Holes in stamps

Stamps must look perfect. That is the contemporary opinion of virtually all stamp collectors. Not a single perforation may be missing, a crease in the stamp renders it almost worthless, and a tear is an absolute disaster. That was often the opinion of collectors in the previous century as well. So what to do if one came across a stamp with a perforation in the form of one or more letters? Here, too, there was little disagreement: they belong in the trash! No matter how high the face value of the stamp. And yet, certain collectors held a completely different opinion. They focused instead on collecting stamps with holes, the so-called perfin collectors. But why those holes? The inventor of the stamp perforating device, and by this is not meant the perforating machine for perforating stamp sheets so that they could be torn apart, was Mr. Joseph Sloper in England. He wrote a letter to the Director General of the British Post, the Duke of Monrose, requesting formal permission for British firms to apply a security mark to postage stamps. On March 13, 1868, he received notification that this was permitted! The decisive factor was the advantage that the theft of stamps by the firms' own staff could be prevented in this way. Many companies took advantage of this opportunity to prevent the theft of stamps by their own staff. It was apparently a common occurrence! However, collectors were not happy with this invention, and indeed, quite a few perforated stamps were thrown away. It was not limited to British stamps. It also caught on in the Netherlands, and in 1875, the Dutch Postal Service officially granted permission to provide Dutch stamps with company perforations. Like the National Bank Association, the later Rotterdam Bank (Association) NV Almost every major town where such a bank was established had a perforating device to punch the letters NBV into the stamps. Consequently, this perforation is very common. But how do you find out where the stamp with that specific perforation was used? An impression of the postmark is ideal for this. Like the orange 10-cent stamp with an impression of the Appingedam postmark. An office was also located there. However, one can sometimes also determine where the stamp was used by characteristics of the perforation itself. A good description is required for this, and such a description exists. The stamp must, however, be viewed face down. Sometimes the perforation is applied in such a way that the letters are normally legible, but sometimes they are visible in mirror image. Banks were common, but other companies as well. Like NOT of the Dutch Overseas Trust Company in The Hague, LR & Co for Lippmann Rosenthal & Cie in Amsterdam, KARTO for NV Handelsmaatschappij Karto in Amsterdam, and so on. Thus, there are several hundred different company perforations. Many countries have adopted the system of company perforations. In the Netherlands, there is a good catalogue, albeit in English, published by EJ Enschedé: List of Dutch PerfinsSo, are you interested? Then try to get your hands on that catalogue. For me, the stamps with holes are most certainly collectible. For you too?