How to identify an old stamp in five steps

Stamps · 5 September 2026

Identifying a stamp is not guesswork, it is a fixed order of readings: country first, then denomination, then anything that dates it, then the perforation, then the printing. Each step narrows the field, and by the fifth one you are usually looking at a single catalogue entry. None of it needs a reference book – an open image catalogue is enough.

Step 1. Country

Start with the country name, and expect it not to be in your alphabet. Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic and Japanese inscriptions are normal, and several countries used names that no longer exist – Ceylon, Siam, Persia, Bohemia and Moravia. Two shortcuts help: British Commonwealth issues often carry a monarch's portrait instead of a country name, and a currency name in the design frequently narrows the country faster than the lettering does.

Step 2. Denomination

The figure plus the currency unit is the second filter. It also carries a hidden dating clue: currencies were renamed and revalued, so an obsolete unit puts the stamp in a defined period. If the denomination is overprinted rather than printed, you are holding a provisional issue – note it, because overprints are catalogued separately from the base stamp.

Step 3. Anything that dates it

• A year in the design. Anniversaries, exhibitions and congresses are dated on the stamp itself.
• The postmark. On a used stamp the cancellation often gives a full date and a town – the most reliable date you will get.
• A ruler's portrait. Reign dates bracket the issue immediately.
• Spelling and place names. Pre-reform spelling or a renamed city moves the date decades back.

Step 4. Perforation

Count the holes, do not judge by eye. Perforation is measured over a fixed length, and two stamps with the same design but different perforation are two different catalogue entries. Three cases matter: fully perforated, perforated on some sides only – typical of booklet and coil stamps – and imperforate. An imperforate stamp is a separate issue; a stamp whose teeth were cut off with scissors is simply damaged, and the difference is covered in the guide to imperforate versus trimmed stamps.

Step 5. Printing

Under a magnifier the printing method separates originals from reproductions and often separates issues from one another. Engraved stamps show raised, crisp lines you can feel; lithography shows flat grain; modern photogravure and offset show an even dot pattern. A stamp that looks old but prints as an even grid of identical dots is a reproduction – the same test as for any paper item, described in the guide to telling an original from a copy.

Then match it in a catalogue

With country, denomination, period and perforation in hand, matching is quick. The open archive holds 80,472 stamp images from 271 countries and territories, and Soviet issues are listed separately – 6,382 stamps of 1918–1991 with CPA catalogue numbers. Work top down: country, then period and year, then subject. The number you land on is the stamp's exact name, and from there any price list or dealer listing will make sense.

Open the catalogues: world stamps, Soviet stamps.

Four mistakes that cost identifications

• Judging by the picture alone: the same design was reissued for decades with different perforation and paper.
• Soaking a stamp off before reading the postmark – the cancellation is often the only date you have.
• Trimming or straightening edges, which destroys the perforation evidence.
• Assuming an unfamiliar alphabet means a rare country; most of them are common issues.