Imperforate Soviet stamps: telling them from trimmed ones
An imperforate stamp left the printing house without perforation – by design. A trimmed stamp was an ordinary perforated one until somebody cut the teeth off with scissors. Telling them apart needs no instruments: margins, overall size, the character of the paper edge and traces of holes. The difference matters – the first is an issue in its own right, the second is a damaged stamp.
Where imperforate stamps come from
- Early issues. In the first years part of a print run went out without perforation simply because perforating equipment was not always available.
- A parallel variant. The same design was issued both perforated and imperforate. In a catalogue these are two numbers, or one number with a letter.
- Blocks and souvenir sheets. Inside a sheet the stamp is often imperforate while the same design in a normal sheet is perforated.
- Proofs and printing variants. A rare group with little bearing on an ordinary box.
Four signs that separate them
- Margins. A genuine imperforate has wide margins, roughly equal on all sides – it was cut by a press knife along a guide. A trimmed stamp has narrow, uneven margins, often different left and right.
- Size. A trimmed stamp is always smaller than the perforated original: scissors take the teeth and part of the margin with them. Put an ordinary stamp of the same issue beside it and the difference shows.
- The paper edge. An imperforate edge is straight and smooth along its whole length. On a trimmed one a magnifier reveals the remains of the teeth – a fine wave or half-round notches.
- Traces of holes. Sometimes half a perforation hole survives at the cut, or the paper is compressed along the perforation line. That is conclusive proof of trimming.
The check in one sentence: if the stamp is smaller than its neighbour and its edge waves under a magnifier, it has been trimmed.
Why it matters
An imperforate variant is a catalogue entry of its own, with its own number and its own history. A trimmed stamp does not become rare – on the contrary, it loses both the perforation and part of the margin, that is two of the things a stamp is judged by. This is the most common mistake in home collections: no amount of neatness with scissors improves anything.
The rest of the value signs are covered separately in the guide to the value of a Soviet stamp.
What the archive holds
The open Soviet stamp archive holds 6,382 issues of 1918–1991, and imperforate pieces are labelled in the title. Among them are imperforate stamps with a portrait of Lenin (CPA 225 and 226), an issue of 1937, two stamps of 1940 and an imperforate sheet of 1968. They work well as a reference: the perforated version of the same design sits nearby in the catalogue, so the difference in margins is obvious.
Open the catalogue: Soviet stamps, world stamps.
What to do with a trimmed stamp
- Do not throw it away: it fills a place in a theme, it just does not count as an entry.
- Do not try to repair the edge – any reworking of the paper is worse than the trimming itself.
- Keep trimmed stamps apart so they are not mistaken for imperforates when trading.
- When trading, say it plainly: a trimmed stamp, not an imperforate one.
Quick answers
What is an imperforate stamp?
A stamp issued without perforation – a variant of its own with its own catalogue number.
How do you tell it from a trimmed one?
By wide even margins, full size and a smooth edge with no traces of holes.
Is a trimmed stamp valuable?
No. It loses the perforation and part of the margin – two of the things a stamp is judged by.
Are there imperforates in the archive?
Yes: the Lenin issue of 1925, stamps of 1937 and 1940 and a sheet of 1968.