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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.

Requirements December 1966 until June 1972

1. Demonstrate the use of the Standard Postage Stamp Catalog, or a catalog particularly related to your collection in Requirement 6, to find at least five items selected by the counselor.

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

3. Demonstrate a knowledge of the following stamp collectors' 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.

4. 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.

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

6. 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 30 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.