Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW)
11 Mar 2019
07:50:21pm

---

There is no documented information of this unusual variety showing majority of stamp extensively over-inked, this is the only stamp of this nature cited, there is no doubt others exist but to date no other has been located.

Rob

---

re: 1942 2½d KGVI showing extensive over-inking of red ink

Hi Rob

Can't remember if you said that this stamp has a thin paper variety.

Could these two be thin paper.?

Bottom stamp, right eye, when first punch was landed,





Regards
Horamakhet

---

re: 1942 2½d KGVI showing extensive over-inking of red ink

Hi Rob

It is actually a red dot in the eye.

I am going to get a paper micrometer in the next few weeks.
Definitely some thing I need.

Your are correct, the left looks thinner.

Horamakhet

---

re: 1942 2½d KGVI showing extensive over-inking of red ink

In my opinion micrometers require skill and experience to use properly; measuring thin materials like paper is not as simple as using, for example, a weight scale.
Having trained many QA inspectors in the use of measuring equipment, I found that learning to measure thin materials was among the hardest skills for folks to master. Going out to the thousands (or ten thousands) can be difficult for an inexperienced person and should also be done on a calibrated micrometer. (Micrometers should be calibrated every year.)
Don

stampsmarter.org

Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW)
12 Mar 2019
04:24:20pm

---

re: 1942 2½d KGVI showing extensive over-inking of red ink

Hi Don

A novice using a micrometer can find it challenging at first, and in some cases impossible to master; as a 33 year technician the use of different types of micrometers became part of the norm for me, at times members at the ACCC I attend use micrometers at the club.

It takes a lot of practice and some guidance to understand a digital micrometer, and yes, a yearly calibration is important to maintain accuracy.

Horamakhet in his professional field will probably find it easy to use a digital micrometer; or if he finds a little difficulty in using one there is a stamp specialist he can visit that will show him how to use it.

In my case some of my thin papers are worth thousands of dollars and to properly use a micrometer is important to make sure the stamp is indeed a thin paper.

Rob

Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW)
12 Mar 2019
07:21:55pm

---

re: 1942 2½d KGVI showing extensive over-inking of red ink

Hi Don

I believe my experience with stamps (and I have been helping collectors for 27 years) prove my level of experience is important to the average collector, even though it may not be of much concern to you.

And as an experienced user of various micrometers (some of mine are worth hundreds of dollars each) I use a $100 micrometer, and I have seen world experts at the ACCC use micrometers (the micrometers are not high end models, $85 - $100) accurately measure thin paper stamps, so to use "best quality equipment" really isn't necessary. Even the renowned Australian stamp experts Juzwin’s use an $87 micrometer.

People with less experience can build experience by joining a club or finding a dealer that uses a micrometer.

I have always mentioned that it takes a lot of practice to master a micrometer and if one uses the ACSC, many of the thin papers have the thickness in brackets such as "0.085mm or less", so to aim for that number or less will assure correct thickness measurements.

Any novice that goes out and buys a micrometer without understanding the use of one will find it impossible to measure the thickness of a stamp and can easily make a mistake of identifying a regular transparent paper with a transparent thin paper; this is why I ask people to send me the stamps in question to check for thickness if they are not sure themselves.

When you said “Since some of us end up investing a LOT of time dealing with this kind of situation each week, I felt a bit of preemptive context might be helpful in these kinds of threads” I invested 27 years helping people streamline their collections from the novice to the investor, and not once had anyone had to “pre-empt” any of my posts, although constructive criticism is always welcome.

If a novice buys a micrometer regardless of cost then that is the first step to serious collecting, the next step is to teach that novice how to properly use their micrometer.

With binders, that depends on the collector and the stamps in his/her collection. The late Arthur Gray had some of his collection in normal binders (not stamp binders, he collected stamps for over 60 years), his collection is up for auction and is expected to realise around the 28 million dollar mark.

I always instructed collectors to buy proper stamp albums, though some collectors may not be able to afford albums and opt temporarily for normal binders.

Rob