Object help

Help
Adding stamps
Adding to your collection
Album
Area
Catalog value
Catalogue numbers
Color
Currency
Date
Denomination
Description
Design
Design type
Emboss
Function
Image
Issue
Issuer
Item
Joint issue
Looking at the catalogue
Note
Object
Occupation
On
Original issuer
Overprint
Overprint color
Owner
Paper
Paper color
Sheet
Sorting
Stamp
Stamp page
Thing
Unissued
Upload
Value
Variant
Visibility
Watermark
An object or item is a physical object that is what we're actually collecting. The name is inspired by the term "museum object", which cover the wide variety of their holdings, and StampData is the same way - while most objects will be stamps and covers, there could be documents, parcel boxes, and other oddballs.

The details of an object vary with its type.

Common properties

  • Condition - a general description of the object's state of wear, damage, etc.

  • Number - a count of the number of identical objects.

    Types of objects

  • stamp - a single adhesive label. It has a stamp type, and a state that is mint, unused, or used.

  • cover - an envelope or letter wrapper. Each cover will have a number of properties, such as from and to addresses, postal markings, and attached stamps and other labels.

  • sheet - the entire printed piece of paper comprising an array of stamps. A sheet may actually be a pane, but StampData does not make a formal distinction.

  • block - a connected group of several stamps and labels. Blocks have shape along with numbers and types of the stamps in the block.

  • page - an album page is similar to a cover in that stamps are "attached" to it. (We say "attached" even if the stamps are actually in stock sheet pockets.)