Why Were Stamps Marked As Specimens?

Specimen Stamps

• The "specimen" tag was first used on stamps as a way of providing post offices with a sample representation of each stamp; they were not allowed to use these sample stamps. The "specimen" tag, set in all capital letters across the face of the stamp, indicates that the stamp was given as a sample to the post office and is not to be accepted as a valid stamp for use in posting a letter or package. It's the postal equivalent of writing "void" on a personal check.

First Specimen Stamps

• The need for specimen stamps arose in the last 19th century when it became clear that international postage would become an integral part of many local post offices. Member nations of the Universal Postal Union were thus sent specimen stamps from each of the other members for use in verifying acceptable stamps. The original number of specimen stamps is unknown. Each country could then issue the specimen stamps as needed to its local post offices for reference purposes.

Modern Specimen Stamps

• Modern specimen stamps are commonly used for marketing purposes rather than reference. With the number of countries represented by the UPU (191 as of May 2011) and modern developments in recognition, issuing specimen stamps for every design is untenable and unnecessary. Instead, specimen stamps are more often issued as special items for collectors, similar to limited edition baseball cards or comic books.

Value

• Although the exact number of original specimen stamps is unknown, their rarity and age have given them great value. Certain stamp collectors specialize in specimen stamps, seeking full sets of specimen stamps by year and country. Specimen versions of individual stamps could be considered more valuable than the standard versions because of their rarity at the time of release.