A stereo microscope can be helpful when viewing details on stamps. The most useful magnifications for stamp collectors are generally 10x -30x magnification. Our favorite microscope for viewing stamps is the National Optical
460TBL stereo zoom microscope.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uaNoJYvJJbxWbQpZgG0Dybgsyh5mCsYSZiTh4c3v-d75t9ALZZnvzqayaNlFFkb8-ipYhGlo24IJn6unsqNuyJLi4wHGUw5B_bDCFwjBobvUCH2VbgoQvxjq5doQaM-rHFfzSm-9pNVVVP06nBT9C3=s0-d)
Captured with close to 30x magnification, this stamp has "New York" printed across it. On the lower left corner you can see the letters "YO" from "York".