Saturday, 25 August 2012

Types of Fluorescent Mark

Fluorescent mark has been used as a security measure for stamps. Many postal authorities have produced stamps with fluorescent mark. Pos Malaysia for the very first time produced stamps (revenue stamps are not counted because these stamps are produced by inland revenue department but Pos Malaysia) with fluorescent mark in 2009. Up to date, three designs of fluorescent mark have been adopted in stamps of Malaysia - i) flying bird SPM, ii) batik motif, and iii) "T" motif.

Flying bird SPM design first appeared in 2009 on 30s bird definitive, and subsequently it has been used on some commemorative stamps such as Palm Trees (2009), Tuber Plants (2009) and Conservation of Nature (2009). On the other hand, batik motif design first appeared in 2010 on Malaysian Currency, and then later on Post Boxes (2011) and Aromatic Plants (2012). The "T" motif design is the latest fluorescent mark appearing in 2012 on Malaysian New Currency.


left: stamp viewed under normal light; right: stamp viewed under ultra-violet light
fluorescent mark: flying bird SPM



top: stamp set viewed under normal light; bottom: stamp set viewed under ultra-violet light
fluorescent mark: batik motif



left: stamp block viewed under normal light; right: stamp block viewed under ultra-violet light
fluorescent mark: "T" motif