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Requirements January 1938 until January 1952

1. Own and exhibit either of the following assortments personally collected by himself.

(a) 500 or more well-conditioned stamps including at least 50 different countries

OR

(b) 500 or more well-conditioned stamps from an individual country or group of countries in which he is specializing.

2. Exhibit one stamp from at least six of the following groups: surcharged, imperforate, perforate, precancelled, flat plate, rotary press, commemorative, envelope, semi-postal, occupation, provisional.

3. Exhibit and explain one stamp from at last six of the following classifications: postage, air mail, postage due, registration, parcel post, special delivery, revenue, private proprietary, war tax, newspaper, official.

4. Exhibit and explain cancellations and their relation to the value of a stamp, including each of the following:

(a) Pen.
(b) Office (town).
(c) Killer.
(d) Colored.
(e) "Tied to cover."

5. Explain the following terms used by stamp collectors:

(a) Wove, laid, granite, and silk paper.
(b) Water marks.
(c) Engraved, typographed, lithographed.
(d) Perforation, rouletting.

6. Exhibit the number indicated of each of the following issues of the United States: 10 different commemorative, 10 present issue, 4 present envelope, 1 memorial, 1 flat plate, 1 rotary press, and 3 different air mail stamps.

7. Demonstrate ability to "catalogue" accurately five stamps which are to be furnished by the Counselor.

8. Explain in full how the "condition" of a stamp affects its value.

Requirements January 1952 until December 1966

1. Mount and exhibit in a commercial album or an album of your own making: (a) a collection of 750 or more different stamps from at least thirty countries; or (b) a collection of 150 or more different stamps from a single country or a group of closely related countries; or (c) a collection of 75 or more different stamps on some special subject such as birds, trees, great men, music, aviation, etc. (stamps may be from any number of countries); or (d) a collection of 200 or more special items such as precanceled stamps, postage meters, revenue stamps, covers, postal stationery, etc.

2. Demonstrate the use of the Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, or a catalogue particularly related to your collection in Requirement 1, to find at least five items selected by the counselor.

3. Show stamps to support brief definitions of the following terms: perforation, imperforate, roulette, cancellation, cover, mint stamp, coil stamp, overprint, surcharge, engraving, and printing process other than engraving.

4. Exhibit one stamp in each of the following classifications and explain the purpose of each: regular postage, commemorative, semipostal, air mail, postage due, envelope, special delivery, precancel, and revenue.

5. Explain the meaning of good condition of a stamp and show one stamp that is well centered, fully perforated, clearly cancelled, clean, and undamaged by tears or thin spots.

6. Demonstrate a knowledge of the following stamp collector's tools: (a) Use a perforation gauge to determine, on a stamp supplied by the counselor, the perforation measurement in accordance with the accepted standard. (b) Use a magnifying glass for careful examination of design and condition. (c) Use the watermark detector to show how a watermark may aid in identifying a stamp. (d) Use stamp tongs and stamp hinges correctly in mounting a stamp in an album.