Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
10:26:08am
Having been in these discussions more than once, the first thing I would point out is that seldom are we the original caretakers of such items, and the person making such an assertion (of careful storage) has no way of knowing the complete history of the stamp.
Secondly, even if they acquired it as a new issue, seldom are they aware of all the potential factors that may change the stamp.
I offer herewith a perfect case:
Note the significant greenish tinge of the gold ink in the 15c stamp of the lower cover, compared to the color of the block of 4. A color variety? There are no obvious signs of any atmospheric or chemical degradation.
However, since I was the one who took it out of its album, I know exactly what caused the color change. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, many cover albums were made of a soft plastic material known as PVC (polyvinyl chloride). This can be distinguished from "good" albums by the heavy flexible pockets, that frequently show an oily, rainbow colored sheen when held at an angle to the light. These "oils" inherent in the plastic are bad news! If you own any of these, get your covers out of them and into modern albums. Many "collections" were sold in these kind of albums at the time. The plastic also has a habit of sticking to the ink of photogravure stamps (I encounter it a great deal with Great Britain collections), especially metallic inks. I sell many used albums, because I am always buying collections, but these always go into the trash because I refuse to pass them on.
In the case of this cover, it did not stick, but it did change the gold ink to the greenish shade that you now see.
I invite others with documented examples of color changelings to add to this thread for the benefit of all new collectors.
Roy
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Nicely illustrated, Roy.
Stamps themselves can have built into them their means of destruction. One of the best known is the Germany zeppelin issue of 1936 (?):
The stained borders result from sulphuric acid that was in the gum. The gum should always be washed from mint copies; the Scott catalogue values mint copies without gum.
When I obtained the "bicolour" Japanese stamp shown below, on the right, with a normal stamp for comparison. I was astonished, thinking I might have discovered rare variety. Since then I have seen another similar Japanese stamp which clearly hadn't been printed with two colours. My stamp must have come in contact, perhaps even intentionally, with some chemical that altered the colour of the ink. Too bad the changeling isn't the original; I much prefer it.
When I was starting my U.S. collection, I bought a Lighthouse U.S. album and happily began mounting stamps. After I few months I noticed that ink was transferring from some brown stamps from the first half if the 20th Century onto the backs of the previous pages. It seemed to be the result of mechanical damage as the pages were turned and briefly slid across the stamps, which didn't appear to be damaged, but obviously had been damaged. Stamps of other colours weren't affected. I solved the problem by buying heavy glassine interleaves from Lighthouse.
Bob
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Hi everyone;
Quoted without permission;
"change ling, n. 1. child secretly substituted for another. 2. a strange, stupid, or ugly child, supposed to have been left
by fairies in place of a child carried off by them."
Ref. Thorndike Barnhart © 1965
I'm sure you are all degreed chemists to be able to make statements like that, right? I'm not a chemist, nor do I intend
to become one and research all the issues surrounding this topic! When I find a color variation, I never claim to state
that it was issued as such or somehow altered by time. I never call it a color "error", but a color variety. I just list it for
sale, and you may decide whether to buy or not.
I as an experienced collector of more than 50 years I'm well aware of analine inks, that can easily change. However
unless you were there when it was printed, you would have no way to know if the color was correct to begin with, and
can only speculate. You may well be correct, but it is still just an educated guess, even if 99% probable.
Roy I understand your belief that the album caused the greenish shade that you have shown us. However unless you
placed the stamps in that album in 1973, all looking the same color and removed them decades later, and noticed the
color difference, you can't say for sure what caused it unless you can show the chemistry evidence. Your are very likely
correct, and I would say with 99%+ accuracy.
If I lists items as color varieties and someone tries to explain to me that they are "changelings", I'll show them the
dictionary definition and tell to shop elsewhere. 
I only use Scott's catalog to decide the price at which I'll list an item. For years Scott's didn't list US # 1289b Black Olive,
color variety, but they do now show this variety. We all know of many others that they do not list.
However my rant is just an opinion and is no more factual than any other collectors opinion. It is true tho, that beginner
collectors are always willing to believe that many stamps they collect are worth a lot of cash, when they are really not at all.
Whether it is a color difference or some other perceived variation of watermark, perforation, or paper variety.
Keep on stampin
Ken Tall Pines
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Definitions are nothing if not subjective. Dictionary.com at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/changeling gives this definition:
"3. Philately. a postage stamp that, by accident or intention, has been chemically changed in colour."
Bob
(Modified by Moderator on 2014-09-15 06:00:53)
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10:15:03am
Word usage over time often changes the meaning of the word. Colloquial usage can result in significant variance from formal dictionary meanings. Take for example the word “cool.†Originally meaning a low temperature, it was adopted by the hep culture of the 20s to mean something entirely different. If one had had occasion to reference the word in the formal dictionary of the time, I am sure there would have been much confusion trying to make sense of a statement such as “The cat plays a cool sax.†Fortunately, dictionaries are not static and can expand word meaning when warranted.
The word "changeling" is such an example: adopted by the philatelic community to suit a particular purpose.
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 300 categories
14 Sep 2014
10:26:08am
New collectors frequently feel that they have a "color variety" if they have a stamp that does not match the others of the same issue in their collection. The answer given by more experienced collectors is most often "it's a color changeling", i.e. some chemical or atmospheric exposure has operated on the ink. Just as frequently, the counter-response from the newbie is "No way. It has been stored safely all these years."
