Approval Note and stamp - this lets the printer know the design has been approved and is ready to go to print. See more about Approval Stamps
Guidelines - some of the proofs have visable guidelines. The purpose is just a step in the production process, not for sale to collectors. Possibly the guidelines exist on most proofs but were further out and trimmed down. See more on GUIDELINES
Notes - some of our proofs have unique notes regarding changes that should be made on the issued stamp. These changes can relate to denomination, colors and placement of certain items on the issued stamp. See more on Notes
Color - some of our proofs have colors that differ from the issued stamp. On the example to the left, the emblem and denomination were changed to white on the issued stamp. This made it more visable. More examples of Color Changes
We have many items with different designs from issued, different denominations, different colors and designs from one country issued by a different country. These scarce items are unique or maybe 2, 4 or 6 exist...but that does not mean there is more than one item for sale as many of these proofs get lost or discarded years after the issued stamps appear on the market. We have seen similar proofs offered for many times higher than our reasonable prices. These proofs were not made to sell to collectors and therefore are very hard to find and are very scarce.
The stamps to the left were never issued in Tanzania. The artwork was used on the St Vincent issue #1163-1172. These wonderful & rare items are perfect for exhibiting.
We know these proofs were issued in limited quantities. The letter to the left explains how the 6 sets were dispersed. Some are mounted in folders or on cards and some are sent as mint sets.
The reason for wide margins on some of the proofs is because the proofs are cut into the size they are. There are no margin borders in existence as proofs. They were not printed in sheets but rather they were printed as singles on master sheets with other pre-production designs and then cut as you see here. You can see that all 4 margins are wider than where the perforations would appear if this were an issued imperforate stamp. See more about Master Sheets
Another example of what makes our proofs so special. The proof on the right is missing the denomination. The proof on the left has wide margins with guidelines.
More examples of missing or changed denominations.
The imperf proofs to the left are attached to perf paper to give them the appearance of a perforated stamp.
On some proofs the denomination is missing. On other proofs the denomination is different than the issued stamp. The proof to the left has a missing denomination.
The stamp on the left also has simulated perfs. This shows what the stamp might look like when perforated.
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This proof is missing both the country name and the denomination. It is mounted in a folder with notes.
The above proof is mounted on the M/S background.
There are also notes for changes to be made on the background.
On the stamps to the left, the country and denomination are hand written and the artwork was unissued. More examples of unissued proofs.