Confusion About Scott's Method Of Showing Issue Dates

My Scott Specialized (2001) lists 2123-2136 as being issued 1985-87. #2129 is listed as being issued on Jan. 24, 1987. The next listing, #2130, is listed as Apr. 18 with no year given. I assume I am supposed to refer to the last year specified, which would be 1987 for #2129. There is no date at all shown for #2130a, so I assume it to be 1987, the same as #2130.

However, my White Ace pages indicate that #2130a was issued in 1988. I suppose Scott should have more credibility than White Ace, but since no specific date is shown in Scott's listing, and since I seem to be doing a bunch of assuming to interpret what they do show, I am looking for another source to settle issue-date discrepancies. Suggestions anyone?

In Scott listings, the general rule for set listings that extend several years is -- when no year is given for a major catalog number stamp, the stamp was issued in the first year listed in the year range. Unfortunately, there is no consistent rule when it comes to minor catalog numbers. Bad Scott.

Therefore, #2130 was issued in 1985.

You can make no assumptions about #2130a, although for modern stamps it is usually safe to assume the minor catalog number was issued AFTER the major catalog number. There are many exceptions for older stamps, so do not use this as a general rule.

#2130a was issued on June 27, 1988. You can get this information by looking at the First Day Cover section of your Scott US Specialized.

k

Thank you very much khj. I've seen the FDC listings, but I never thought to look there to settle this question, DUH. I appreciate the help.

This is one of those instances where the Scott Specialized Catalog could use some editing.

Personally, I use the Scott Specialized Catalog in conjunction with the annually released Postal Service Guide to US Stamps. Although the valuations are supposed to be based on the current Scott Catalog, it is much "cleaner" to read, as black background images of all stamps are on one side of the page and all of the listing on the other side. In addition, it includes great detail on the specific date of issue for each stamp.

As to your specific questions, the series of stamps Scott #2123-2136 was issued 1985-89. Scott #2129 is correctly identified as being issued on 01/24/1987. On the other hand, Scott 2130 was issued on 04/18/1985 and Scott #2130a was issued on 06/27/1988.

If you only want to refer to the Scott Specialized Catalog of US Stamps, refer to the First Day Cover Section of your catalog where specific issue dates for every stamp is clearly identified.

By the way, the 1985-1987 header is an error in the listing. It should read 1985-1989. #2127b was issued in on May 26, 1989. This header was updated in subsequent catalogs.