Wrestling with British King Edward VII Stamps

I got a few more British Edward VII stamps and needed to fold them into what I already had. When starting that I realized I was lacking some key information about how to distinguish the types of these stamps. I go over the stamps I have, my attempts to figure out how to classify them, and where I ended up on these beasts.
This site, UK GB Stamps, has a lot of great pictures that may help you with some of the color identifications: www.ukgbstamps...
Thank you to the Stamps Boards Community. Image of stamp certificate is reproduced with permission -- from www.stampboard....

[@MarkCW]

That was very interesting Ken, thank you. I've recently restarted stamp collecting now that I'm retired and find it fascinating that there are so many differences between stamps that you need to look out for. I'm concentrating on Victorian stamps at the moment, but will no doubt work my way up to filling gaps (I have a lot of gaps!) in for my Edward VII stamps. I'll take a look at your Part 2 now.

[@KensStampCollection]

Victoria stamps is starting in the deep end. Good for you

[@GreatStampAdventure]

Great video, Ken. Thank you! I thought, when I learned about them the first time, that the King Edward VII GB stamp series is pretty simple. 😂🤣Now I know otherwise. I think to identify those different colours are largely next to impossible! So far my knowledge about chalky paper stamps are varied and a bit conflicting. First of all I heard warnings that chalky paper stamps should not be soaked off using water, because the ink might wash off. Then, from other sources I heard it is safe to soak them off. Now I also wonder: when you soak them off, can one use warm water, or rather cold water. One person said it is easy to identify chalky paper. One should ask an experienced person to show you the differences and one should keep it against light and then it is easy to identify. I also heard about the silver test. Ken, do you know exactly what is the situation with soaking chalky paper stamps, or is there another methods that is safer to use to get these stamps off paper? I was amazed to hear that some chalky paper is made with milk paste! Thanks again for the excellent video!

[@KensStampCollection]

Hi Charnie -- Such a hard set and the colors are quite difficult. Indeed, the chalky paper was designed to wash away the ink when soaking, but after so many years, that isn't a problem anymore because of the chalky paper. That said, both the aniline inks (a few of the reds) and one of the inks in the bi-colored stamps might run when soaked. I understand that you can do a quick soak in cold water, but I'd be careful in a potentially expensive stamp.

[@GreatStampAdventure]

Thanks for your reply and the information, Ken!!!!@@KensStampCollection

[@stengrendon7143]

Hi Ken, thankyou for the well put together and informative video. Put on my save list for future reference. I'm just starting to get more serious with my selection and was wondering with perfs which comes first, the sides or top and bottom?

[@KensStampCollection]

Oh my, such a great question. I struggled to remember this one so much that I finally drew myself a picture and stuck it to one of my stamp boxes. Perfs are listed top-bottom first and right-left second, but in my head its always BOTTOM X RIGHT

[@stengrendon7143]

Ah a mnemonic! I have my own now, as we say in Britain when chinking glasses for a toast 'bottoms up!'

[@KensStampCollection]

That’s nice!

[@peteowe]

I believe you have a factual error in your video. It's not true that the de la Rue contract shifted to Somerset House. In fact, it was Harrisons that won the contract but were ill equipped to print multi-coloured stamps. Due to this, the government was forced to print the multi coloured varieties at Somerset House, and Harrisons was forced to print single coloured ones. Otherwise, great video!

[@KensStampCollection]

Interesting. I was certain I had read the opposite somewhere, that Somerset didn't have the volume capacity for those single color stamps, although, I admit, that never sat right to me. But now that I search a little more, I'm convinced you are correct, and the story makes more sense. There is still one thing that bothers me. Why award the contract to Harrison when they clearly couldn't perform? It would make more sense that they awarded that contract only partially. Am I making sense here? I have to assume they never got the contract for the bi-colored stamps. Anyway, I really appreciate the clarification. Thank you!

