Which Stamp Catalog(S) Do You Use ?

I also make my own little catalog documents for stamps or varieties not listed.

Well, I have Scott US specialized 2008, both the book and the Cd. A combination of 2006 & 2003 Scott WW on cd. I use a Brookman from time to time. The Frost Airship and postcard catalogue and The USPS postal service guide, a Krause-Minkus specialized Great Britain, a Scott FDC, and a Sieger Zeppelin guide. I also have this forum, which is as just about as useful as any of the catalogues!

I use Yvert, which is available in our philatelic club, for WW; the Catalonia Official Stamp Catalog for Catalan items and the Estonia EMS Catalog for my Estonia Postal History collection. I also have and old (1996) specialized Edifil (I don't collect Spain) and a very old (1953) SG, very useful for older BC.
As you can guess, I don't give a dime for the money value of my collections, I'm just interested on finding the most of the items I've. So older catalogs are more valuable than modern ones, and often come for free!

I must say I'm quite astonished by how many collectors seem to think out-of-date catalogues are adequate.

I just did a little check on my last four editions of Gibbons' Part 1, looking at the additions to the Indian States listings. There are no new issues to be added: the last Indian State post office closed down nearly 50 years ago (it was Bahawalpur). In these four editions, Gibbons have added 52 new items to their lists: if you were collecting the Indian States with a 2009 edition, you'd have missed out on 52 possible items. And that's just four years, in a not terribly popular specialisation, in one catalogue.

How many more things are you missing out on?

Hi

I use:

Scott - Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela catalog sections
Scott Classic - Scott listed SCADTA issues reference
Minkus - Latin America
Michel - South America
Stanley Gibbons - South America
Aurelio Blanco - Venezuela
Alvaro Barriga - Colombia
Leo Temprano - Colombia
Sanabria

I also have reference books for Colombia and Ecuador that have some listings.

Jerry B

As far as catalogs and not other reference material, I primarily use Scott. For my Israel collection I also use Minkus and occasionally Bale's.

I'm currently using Maury 2012, SG vol6 7th ed and Y+T 2013 in that order of preference.

tonymacg - If Indian states are truly not that popular of a collecting specialty, then it would make sense that new discoveries can be made to include as additions to catalogs. Some areas however, have been heavily collected since their beginning, so there is really not a whole lot of new things under the sun to be discovered. My newest Edifil (1998) is essentially the same as some of my older ones from the 70's. Yes, it is a bit more "comprehensive" now than then, but mostly because of added information, not new discoveries.

I've been putting off buying an updated version of my trusty old catalog only because mine hasn't fallen totally apart yet.........also because they run about $80.

Spain_1850, you make a fair point. However, relatively unpopular as the Indian States are, they've always had a devoted and studious following. It isn't easy to make new finds among them, but it does happen.

To take a slightly more mainstream area, looking at the additions to the Australian States in the 2013 Gibbons Commonwealth catalogue, we have 6 new for New South Wales, 3 for Queensland, 2 for South Australia, one for Tasmania ... and 31 for Western Australia. And that, remember is just in the current edition.

Others mightn't care to buy new editions as they come out, but it would be very wise to look over them for any additions (or deletions - just as important).

Hi, as far as using outdated reference material, one of the reasons that I use my Scott on CD catalogues is that it is somewhat difficult for me to use the heavy book volumes because of arthritis in my wrists and hands, so the CD versions I find quite handy. I would buy new versions but unfortunately 2008 were the last ones issued, I think.

Just a note to all those who use older versions of Scott CD's, make sure you DO NOT upgrade your Adobe to Reader X. Found out from Amos that my 2008 version of the Classic Specialized is NOT compatible with it. If I want to use the CD again I have to uninstall it and download an older version.

spain_1850


Yea, I found that out and use Adobe 9.5. It is kind of irritating, since the older versions of the Scott on Cd work just fine with the latest Adobe readers.

Instead of the awful Adobe reader try FoxIT reader. It is so much smaller, faster and without the massive security holes.

I also use the Scott Catalogues and have a 2012 set. I do keep an older, 2006 Hellas Catalogue of Greece for identification purposes, also a Scott Classic and US Specialized for the same purposes. The Scott world is the only one I feel the need to stay fairly current with.

I use LaPe for Finland and at the moment Scott for the rest.