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The Language Of Colour And The Use Of A Standard Colour Key In Philately

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Overview Before I get into talking about the shades of colour found on the various Nigerian stamps, I thought it would be useful to address the subject of colour as it relates to philately in general. The issue of colour is perceived by philatelists to be highly subjective and individualistic, not to mention confusing. One of the biggest problems in the hobby is that terminology is used very loosely, with very specific words being used as though they are synonyms, when in reality they mean very different things. For example, a dark colour and a deep colour are not the same thing at all. Yet many collectors will use these terms interchangeably.  In addition, most listings in the standard postage stamp catalogues use words that are far too general to describe colour, such as "green", or they use culturally loaded terms like "Indian red" and "Pigeon Blood Pink", which are just about useless for identification unless you know what the exact colour looks like