[@peteowe]

@@KensStampCollection I believe I read somewhere the Royal Mail, or which ever body handled such procurements, decided to open up the bidding process to decrease associated costs. However, executives at de la Rue were absolutely convinced they would receive the contract they didn't bother with an official bid submission. Harrisons were awarded the contract by default, since they may have submitted the only offer. The three year delay between the Edward VII and George V definitives were caused by Harrisons production inexperience. My memory is a bit hazy on the matter, I read the story a few years ago. The whole situation is quite fascinating.

[@KensStampCollection]

So fascinating

[@johnscamardo2145]

chalky paper and water soluble inks are definitely a pain

[@KensStampCollection]

Agreed

[@Horsa-sr8oz]

Differentiating Edward VII stamps is not always easy and requires patience and an acceptance that mistakes will be made. If you have a UV lamp (mine is 5 Watts), any that fluoresce, should be from the provisional issues. Aniline was a reddish, synthetic ink, that was used for some red/purple ink mixtures up until WW1. Germany was the main supplier of synthetic inks I believe. Some fluoresce with a golden brown which is quite attractive. As stated in the presentation, not all fluoresce strongly. All De La Rue issues had burnished paper. Only the last printings of the provisionals had the same. A high powered magnifying glass should clearly show the fibers. If you compare chalky paper to ordinary paper, it should normally be easy to see the difference. I use the white areas of the stamp to look for the pot marks. Careful as Dickinson paper does not have such. I have found personally that Dickinson paper has a distinct crystal structure on the surface at x2000 when compared to regular chalky paper. I have only a few examples though, so may not guarantee identification. Shades are by far the best solution but having more than a few of some values, is difficult due to cost. Bicolored stamps with faded green are quite possibly, due to exposure to water and are just space fillers. Beware, old specialized catalogs may have different numbers to the latest one. Some dealers still use the old numbers. Also true of Victorian recess printed stamps too.

[@KensStampCollection]

Such excellent help--thank you!

[@tedlawrence4189]

I wish that I owned that mint L1! I have 3 decent used ones and the rest of the set Mint unmounted.

[@KensStampCollection]

What a nice collection!

[@tedlawrence4189]

TY. I only need 2 stamps to complete my UK. One of them is the early rarity and the other is the rare plate # on Scott # 33. My paternal grandparents were from Liverpool. They had a fishing business.

[@KensStampCollection]

Is the other the Tyrian Plum? Looks like it's time to start a new country.

[@ThreeStunStamps]

Thanks for another great video Ken! regarding color nuances, I am an avid fan of this attribute in stamps. I could only hope digital imaging and reliable portable XRF devices would become inexpensive soon, as these technologies would help us tackle century old pigments.

[@KensStampCollection]

I'd love to get the chemical composition too -- and then we'll have a whole area of study to work through, characterizing all the pigments. I'm excited thinking about it.

[@Horsa-sr8oz]

I very much enjoy your videos. FYI the leaves were Oak and Laurel. The latter symbolizing, amongst other things, "Victory".

[@KensStampCollection]

Well, I'll be darned. You are so right. Thank you. I think I had assumed based on similar issues from other nations that they were the same. There is very sparse information on the design features. Anyway, I did find an article referencing Pliny of all people suggesting the laurel as a "bringer of peace," but that the olive "is to be preferred to it" as an emblem of peace. Indeed the two are often misused and misidentified in symbology. But, great catch. I am a bit confused about what "victory" these would be referring to. The best I can find is the Boer War victory, but that seems a stretch.

[@voneschenbachmusic]

Another excellent video Ken - it is amazing how many varieties of these were made. I am not sure I will be able to discern color shades but at least the perf and design differences are easier to check. Another excuse to just keep all of the Edward VII duplicates pending ID lol

[@KensStampCollection]

Haha, I agree-keep ‘em all until you know what you have

[@jeffreyhalvorson31]

Once again, a very fine video. I'm a looooong time collector but still find your vids informative and I learn something from each of them. I'm more of a Scandinavia collector but do collect some BC. For those counties, the SG catalogs are a must. The Facit catalogs are a must for the Scandinavian countries. Thank you so much.

[@KensStampCollection]

Oh, thank you. I do use the SG for my GB stamps. I haven't got a Facit yet, but I have access to one for when I get deeper into them.

