Appreciation of Printing: Stamps, an Inherited Love

"True" philatelists find the greatest appeal in postally-used stamps, which legitimizes them to an extent. Still, mint condition and CTO stamps are generally more attractive from an aesthetics standpoint because they still have their gloss and gum intact. Machine-applied cancellations, and the wear-and-tear of the postal stream, can exact a terrible price on the condition of the postally-used stamp.