Brazil Catalogs?

Greetings,

I'm thinking about getting serious (for me) with my Brazil collection. I would like to find a catalog that has more detail than the Scott's WW.

It seems that the RHM CATÁLOGO DE SELOS DO BRASIL is the national standard. Does anyone have experience/advice about this catalog?
What about Michel? They do an excellent job with German stamps but I have never used their South American catalog. Same attention to detail?

These catalogs can be pricey so I would appreciate any information anyone might have about Brazilian stamp catalogs before I decide to leap!
Thanks in advance!

Dan

Dan I am searching for an Argentina specialized catalog in English if such a thing exists !!

Phil,
I know specialized catalogs are difficult to find!

Language isn't too much of an obstacle for me. I could stumble through a catalog in Portuguese. Whether or not I make the effort depends on the quality of the catalog itself. Look at Michel's German catalog. Even if you can't speak or read a word of German, the pictures and symbols can give a wealth of information.

Dan

I don't collect Brazilian stamps but I had a look at a Portuguese / Brazilian forum I know of and they basically only ever mention RHM.
Like in Portugal, we have Afinsa and nothing else. It's quite possible that RHM is the only catalogue out there published in Brazil, at least mainstream (I could be wrong of course).

I totally agree about the language. It's actually quite fun to try to understand the catalogues. I have a Dutch catalogue and with time I've caught on to some words.

Concerning Argentina, a quick look on the internet gave me an Argentinian catalogue from "Teggia", and Michel's South America catalogue.

For any country outside Europe I have to use Yvert&Tellier 1978 ( this is what I got..:(...). Black&White images and `je`n parlais pas francais, mais je compris (?) un peu`. But it helps me a bit. For ex. the first Brasilian stamps are called `oeils de boeuf` :) Ox eye? Anyway, it really contains useful infos about perfins, sometimes watermark (filigrane) etc. But CV is in francs (still you can figure out, which are valuable items).
It can be a starting point, if you got nothing else.

I use SG Part 20 and Scott Classic.

Andrew,
Thank you for your input. I guess if RHM is good enough for Brazilians, it should be more than adequate for me! A quick look at the RHM website indicates that the catalog is pretty complete. Then, again, they are trying to sell the catalog. It would be nice to hear from someone that has actually used the catalog.

It is fun and educational (but sometimes very frustrating) to struggle with a catalog in a foreign language!

Wadmalatz,
I have no experience with Yvert. I would be curious to see how it compares with Michel's South America catalog.{my German is better than my French

The first Brazilian stamps were nicknamed "Bull's Eyes" because they resemble a bull:




[hijacked image]

There are also "Goat's Eyes" This is the reason I would like a more specialized catalog. The Empire issues (1843 -1889) have many paper, color, watermark, perf variations, etc.. They can get very expensive. For example, the image I hijacked came from a catalog. The price for this stamp is US$925. (with a "certificate of authenticity" - from whom I don't know)
If you look on ebay, "Bull's Eyes" and "Goat's Eyes" are relatively common. My suspicion (no evidence) is that many of them are reprints from 1910 or downright forgeries. I'd like to have a lot more information before I jump into that end of the pool.

Thanks!
Dan