[@GarryRobertson]

Thank you for the video. Very well presented and concise. It is making me think about some areas of my collection that may benefit from such a study. The grid you displayed will help me with other areas of my collection such as Tasmania, early Canada and the many early British releases. The various shades, perforations and paper types makes me wish I had a time machine just to go back and tell the printers that enough is enough.

[@KensStampCollection]

Glad to inspire a deeper dive.

[@ptrinch]

While I appreciate the depth one can go to in identifying such subtleties in stamps, I simply don't have the patience. With stamps like these, I catalog them by image number instead of stamp number. My King Edwards are simply identified as A14 with the denomination following the number. If there are clear color differences (like blue vs red), then I will put both in my book. Once my collection includes a sample of every stamp image made, then I'll dive into varieties. I just get too frustrated with shade, watermark, perf nuances. Besides, my eyes are too old.

[@KensStampCollection]

I completely understand. Just designs are an excellent collection. Okay then, what do you do with your duplicates? At least that's been my concern, that I would collect a good copy of the design, but trade away a valuable variant because I didn't dig into what I had. In those cases, so far, when I know there might be variants, I just hoard the others until I am ready to attack them. But indeed, I could just trade them away, since what I don't know doesn't really hurt me. Certainly, I haven't bothered with watermark orientations, or plate variations.

[@ptrinch]

@@KensStampCollection Simple answer is that ignorance is bliss. Can't lose what you never knew you had. When the stamp falls into the hands of someone willing to put in the effort... they deserve the prize. To go a bit deeper, one could argue the value of time. Hours upon hours could be spend scrutinizing over stamps in exchange for the rare occasional extra value. I'd rather put in those extra hours at work and use the money to buy more stamps instead. And yes, I understand that those hours aren't really work when you enjoy it. But I find that part of philately frustrating. (and am lucky enough to enjoy my job). The parts of philately I enjoy is the history. The people represented, stamps overprinted during occupations, colonial stamps, events and people commemorated with stamps, etc. Frankly, I'm not even that interested in multiple denominations of the same stamp. I'm quite content with 1 Machin to represent the series, while other people spend a lifetime chasing the thousands of varieties. That's the beauty of this hobby. Everyone is free to collect how the want. It's kind of the same thing with coins. Some people look through their pocket change hoping to find valuable dates or double dies that may be worth hundred of dollars. Others just spend them as they get them without giving it a second thought. Although I confess that I occasionally steal a glance at the edges of quarters to see if they are silver.

[@KensStampCollection]

Excellent points, and I admit to looking at the edges of quarters too

[@chrisfischer5937]

I love GB stamps, Ken. Great video!

[@KensStampCollection]

Thanks!

[@mikeertolahti6389]

some good info

[@KensStampCollection]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mikeertolahti6389]

@@KensStampCollection pretty knowledgeable for a beginner. A beginner of what? A beginner expert?

[@KensStampCollection]

Haha -- I'll take that. You should watch the followup video and really go deep with me.

[@mikeertolahti6389]

@@KensStampCollection how many years have you been at it? I recently found an interesting paper anomaly in the King Edward VII penny red and someone recommended your video.

[@KensStampCollection]

Tell me more about that paper anomaly, please. I got into these stamps about a year ago. I’ve been collecting for almost 50 years now, but mostly US until about 10 years back.

[@patiencezero-xc9zl]

Honestly, like many collectors, I understand why color variations were tracked in the early days of philately, when inks were new and not changed with age and exposure. However, IMO, it is a fool's errand today, pushing two centuries since the first stamps were printed. Color wavelength changes with exposure to light and even air pollutants, papers yellow, etc. This all means that even certifications may become obsolete as well. It really is not worth the effort unless you have something really valuable or shade differences are VERY distinct. It is almost akin to collecting vintage baseballs and worrying about variations in white of the hide!

[@KensStampCollection]

I agree in some cases. In others, I think the color differences are unique and easy to see, even though I think you need many copies to see those trends. Saying that, I think it's completely valid to ignore shade variants in a strong collection.