UV lamps for stamps- Need Help

[JanetC]

I know this was on the old board and I can't seem to find it here so here is my question:

I am transferring my Canada from an old album to the new album.  The new album has spots for "Tagged" stamps.  I know that you need a UV lamp to see these tags.
Do you use a longwave or shortwave for these stamps?  There are so many different types of lamps.  Remembering that I am on a very limited budget, what would you recommend? Or should I not even worry about them as it only adds an avg. of 10 cents value to them?

[Admin Bear]

Personally i an curious about tagging but not to the point where i would invest in a light,. as for the value that depends on if you are looking at cash value (well catalog value anyway) or the value that YOU put on the collection having these verities.

personally i dont hold a lot of stock in something i (or future generations) need special equipment to see.

now as to great information on tags and such RossTO and JohnnyO have previously contributed an amazing thread on the subject.

here is a good thread.. i will need to move it later on (if i remember)

[jlav]

  Depending how deep you want to get into the tagging, you will need both. 

  The shortwave is used for the Winnipeg tagging (phosphorescent - very dark room as there is an afterglow).  There is a trick that I use if I'm to lazy to get the UV lamp (you need to know what your looking for - it takes practice) is to hold the stamp at an angle (45 degrees?) and you should be able to see the tagging.                     

  The longwave is used for the Ottawa tagging (fluorescent - yellowish green.  There are two types OP4 - migratory and OP2 - stable)

 The shortwave is more expensive (approx $50 -$60).  A battery operated long wave lamp (replace the batteries often!) is your best bet ($20 or so).  It can be used not only for tagging but for differentiating the different paper types (dull, low, medium, high, hibrite).

 I understand that there is an all in one battery operated lamp that has both shortwave and long wave but slightly more expensive than the shortwave.

I hope I haven't confused you.

Jacques

[kacyds]

Janet, I know that RossTO knows which one to buy.

As for my Canada collection, I did not worry about the tag varieties because I am too cheap to invest in a UV lamp.

[JanetC]

Admin Bear and jlav Very good points. I'll touch on Bear's first. I'm curious about them and of course I want to fill the empty spots in the album since Canada is one of my main collections. Since I never plan to sell this collection, the value to me is the completion of it.
jlav Yes and no to confusion. It's amazing that I have been collecting stamps for years and never knew all this stuff.

Not sure yet how deep I want to get into this. I really hate making decisions.

[RossTO]

Most Winnipeg Tagged stamps can be seen with the naked eye but it does take a bit of practice. The tagging style used in the 60's came in three formats;

1. WCB - Winnipeg Centre Bar - a bar in the centre of the stamp;
2. W1B - Winnipeg 1 Bar - either on the left or right of the stamps; and
3. W2B - Winnipeg 2 Bar - a bar on both the left and right of the stamp.

I usually take the stamp and look at it at an angle with a good light. Sometimes you can even see the tagging in the back of the stamp as well. A good way to get an idea is to get some tagged stamps and use them for reference as to how tagging can appear.