Someone correct me if I'm mistaken but I believe it refers to the phosphorescence that is applied to the stamp. can be seen using ultraviolet in either L.W. & S.W. lamps.
Tagging or Phosphor Tagging is a clear phospor collodial solution (tagging ink) applied over a stamp or its paper, or mixed with the stamps printers ink. Tagging glows bluish-green or reddish when exposed to short wave ultraviolet light. Reddish tagging was only used for air mail stamps from 1963 to 1978. Beginning with the 1978 31cent Wright Brothers, bluish-green tagging was used for all subsequent air mail stamps. Tagging has a brief afterglow that is used by automatic cancelling machines to find, face, and cancel an envelope's stamp. Hopefully this helps.
thank you looks like i have to invest now in a UV lamp lol phospher is very easy to spot on the GB stamps, so never really needed one
Glad that I could help. Maybe one day I will invest in a GB stamp catalog, so that I can learn and collect the stamps correctly.
That would be great, but Im sure that would cost a small fortune to do that. I dont want you to do that. Thanks anyway. I can try to find one in the states, even if its a older one, it would help.
lighthouse supply has a few nice ones but before committing to buy search around on Amazon, eBay and the like for decent prices. Try to get one with both Long wave & Short wave. it'll save you a ton of headaches down the road. I lost mine somewhere around here...lol They're probably hanging out with about the 20 pairs of stamp tongs I've lost around here too! here is a link to lighthouse stamp and coin supply co. http://www.lighthouse.us/epages/lig...th=/Shops/leuchtturm_us/Categories/US/US_2232
