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Who are the Stamp Experts?
Every large organization of philatelists has its expert committee whose members are amateur or professional philatelists with great knowledge who systematically study the stamps and philatelic material of their sphere of interest or speciality. If someone aspires to become a philatelic expert, he has first to prove his abilities and qualifications. This is usually done by publishing specialized studies dealing with certain stamp issues, lectures and practical work. Even so, a future expert is at first usually accepted only as a candidate; and only after a specific period of time, during which he has to prove his qualification, is he accorded the title of an expert.
The field of philately has become so wide that it is impossible for anyone to be a specialist and expert in everything so each expert has his own special, and sometimes very limited, field. There are experts for the whole field of classical philately, experts for British stamps, experts for German or Italian States, experts in aero-philately and experts in areas specific to thematic collections. The best experts and specialists of a certain country are usually to be found in that particular country. They mainly collect their own country’s stamps; these are available in sufficient numbers and most is known about their background, production, printing and use.
Expert committees need not be large bodies, and not all fields of philately are represented on them. That is why a close co-operation has been established between the expert committees of the individual national philatelic societies. Out of the lists of experts registered, the judges for large international stamp exhibitions are chosen.
Members of the expert committees have the right and obligation to examine stamps. When an expert finds that the stamp he is scrutinising is genuine, he may apply his signature (handstamp) to the back of the stamp. This is the practice on the Continent. In England, the examination is made by expert committees of the Royal Philatelic Society of London or the British Philatelic Association. If a stamp is genuine, a photograph is taken and a certificate issued with photograph and number. Another photograph is kept in the records of the committee for further reference.
When expert signatures are printed on the back of a stamp, their position, according to international rules, is of great significance. If an expert finds that a stamp is a forgery, it is his duty to mark it as such. Everybody handing in stamps for scrutiny must expect that, if they are forgeries, they will be marked to make it impossible to sell them as genuine.
The signature of internationally recognised experts in certain fields of philately is well known among specialists. Do not accept any signature on the back as proof of genuineness. It has been found that stamp forgers not only forged stamps and overprints but experts signatures as well. Every philatelist has the ability to acquire deep, specialized knowledge in his field of collecting which will bring him near the level of philatelic expert. There is only one way to achieve this – devoted study of specialized literature, following up everything published in that particular field, study of historical sources and, most importantly, a serious study of the stamps in question.
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