Our certificates changed the rules that
for decades were used in the expert’s
field. Until
1996 we were the first in
the world to create certificates enabling
a clear distinction of the state of preservation:
the Photographic Certificate for Standard
and Higher Quality. For a better understanding,
we summarize the vocabulary used in our certificates
as follows.
State
of preservation
Excellent
state: perfect specimen with
regular perforation or good/excellent edges
for the non perforated ones. Gum without yellowing
and deficiencies. The cancellation is sufficiently
readable and it is not defacing. For Postal
History certificates also the item total state
of preservation is taken into consideration
(Higher Quality Certificate – Conditions:
Extra Fine).
Good or fairly
good state: unperfect specimen
but not clearly defective, unregular perforation
but representative of the issue or with sufficient
edges for non-perforated ones. Gum with yellowing
and natural deficiencies. The cancellation
is scarcely readable or heavy. For Postal
History certificates also the item total state
of preservation is taken into consideration
(Standard Quality Certificate – Conditions:
Fine or Very Fine).
Defective:
Authentic specimen but with evident defects
of its different elements (Authenticity Certificates
– Conditions: Defective).
Condition
of the gum
Original Undamaged
Gum: the gum appears undamaged
on the entire specimen surface and shows the
typical characteristics of the issue.
Original Gum
with no trace of stamp hinge:
the gum shows no trace of hinge, natural deficiencies
or other defects are nevertheless present
on the surface.
Original Gum
with trace of stamp hinge:
the gum shows on the surface the typical deficiency
due to the application in the past of one
or more hinges. In some cases, the hinge can
still be partially or totally present.
Partial original
gum: the gum is present on
a surface lower than the 50 percent of the
specimen entire surface.
Without gum:
total absence of the gum on the specimen entire
surface.
Degree
of Centering
Normal centering:
Poor centering typical of the issue. Two sides
of the image are clearly damaged by perforation.
Good centering:
Good quality centering. Only one side of the
image is slightly damaged by perforation or
in any case the four sides are not equidistant
from the image.
Excellent centering:
Excellent quality centering. The four sides
of the image are totally or almost totally
equidistant from perforation.
Numbering,
symbol and quality bars
All our certificates show under the specimen
photograph a first bar with the certificate
progressive numbering subdivided
for each solar year. This is the best anti-forgery
guarantee of our certificates, leaving aside
the other safety standards adopted from the
beginning of our activity. Each numbered certificate
is accurately filed in a computer at our Philatelic
Office; before a purchase, you can therefore
write to our email address terrachini@terrachini.it
to have all the necessary information for
a safe transaction. This is a free of charge
service but its fulfillment needs time; our
object is to offer a service that protects
stamp-collectors, the philatelic trade and
the entire philately.
Under this numbering, a second bar contains
the converting
into symbols and international initials
of all what is described in the text above
the photograph. The aim of this bar is to
enable a quick and precise understanding of
the certificate content also abroad where
there may be problems of interpretation obviously
due to a poor knowledge of the Italian language.
Finally, under the symbol bar there is a
third bar indicating the specimen
overall quality expressed
in percentage value varying from 10 to 100
percent. The percentage is calculated mathematically
and not in a fanciful way, matching the following
possible combinations:
Authenticity
Certificates: D = Quality
10%
Standard Quality
Certificate: F / C = Quality
20%
Certificato
di Qualità Standard:
F / CC = Quality 30%
Standard
Quality Certificate:
F / CCC = Quality 40%
Standard
Quality Certificate:
VF / C = Quality 50%
Standard
Quality Certificate:
VF / CC = Quality 60%
Standard
Quality Certificate:
VF / CCC = Quality 70%
Higher Quality
Certificate: EF / C = Quality
80%
Higher Quality
Certificate: EF / CC = Quality
90%
Higher Quality
Certificate: EF / CCC = Quality
100%
D:
Defective
F:
Fine
VF:
Very Fine
EF:
Extra Fine
C:
Normal Centering
CC:
Good Centering
CCC:
Excellent Centering
