Stamps and Microscopes

A stereo microscope can be helpful when viewing details on stamps. The most useful magnifications for stamp collectors are generally 10x -30x magnification. Our favorite microscope for viewing stamps is the National Optical 460TBL stereo zoom microscope.

Captured at 20x magnification with the MC2000 camera.

Captured with close to 30x magnification, this stamp has "New York" printed across it. On the lower left corner you can see the letters "YO" from "York".

Antique Microscope Stamps

These postage stamps were released in Germany depicting four antique microscopes. At the time, advancements in microscopy were essential to the early study and understanding of infectious diseases. The stamps are marked DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), formerly known as East Germany.

Microscopes are still used today to study infectious (or contagious) diseases. The biological microscopes used today are a bit more advanced than the antique microscopes, but have some of the same features. One major change from antique microscopes to modern microscopes, is the use of an illuminator rather than a mirror for illuminating the specimen.

If you are looking for a microscope for viewing stamps, these microscopes are good places to start. Viewing stamps through a microscope is best performed with a stereo or low powered microscope.