Question About Stamp Perfs.......................

[Phil]

The stamps in question are the Romanian King Carol I series.
For the 1908-18 stamps Scott lists them under Perf. 11½, 13½ & Compound.
For the 1909-18 Stamps it says 13½x14, 11½, 13½ & Compound.

Just what exactly is this saying?

[khj]

This is a great question, and has often been one of many pet peeves I've had regarding the Scott catalog.

Adding the word "compound" is just Scott's lazy way of saying "and a combination of the previous perfs", instead of simply listing them out!

What Scott should really put is:

For the 1908-18 stamps Perf. 11½, 13½, 11½x13½, 13½x11½.
For the 1909-18 Stamps Perf. 13½x14, 11½, 13½, 11½x13½, 13½x11½.

So what's wrong with using the word compound to save space/itemization? In this case, all combinations exist, but that is not necessarily true of other issues. Also, in many cases, all the combinations do not necessarily exist for EVERY stamp in the set.

On a side note, I'm not sure why Scott lists 13½x14 for the 1909-1918 set. I didn't bother checking my Romanian stamps for perforation varieties. Michel does NOT list 13½x14 for that set. If you have a 13½x14 for that set, please post an update here. Thanks!

[Phil]

Well, khj, thank you for that explanation! It does clear up much.