My Newest Stamp Collecting Country Is .....australia!

Besides U.S. and Canada, I have been looking around for another country to collect.
At the Charpex stamp show on Sunday, I could not find any dealer supplied country collection which was even marginally decently priced.

So, at the auction table, I bid on two Australian stamp accumulations, hoping to get one of them. Well as luck would have it, I won both, so I now have thousands of Australian stamps, most of them sorted into glassines by Scott number.

I will print Bill Steiner's stamp pages to create the album.
The seller of the stamps said that a friend gave him the stamps to dispose of and he did not go through them to look for varieties. That will up to me.
Any suggestions as to proceeding would be welcomed (e.g., is there a web site listing the Australian stamps? What catalogue should I use? Are there any specific issues I should look at first for varieties?)
I am sure that I will have weeks if not months to enjoy organizing and assembling this collection!

I advise Stanley Gibbons Australia catalog.

. . . and a sharper eye than my own.

nbuckeye... I too collect Oz, until 1985; after that they went crazy. I have a wantlist as well. Since you mentioned that the stamps are sorted by Scott numbers already, perhaps we can trade or something?

Cheers
Ram

Hi Don,

So, no collecting Colombia?? I tried to convince you.

Jerry B

ramanandn - give me a few days to get organized and I'll email you.

Hi Jerry! Been a while! The dealers at CHARPEX were way overboard on what they wanted. Maybe I can get you interested in the land down under through trades!

Hi Don,

I try not to do any of Tony's cataloging for British material. I hate the watermarking and the dies. However, for some reason I don't mind Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

By the way, to me "Down Under" is either Argentina or Chile

Jerry B

I'm glad to see more Oz collectors here and if we can help just ask. The only problem is Scott numbers, most of us
use Gibbons or Aust catalogues.

Hi ncbuckeye

You are in for the ride of our life.
There are so many varieties, watermarks and other things.
Also do not forget that the Australian stamps issued their own stamps and these were in use until 1913.
Rare postmarks,
I myself use Gibbons catalogues and of course there are the specialist catalogues on Australian stamps and well.
Enjoy, enjoy,

Horamakhet

Tefloncinco ncbuckeye how many other countries do you collect Australia and New Zealand are always good ventures for future investments and collections for collectors. Gibbons cat. for info. I will try the ''down under'' south America

Excellent choice !

Australia is a great nation and their stamps are beautiful and from historical and philatelic point of view, very very interesting

I collect Oz till 1985. Somewhere in the 90s they went beserk sith their issues.

If you will watch for a Gibbons 10 years old, you will at least be aware of varieties, some quite valuable, that don't appear in Scott. You can check prices later. The early watermarks are perplexing, though.

Any covers before 1950, leave them alone; don't remove the stamps. This is especially true for airmail covers. I have the Eustis Catalog and will be glad to look up special flights, etc., all I need is the date and city of the postmark and the backstamp, if any.

Old Australian picture postcards are worth watching for, too.

Hi Tefloncinco

For an interesting country go a little further North. Try collecting Colombia. The early issues are interesting with the different printings, paper colors, etc..

Jerry B

Thanks for all of the input! I initially said "Scott" number, but did so out of habit. I actually do not know what numbering system was used. Most of the glassines were used 3-4 times so have different numbers on the same envelope. Sorting and identifying will be harder and last longer than I anticipated. But, that is part of the joy of collecting.

Hi

Like some others few countries, Australia has in its philately an old part which constitute the roots of the nation.
That is very beautiful and historic, although more difficult and hard to find.

Australia: NSW, Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia.

Others members of this selected club:

Germany: Bavaria, Baden, Prussia, Württemberg, Oldenburg, Saxony, Hannover...etc
Canada: Prince Edward, Newfoundland, New Brunswick...etc
Colombia: Bolivar, Santander, Antioquia, Cartagena...etc
Italy: Parma, Tuscany, Sardinia, Sicily, Modena, Naples, Romagna...etc