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_vIFMsdNIzltm6eSm0jqYsrFEOUAtz3AXjBDvScepRZw8uRl0tcXYk2gsxiQZ7EhMTIVj9lglpcmQl3HsG0igWb1zA3qCkckZ_xCdZbpRq1W5VneFhM4ZHWLs8Kz1kk0P8IuddTlKwJVDs4BoZ24u74=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".