Quality

Over the course of the history of our hobby, collector attitudes towards quality have changed significantly. In the early days of our hobby little attention was paid to even the most rudimentary principles of quality. Any stamp, no matter how damaged, was collectible and we see early collections that have items in them that are little more than just pieces of stamps. Collectors today usually collect with a consistency of quality. If a collector is a VF collector most of his stamps are of this high grade. But old time collections often have VF stamps next to very defective items. As the Twentieth Century evolved, collectors became more and more quality conscious to where, by 1970, many collectors were purchasing only the best quality. The last forty years have seen a shift in the emphasis on quality. There is still a subset of collectors who demand, and are willing to pay for, the very highest quality. But the modern technology and high production standards of philatelic items for nearly one hundred years has meant that newer generations of collectors have grown up only knowing high quality material. Because of this they are unwilling to pay huge premiums for small differences in quality at the higher end. This was tested recently with the high end numerical grading phenomenon which fell so flat on its face a few years ago. Most collectors are back to remembering that the point of philately is stamp collecting and are just happy to have nice specimens in their albums.