See the detail that can separate a £1.50 stamp from a £4,250 one.
George James, Head of Philately at Stanley Gibbons, uses a Serious Light to reveal hidden watermarks, distinguish one red from another and spot the signs that can change how a stamp is identified.
Watch him find itOr call free on 0800 085 1088, Mon–Fri 8:30am–5:30pm
“I wouldn’t rely on any other light.”George James, Head of Philately, Stanley Gibbons
Watch George catch two fakes.
He works through five stamps and shows you exactly what gave them away.
Miss any of these four and you can misjudge the stamp.
Telling one red from another.
A shade can put a stamp under a different catalogue number, and a great many British distinctions sit in the reds. Deep red is the part a white LED reproduces least accurately, which is exactly what the R9 measure checks. This one scores 92 out of 100.
Seeing a watermark through thick paper.
Thick paper can hide a watermark completely. He narrows the beam, lays the stamp against the lit head and turns the wheel up until the watermark appears. Narrowed like that it puts about twice as much light on the stamp as it does spread across a whole album page.
Finding an overprint under a cancellation.
On both of the fakes in the film, the used stamp is worth more than the specimen, so someone has cancelled over the specimen overprint to pass it off. With the light behind it, the overprint reads through the back.
Spotting thinning and regumming.
A thinned edge only shows up with the light raking across it, and a regummed stamp will often take on an odd curl as the new gum shrinks. The head swivels through 350 degrees to get the light that low, and holds wherever he sets it.
Every opinion we give, every valuation we make and every catalogue description we write begins with careful observation. Serious Readers help ensure we're seeing every detail exactly as it should be seen.George James, Head of Philately, Stanley Gibbons
This is George’s HD Pro.
Take the table light if you work at a desk or a bench. The floor light is the one to choose if the same lamp also has to serve your reading chair in the evening.
High Definition Pro
These are the controls you have just watched him use. The beam narrows to one stamp or opens across an album page, and the brightness runs up and down on a wheel that turns smoothly. There is an optional remote, and an optional battery for a fair or an auction viewing where there is no socket.
90 days on your own material, and we collect it free from any UK mainland address
5-year warranty
Free delivery, five to seven working days
Code A401 is applied for you at the checkout. If the total does not show your discount, type it into the discount box.
What collectors ask.
Will I really see anything my current lamp is missing?
We cannot answer that for your collection. Use it on material you already know well, the stamps whose watermark or shade you have been unsure about, and see how much of it you can make out. You have 90 days, and if it shows you nothing new we collect it from any UK mainland address at our cost.
I already use a magnifier. What difference does the light make?
They do different jobs and they work together. A magnifier enlarges what is already visible. It cannot put light behind a stamp, bring it in low across the surface, or make one shade distinguishable from another. Nothing George finds in the film is a magnification problem: a watermark hidden by thick paper does not appear because you have enlarged it.
Is this only useful for rare stamps?
No. Everything George looks at in the film is a question of identification rather than value: which watermark, which shade, and whether the gum and the paper are original. Those are the same questions you answer working out what something in your own album actually is, and they do not become different questions because the stamp is worth two pounds.
What should I try first when it arrives?
Start with something that has already given you trouble. A watermark you could not read, two shades you could not separate, or a stamp whose gum or paper surface you wanted a proper look at. Those are the three things George works through in the film, and they are the quickest way to find out whether it is doing anything for you.
Can I try it on my own collection before I decide?
Yes, for 90 days. It arrives by tracked courier in five to seven working days, and the 90 days run from then. One phone call and we collect it from any UK mainland address, at our cost.
See what George sees on your own stamps.
Use it on your own collection for 90 days. If it does not show you more than the lamp you use now, ring us and we collect it free from any UK mainland address.
Start my 90-day trialCode A401 is applied for you at the checkout. If the total does not show your discount, type it into the discount box.
For advice, a free guide or to order, call free on 0800 085 1088, Mon–Fri 8:30am–5:30pm.