STAMP CORNER
This section is included to show the UV visual effects of some of the most common stamps used in the collages. In general, GB stamps printed before1993 had a higher optical brightening agent (OBA) level in the paper than in later years. The introduction of lower OBA paper was due to the increasing environmental pressures to reduce pollutants. The reduction in OBA levels in paper had a significant effect in reducing the stamp’s brightness under long wave UV. The introduction of phosphor bands on stamps, to aid automatic sorting, coincided about the same time, and some of these reacted brightly under UV light.
The OBA effect is shown best for stamps of the same colour, i.e. 24p & 26p RUST
1st class flame was especially useful in the European Stars collage 1st Class Flame
Bright OBA effects were commonly utilised for the collages using the 15 ½ p light violet & 20p black stamps, the 19p olive green stamp has low OBA but a bright yellow (AY) centre band phosphor, i.e. 15 ½ p, 20p & 19p
A very useful, almost white stamp, was the 1st class Millennium, this came in a low OBA and two bright band versions. The 1st class Gold was also very useful. i.e. 1st Millennium & Gold
Just to remind you that my original philatelic mission was to ‘get up to speed’ with phosphor band varieties and hopefully find some useful errors, I can report that I have had some success and two examples of each are included here. I’ve likened the screening of stamps to be what it must be like ‘panning-for gold,’ you have to look at hundreds of stamps before you come across an interesting one! The collage artworks could be regarded as being a bi-product of the ultimate recycling process since I can assure you that all the stamps used have been screened and are normal, I hope? Phosphor Band Varieties and Errors