia postage stamps I have a few and one of the ones that I have has the queen on it and is connected to a kangaroo stamp.
I've been able to see watermarks by holding the stamp up to an Ott light lamp. It's actually my sewing lamp but it worked quit well.
I put some lighter fluid looking for water markers on stamps..oll was good except for 3 stamps..it turned them see through or looks like its waxpaper..is this a forgery. Weird
The 'Roo' stamp was NOT Australia's first stamp after Federation in 1901. The first national stamp was the Postage Due stamps issued on 1st July 1902. Now that's over with, anyone have a £1 Brown & Blue 1st WMK MNH (ACSC 51A or 51B) Roo going cheap?
Does it have to be a MNH?
@@gustaaf1892 I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek about the Blue & Brown 1 Pound regarding MNH going cheap. Anything other than a MNH is going to cost $$, a MNH one is $$$+.
I have this Australia stamps and also other countries stamps that l want to sell. Can you please tell me where l can sell this stamps in Malaysia. Thank you very much.
Sir tussi great ho.sukrya.dhanyabad.
Australia #1 is the 1/2 cent green and is worth $7.50 used and I think it is 1913. The Australian States stamps were much earlier, more difficult to locate and some are very expensive. Australia is a good country for a beginner to collect, as long as you don't collect the states - save that for later! Most Australian stamps are very affordable. Another good country for a beginner is Czechoslovakia, again because they are affordable and a complete collection is within reach. This series is excellent for beginning collectors, keep it up!
I never thought of Czechoslovakia, thats good to know! Thanks for the suggestion Joseph and thanks for watching. :D
I am very fortunate to have inherited 1840 mint penny blacks and blues and early australian state stamps in mint as well as the 1st wmk roos to £2 they are all extremely valuable now but i would not sell them for all the tea in china it's not always about the money its the historical significance that my great grandfather handled these stamps and they cannot be replaced once broken up some rare Australian state stamps have gone up 30%+ just in the last 10yrs particularly in the early Queensland and Victorian stamp duty stamps!!! Its a hedge against inflation and is a better investment in the longer term than gold / shares/real Estate as they are not correlated to the stock market and they are no onger printing anymore these and we are in the digital age so they will go up even more cheers regards stewy Sheffield LONDON England 😀
@@stuarthudson3885 You lucky bastard! 😀
@@stuarthudson3885 I'm jealous, but you're right, they form part of a family heirloom that you should hang on to for as long as possible.
Price 1 dinar??
Awesome :-)
Again the translation is off you say stamp and the transcriber types step?
Watermarks are not "placed on" the paper, they are actual thin spots within the paper.
They are not “spots”, they are designs 😘
@@ExploringStamps
Webster 2a: a small area visibly different (as in color, finish, or material) from the surrounding area
@@snarky_user 👏
Hey,which year the roo was issued
Hi, it was first issued in 1913
1913
do u buy rare stamps from people
I used some fancy-pants watermark fluid from Germany. It's really toxic - even more so than lighter fluid. I say stick with the cheap stuff.
Good to know! I don't mind sticking with the cheap stuff, it does the job :)
can you explore some german stamps? like BDR or deutsches reich would be interesting too. Thanks!!
good video :) but you need too do USA Alaska stamps. many out there since 1960's including airmail and commemoratives :) the 49th state
I only check watermarks if there is a good reason to do so. For example in a lot of US stamps the same stamp may have either no watermark or could have any one of several different watermarks, in this case you must check. I don't think this is the case for the Australian stamp you were looking at. So It's possible that anyone who has this stamp ( including me ) might have the sideways watermark on their stamp in their album. I'll check later and l'll you know if I have the expensive variety, but don't hold your breath. There's something else that should be said about watermarks - sometimes there is one huge watermark covering the whole sheet, but if you have a stamp from that sheet that was missed by the watermark you can't tell if it is unwatermarked or just missed. You might also have a stamp just barely touched by the watermark. You really have to know what you are doing because the difference in value could be huge. When in doubt you pick the cheapest stamp. Great show - I somehow missed this one before!
Some really good points there. As you say, the trick is knowing what you are doing or supposed to be looking at, especially when it is a piece of the larger watermark. Thank you! :)
I prefer the roo stamps to the monarchy ones. It's a simple and instantly recognized symbol of Australia.
I can't argue with you there. The Roo is uniquely Australian, so 1-0 to the Roo! :)
I have a one!
awesome!😊
½d was the first kangaroo stamp, printed 1/14/1913
That’s what most folks think because it’s the lowest value, but surprised to find out the 1d red came first 1/ 2/1913. It’s interesting!
www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2013/11/on-this-day-in-history-australias-first-stamp-released/
Hi...im a new Subscriber, and i so loving stamps😍.
Im from jakarta indonesia.
Nice video.thanks brotha.
Rgrds; Rend Montemorra
( ZLataNZaccartaIndonesiA).
Interesting.
I own the 1 Cent Roo,Awesome!
And I own the 2nd one
hmm... starting an early Australia stamp collection?!? I don’t have the second one, good find!!
Exploring Stamps It came in alot of a 1935 Stamp Album I bought at an antique store for 50 usd or 37 Quid
Ill do a video on it some day,I bet you'll love it
Oh excellent, Yes definitely do a video! I would love to see it :D
I have this stamp I paid 15 dollars for it. The kangaroo
I have a queen stamp
hello friend 👋
Quanto vale il primo francobollo io ne ho
I started collecting stamps: ua-cam.com/video/O7p6i3Hv69o/v-deo.html 💘
Hi
Stampex2020
avlable hai
L
السلام عليكم
الظاهر اخي انت عربي
ممكن نترجم هذا البرنامج للغه العربيه
وممكن نتواصل معا الظاهر لك خيره
في الطوابع القديمه
Hello