Having been in these discussions more than once, the first thing I would point out is that seldom are we the original caretakers of such items, and the person making such an assertion (of careful storage) has no way of knowing the complete history of the stamp.
Secondly, even if they acquired it as a new issue, seldom are they aware of all the potential factors that may change the stamp.
I offer herewith a perfect case:
Note the significant greenish tinge of the gold ink in the 15c stamp of the lower cover, compared to the color of the block of 4. A color variety? There are no obvious signs of any atmospheric or chemical degradation.
However, since I was the one who took it out of its album, I know exactly what caused the color change. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, many cover albums were made of a soft plastic material known as PVC (polyvinyl chloride). This can be distinguished from "good" albums by the heavy flexible pockets, that frequently show an oily, rainbow colored sheen when held at an angle to the light. These "oils" inherent in the plastic are bad news! If you own any of these, get your covers out of them and into modern albums. Many "collections" were sold in these kind of albums at the time. The plastic also has a habit of sticking to the ink of photogravure stamps (I encounter it a great deal with Great Britain collections), especially metallic inks. I sell many used albums, because I am always buying collections, but these always go into the trash because I refuse to pass them on.
In the case of this cover, it did not stick, but it did change the gold ink to the greenish shade that you now see.
I invite others with documented examples of color changelings to add to this thread for the benefit of all new collectors.
Roy
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re: When a "Color Variety" is not a variety
Nicely illustrated, Roy.
Stamps themselves can have built into them their means of destruction. One of the best known is the Germany zeppelin issue of 1936 (?):
The stained borders result from sulphuric acid that was in the gum. The gum should always be washed from mint copies; the Scott catalogue values mint copies without gum.
When I obtained the "bicolour" Japanese stamp shown below, on the right, with a normal stamp for comparison. I was astonished, thinking I might have discovered rare variety. Since then I have seen another similar Japanese stamp which clearly hadn't been printed with two colours. My stamp must have come in contact, perhaps even intentionally, with some chemical that altered the colour of the ink. Too bad the changeling isn't the original; I much prefer it.
When I was starting my U.S. collection, I bought a Lighthouse U.S. album and happily began mounting stamps. After I few months I noticed that ink was transferring from some brown stamps from the first half if the 20th Century onto the backs of the previous pages. It seemed to be the result of mechanical damage as the pages were turned and briefly slid across the stamps, which didn't appear to be damaged, but obviously had been damaged. Stamps of other colours weren't affected. I solved the problem by buying heavy glassine interleaves from Lighthouse.
Bob
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re: When a "Color Variety" is not a variety
Hi everyone;
Quoted without permission;
"change ling, n. 1. child secretly substituted for another. 2. a strange, stupid, or ugly child, supposed to have been left
by fairies in place of a child carried off by them."
Ref. Thorndike Barnhart © 1965
I'm sure you are all degreed chemists to be able to make statements like that, right? I'm not a chemist, nor do I intend
to become one and research all the issues surrounding this topic! When I find a color variation, I never claim to state
that it was issued as such or somehow altered by time. I never call it a color "error", but a color variety. I just list it for
sale, and you may decide whether to buy or not.
I as an experienced collector of more than 50 years I'm well aware of analine inks, that can easily change. However
unless you were there when it was printed, you would have no way to know if the color was correct to begin with, and
can only speculate. You may well be correct, but it is still just an educated guess, even if 99% probable.
Roy I understand your belief that the album caused the greenish shade that you have shown us. However unless you
placed the stamps in that album in 1973, all looking the same color and removed them decades later, and noticed the
color difference, you can't say for sure what caused it unless you can show the chemistry evidence. Your are very likely
correct, and I would say with 99%+ accuracy.
If I lists items as color varieties and someone tries to explain to me that they are "changelings", I'll show them the
dictionary definition and tell to shop elsewhere.
I only use Scott's catalog to decide the price at which I'll list an item. For years Scott's didn't list US # 1289b Black Olive,
color variety, but they do now show this variety. We all know of many others that they do not list.
However my rant is just an opinion and is no more factual than any other collectors opinion. It is true tho, that beginner
collectors are always willing to believe that many stamps they collect are worth a lot of cash, when they are really not at all.
Whether it is a color difference or some other perceived variation of watermark, perforation, or paper variety.
Keep on stampin
Ken Tall Pines
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this post
re: When a "Color Variety" is not a variety
Definitions are nothing if not subjective. Dictionary.com at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/changeling gives this definition:
"3. Philately. a postage stamp that, by accident or intention, has been chemically changed in colour."
Bob
(Modified by Moderator on 2014-09-15 06:00:53)
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
15 Sep 2014
10:15:03am
re: When a "Color Variety" is not a variety
Word usage over time often changes the meaning of the word. Colloquial usage can result in significant variance from formal dictionary meanings. Take for example the word “cool.†Originally meaning a low temperature, it was adopted by the hep culture of the 20s to mean something entirely different. If one had had occasion to reference the word in the formal dictionary of the time, I am sure there would have been much confusion trying to make sense of a statement such as “The cat plays a cool sax.†Fortunately, dictionaries are not static and can expand word meaning when warranted.
The word "changeling" is such an example: adopted by the philatelic community to suit a particular purpose.
Login to Like
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