Stamp Collecting Encyclopaedia Letter W

Want list

List of stamps a collector needs to complete his collection. Collectors make up want lists to inform dealers or other collectors which stamps or other material they are looking for.

War stamps

Postage stamps issued in wartime and bearing in its design or overprint some indication of its issue under such conditions.
During the first World War 'War Tax' stamps were issued in British territories. Issued to meet increased postal rate to defray war costs.

Watermark

A watermark is a design pressed into stamp paper during the manufacturing of the paper. In fact the stamp paper is thinner at some spots when a watermark has been pressed into the paper.
The main reason to apply a watermark is to prevent forgery. You can use a watermark tray to determine if or which watermark is applied.
Sometimes an issue has been printed on different types of paper. By distinguishing the watermark these different prints can be point out easily.
Often the value of stamps with a particular watermark can be very expensive, because only a few exist. Therefore serious collectors determine the watermark always.

Watermark tray

Usually a watermark tray has a black colour. It is used for examining stamp watermarks with the aid of benzine.

What is your collection worth?

If you want to earn money the best thing you can do is to purchase shares of mayor companies. Stamp collecting is a nice and interesting hobby, whereby the money aspect should not interfere.
It is hard to tell how much your collection is worth. Value is influenced by supply and demand. Each stamp has its own value.
- The value depends on:
- The condition the stamp is in
- How rare the stamp is
- Special market conditions
- Is it a mint stamp or has it been used?
- Does it carry a rare postmark?
A good way to see how much your stamp collection is worth is to look it up in a catalogue. The most important thing to remember is that the value of your collection is dependable on the condition the stamps are in.

Wreck Mail

Mail carried on ships or aircraft that were wrecked or torpedoed. It has been the custom of the Post Office to put special marks on the recovered mail to explain the damage.
A wreck cover is an item of mail that has been salvaged from a shipwreck or a train wreck. Airmail recovered from a crash is more properly described as "air accident cover".
Wreck mail reveals an exciting story and therefore higher prizes are paid for such covers.

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