I would think "light crease" would work. If there is a visible line on back it is "creased" - no way to sugar coat it. If it impacts one corner it is a "corner crease".
I have seen the term "pressed crease" used where the crease is not visible from the front.
And to further confuse there is such a thing as a pre-printing fold but if it legitimate it will open up when soaked and carefully pulled open. It's like cracking open a geode - it can be spectacular or so-so, you never know.
If you are also including mint stamps, the term 'gum bend' comes to mind. This is where the gummed surface has a crease/bend within it but does not go through the actual stamp to the front.
This type of fault is often tolerated on classic scarcer issues, although the price is of course affected.
Thanks very much for the input, Carol and Clive! I really appreciate it.
I'll continue checking this thread, in case anyone else weighs in with their thoughts.
Thanks very much, all!
I've been pondering this for a while, and need some input from others.
As I work on describing older stamps (say, 1800's to 1950's), I run into stamps where, especially visible from the back, the stamp paper is not smooth.
Sometimes it looks like the paper has been bent, where it is no longer perfectly smooth. At the other end of the spectrum, sometimes the stamp clearly has been creased.
It also seems like there's a middle ground, where the paper has been lightly creased, the way that might happen if you've put your wrist or arm down on a piece of paper at the edge of your desk. It's no longer smooth (you can see a line), but it's not fully creased, the way it would be if you actually folded a stamp in half.
How do you describe these flaws?
What would be the hierarchy of these terms, from, say, least to worst?
re: best terms to describe stamps with bends, folds, creases, etc.?
I would think "light crease" would work. If there is a visible line on back it is "creased" - no way to sugar coat it. If it impacts one corner it is a "corner crease".
I have seen the term "pressed crease" used where the crease is not visible from the front.
And to further confuse there is such a thing as a pre-printing fold but if it legitimate it will open up when soaked and carefully pulled open. It's like cracking open a geode - it can be spectacular or so-so, you never know.
re: best terms to describe stamps with bends, folds, creases, etc.?
If you are also including mint stamps, the term 'gum bend' comes to mind. This is where the gummed surface has a crease/bend within it but does not go through the actual stamp to the front.
This type of fault is often tolerated on classic scarcer issues, although the price is of course affected.
re: best terms to describe stamps with bends, folds, creases, etc.?
Thanks very much for the input, Carol and Clive! I really appreciate it.
I'll continue checking this thread, in case anyone else weighs in with their thoughts.
Thanks very much, all!