From The Editor Of The 2011 Scott Catalogs

Worldwide economies continue to show considerable weakness . some degree of stability has returned.but general weakness is unmistakeable and has resulted in a stamp market in which demand for rarities and high grade stamps is strong while demand for more common material is quite legarthic...most stamps are just holding their own ! Just thought I would throw that out if you are considering getting the latest catalogs..with some exceptions my 2008 catalogs will work !!

I was thinking of a 2011 Classic Specialized for Christmas, but maybe I will just adjust my 2006 one a little. Why couldn't it be the common material going up and rarities coming down??? My public Library has been closed ( condemned) since the earthquake last year, so I use ebay auctions as a guide to my older catalogs.

Jim

Jim, a classic specialized might be a bit different..for stamps to 1940 I don't think you would have to purchase one every year..not at $150 each or whatever they cost !

Also remember that there are new (increased) prices for latest 2012 Scott Catalogs as they get published. If there's little adjustment in values, it makes no sense to buy a new set. In fact, I've never bought a new set, an old set works just fine for most of my needs and on occasion when I do need to reference something more current, my public library always has a current set in their reference section.

i think I will go back to my "poor days" and buy one catalog a year !!

I usually got my set ( about 4-5 years old) from the old library sale, as they only have room for the latest 3 or 4 sets, but they never have either the US specialized or the Classics, so I figured maybe once every 5 years for that one. I use to see quite a few of those on ebay, but they seem to have dried up a little. But then probably some of us also :)

Jim

I don't think I've ever bought a new set of catalogs either. Although I use Scott out of necessity, for country collections I use country specific catalogs (i.e. Michel Deutschland Spezial for Germany, Pulko for Turkey,...). Maybe those would be more accurate as far as pricing goes?

Hope the Scott cat. on cd will be produce in the future. I have the 2007 set and I like it allot. Got it for 40$ in an auction at the stamp federation in 2009. Someone on another thread confirm there will be a new set available in 2011. If you never use Scott on cd you miss something. When you look for a stamp without year printed you use the search engine with a keyword. It's fantastic and you can enlarge all pages to 400%. Me to I go to the library for Scott 2011-2012. Every time I go there all the newest cat. are there waiting for me. Sometime I think i'm one of the few that use them. Fear the day when the library will make budget cuts.

There have been hints about digital editions of the catalogs (or portions thereof) coming this year from Scott/Amos, but no specifics.

Whether this is the catalogs on CD/DVD again, or a subscription-based online system ala Numismaster, nobody knows.

I will say that if they offer another CD/DVD product and again lock it so printing pages is prohibited, they will be doing the entire hobby a complete disservice. That's why the 2007 edition on CD is so popular; it's the last fully printable version.

I know they are trying to protect against piracy, but they need to embrace the digital world rather than shun it. Krause Publications offers their huge world catalogs (1) in print, (2) on DVD, and (3) online via subscription. The DVD versions are fully printable. I have a full set for coins 1601 to present.

The printed books each come out with new versions every 2-4 years (the 1801-1900, 1901-2000 and 2001+ I believe come out every year) and a 5-volume set will run you $200-300. The DVD set will cost you $79-99 depending on where and when you purchase. The online subscription to Numismaster is $49 per year, and that gets you real-time updates (as opposed to having to wait for published editions) and access to other catalogs like the Catalog of Unusual World Coins, not to mention the ability to create your own online collection/portfolio and track its value, create wantlists, etc.

Krause's online option isn't perfect (the user interface is pretty crippled and not the most user friendly for doing repeated searches), but it's a good step into the virtual world.

Hopefully Scott will offer the same sort of options...