Commercial Overprint Society of Great Britain

Measuring Commercial Overprints

These are the significant dimensions (in millimeters) of a commercial overprint. See also Commercial Overprint Styles.

General

  1. Distance between the major parts
  2. Overall height or width
  3. Horizontal spacing (style X)
  4. External diameter of circular patterns
  5. Distance between ends of arc patterns

Line Lengths (includes periods)

  1. Length of line 1
  2. Length of line 2
  3. Length of line 3
  4. Length of line 4
  5. Length of line 5
  6. Length of line 6
  7. Length of line 7

Line Spacing

  1. Distance between lines 1 and 2
  2. Distance between lines 1 and 3
  3. Distance between lines 1 and 4
  4. Distance between lines 1 and 5
  5. Distance between lines 1 and 6

Line Spacing

  1. Offset between lines 1 and 2
  2. Offset between lines 1 and 3
  3. Offset between lines 1 and 4
  4. Offset between lines 1 and 5
  5. Offset between lines 1 and 6
  6. Offset between lines 1 and 7

Lettering

  1. Height of primary letters (uppercase)
  2. Height of secondary letters (uppercase)

Note that differences in spacing between otherwise similar overprints can occur on the same sheet of stamps.


From "A Catalogue of GB Commercial Overprints", by J. D. Bonney and D. J. Lane, 1990.

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