Ultraviolet lamps
It was not so many years ago that the ultraviolet or quartz lamp, as it was known then, was often out of reach of the average collector. It was only used to detect paper repairs, the removal of pen cancellations and different types of paper, generally the local stamp club got the money together to purchase a lamp and allowed members to bring items to be examined on club nights.
This has now changed, with the experimental use of graphite in 1957 being superseded by phosphor bands and now with various types of inks and coated papers being used, the ultraviolet lamp has become essential equipment for any discerning collector. If you are anything like me you are probably enthralled and intrigued by the technology available to collectors these days, and perhaps a little confused by it all, well if you are looking to buy a new lamp or are thinking of updating yours then perhaps these few notes will be useful to you.
The first that you may consider is the Prinz short wave lamp (P2051), neat and compact with an integral rocker switch, double insulation and operating on 220/240v. The short-wave lamp is probably the only one you will require if you collect Great Britain as it is ideal for detecting phosphor papers and inks. It is also very useful if you collect Israel, USA, Finland and the early phosphor issues of Canada and Mexico. I personally like this lamp, not only because it is neat and compact but because it has instructions with it which gives some hints on getting started. This is a neat plus point, as when you first turn on your lamp it can be a little daunting if you have not used one before. The Prinz lamp is very competitively priced at £30.95 (P2051).
Two others you may consider are from Lighthouse, the L85 and L90. L85 is a short wave lamp and L90 is a long wave lamp. They are both very well designed and compact, although slightly bigger then the Prinz. The long-wave lamp is ideal for detecting fluorescent papers and inks such as Helecon on Australian stamps and of
course for detecting paper variations and repairs. Also ideal for the stamps of Norway, France, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China, Russia and the later phosphors of both Canada and Mexico. The one thing that I find irritating with Lighthouse lamps is they persist in putting continental plugs on their products resulting in the need to change the plug or use an adaptor. Both lamps are nevertheless competitively priced at £27.50 for the L85 (LL85) and £30.25 for the L90 (LL90).
If you’re looking for a multi-function accessory, then the Philalux 3 from Safe would be the lamp to choose. It is, as far as I am aware, the only lamp that gives you both Long and Short wave Ultra Violet light at the flick of a switch, it also has a useful built in magnifier and a clear light source to help when examining for flaws, great for the stamp collector and a great help to banknote collectors for detecting magnetism on counterfeit notes. Priced at £142.50 (S9865), makes it quite an investment, but for everything that the Philalux can do, it’s well worth every penny.
