Required Precancel Reference Material

If you were delving into precancels for the first time and a limited budget which would be the required reference books you would buy?

My opinions only as others may see things differently so YMMV:

- I'd first spend a lot of time digging through the Precancel website at http://www.precancels.com/ There is a ton of very informative material there, particularly for newbies so be sure to dig into every nook and cranny of the site. Some free albums can be downloaded from there too.
- Then I'd make a decision on what I wanted to collect, knowing that this could easily change. Start small, then grow, so you might consider starting with just Buro's, or you might do ~some~ locals too, locals are aka T&T's for Town & Types. Both can be collected in many many different ways. Or perhaps you'll want to do some of the other varieties, hence intimately browsing the website over and over again.

--- Now if you're still having fun ---

- Then I'd look at the list of literature and coincide what I collect with the catalog(s) I buy.
- If you are really enjoying them then opt for the two general applications sold there, Buro and T&T as well. Both apps follow the latest catalogs available so there is no difference in prices nor info. IMO they compliment each other well and I use both the cats and the apps. Both are excellent means of maintaining your inventories, and you can print your own album pages from them too. I have both and have found them invaluable for inventory, want lists etc. They are very versatile programs. Support is good and only an email away if needed.

I feel compelled to say though that the LARGE qty lots the PSS sells are usually very heavy in duplication so you may not be real happy with them, but then again you may. Other sources for material are available too for your precancel pleasure if you decide to go a different route.

Most importantly though is HAVE FUN with them! You'd be surprised how you can tailor make precancel collecting into something personally meaningful to you.

Well said GrandpaJohn -
Precancels is all I collect. At first I was all over the board with collecting them. Then I settled into the 1922-26 series. I like the engraving and design. I collect all denoms and all perfs for that issue. Both Bureaus and Locals. The two catalogs I use the most are the T&T (Town and Type) catalog and the Bureau Catalog. I have the computer programs for both these catalogs. It makes it a whole lot easier than flipping pages. Later, after you have developed at good collection of these guys you will want a Dated Catalog, both printed dated's and handstamp dated's. But for now, just set those ones with control dates to the side. You will find a bunch on this issue with dated controls. Don't let that bother you when your just starting out, just put them aside for later.
Hope this helps! And enjoy the insanity of collecting precancels

As President of the PSS I am always excited to hear collectors getting started in our niche of stamps.
I would concur with the suggestions above - adding...
a) the PSS itself does not sell stamps. Our member collectors and dealers do sell accumulation lots that may have duplication - but buying a large collection/accumulation is probably the best way to get started.
b) for non-USA precancels we have excellent catalog coverage also - the Unitrade for Canada, and the Randall
catalog for International non Canada are both highly recommended.

I've seen the free pages that can be printed at the PSS site. I haven't counted them yet but it looks like a lot. How do most of you deal with storage and still find it easy to get to the page you need to add your stamps? Do you print on regular paper or archival paper? Do you store them in sheet holders or leave them exposed?
I can see my collecting being limited to pre 1945 because that fits what I do on stamps. I do get some later issues when I buy collections but I don't go out of my way to get them. For years I've set a side precancels because I just didn't know what to do with them.

I can only speak as a US only collector - I organize by State and then town, in alphabetical order. I use 8 sleeve Vario sheets for my collection and glassines for duplicates I want to keep to trade or sell and the rest that are common go into a box.

In my case, I've downloaded all of the album pages, but have only printed selected album pages on archival paper when I have enough stamps to mount on them.

The ability to keep the pages stored electronically, allows me to reference a particular city or town and determine the number of precancels that were known for a given location. It further helps by being able to search a page by State if I'm looking to identify only a partial precancel imprint. The pages also point out (with increased boldness of the frame of the block for the stamp) the relative scarcity of an item which helps to flag those "better" precancels from the most common ones.

Those electronically stored album pages, along with the downloadable copy of the PSS Style Chart, has allowed me to identify the majority of precancels that come my way without having to invest a great deal into catalogs.

Of course, when I do get stuck with identifying a precancel, SCF members always seem willing to help me out!

I collect all Bureau's since there is a finite number of them to collect. For locals (T&T) there are an infinite number so I collect the state of my birth and the state I currently live in, and a few other small groups I enjoy. I print my album pages on white 67lb cover stock that's readily available at a reasonable price. These go thru my HP Officejet with no problems. The pages go back to back into page protectors and are placed inside D-ring binders. For me the full set of Bureau pages require 3ea 2½" binders and are sorted by state/city. T&T's, since they are much smaller collections are in much smaller binders.

STRONG ADVICE: Start out small, go slow and work up from there or you'll soon be overwhelmed and burned out - been there, done that. Try collecting maybe a state and/or a few cities that you like. Maybe collect a particular highway, something that in general parallels a current interstate, or a train route, something historical like one of the overland trails, something dealing with your family history. How about a specific denomination, or color, or Scott#. You'd be surprised how many precancels are out there to fit those various scenarios. The possibilities are many and the fun endless. So is the research for any of these too! Any of the PSS album pages would be a great place to whet your appetite.

I'm thinking about joining in on the collecting of precancels. I went on the PSS site and I will download the pages (my state). Looking at the pages tells me that there may be some really hard to find stamps as the precancels are from PO's in old general stores. This should be interesting even if I need another branch on the collecting tree like a hole in the head. Thank you all for the valuable information. Dan

The PSS Town and Type catalog is the fundamental reference book for PC beginners.

I say this based on my limited experience. Reading through all the PSS material on their website is a great place to start learning the ropes. After deciding to collect PC's, I acquired several large lots from ebay and sorted through them. Early on it was apparent that duplication was a way of life and that there were many precancels that did not fit any of the PSS main type descriptions. I sorted, grouped and saved these "weird" precancels. At some point I read about "L" type precanels ("L ocal") made in hundreds of towns and cities. I recently got a PSS T&T catalog which contains a ton if information and illustrations of all the many types of regular and local precancels. It has really helped put things in perspective for basic collecting. Down the road there are other specialty catalogs available to compliment a mature collection. For collectors on a budget, you can't beat precancels!!

The PSS does not catalog the provisional precancels of the 19th century. Does anyone? I am trying to get information on known or suspected precancels (official, provisional, or experimental) for the period 1870-1893. What references exist for that?

essayk: The best reference on the subject is Silent Precancels, by David W. Smith, available here:
http://www.precanceledstamps.com/pr...ed-catalogs/
it goes back to the 1847's.