Style Notes

Describe the stamp as a careful cataloguer would: subject first, then the distinguishing details. Write in sentence case, present tense, without valuation or condition language — the record describes the issue, not your copy of it.

The encoded denomination follows the OSID specification exactly — it becomes part of the identifier and can never change. The display denomination is for humans: use the issuing country's conventional notation, with the original currency.

Perforation gauges use the standard notation with a multiplication sign and vulgar fractions where conventional: 11 × 10½. Record the watermark as it is catalogued by the issuing authority, or "None" when established — leave the field empty only when unknown. Printing method uses the standard terms: engraved, lithographed, typographed, photogravure.

Use the established philatelic color names — violet, carmine, ultramarine, lake — rather than approximations. Where recognised shade varieties exist, the shade belongs in its own record, not as an aside in the description.

The commons uses a fixed vocabulary. Records, not listings. Contributors, not users. Stewards, not moderators. Albums, not dashboards. OSIDs, not SKUs. Writing that reaches for marketing language — urgency, exclamation, superlatives — will be edited toward plainness.