Newbie Question About Date Of Stamp

How can you tell what year a stamp is from if the year is not written on the face of the stamp (as often occurs)?

Welcome to Stamp Community Forum, Shari!

You can usually find out what year a stamp was issued through stamp catalogs. Since you are in the US, you might be able to find a Scott stamp catalog in your local library -- ask your librarian.

If you are a beginner, you might find the catalog a bit intimidating at first, but it is a wealth of information.

Or, you can always post a picture of the stamp, and we can look it up for you!

Also, the year date on the stamp is not always the actual year it was issued. Occasionally, things don't go according to plan, and the stamp doesn't get issued until later.

On the selvage of some US stamps, the year might be the copyright year or the year the stamp was printed.

Enjoy your stamps!

k

Shari
You just start a beautiful journey in the wold of stamps. The first pages of the Scott catalog explain the basics about stamps and your always welcome to ask us for infos here. Daniel

Shari,

Your knowledge is how you can tell.

Welcome aboard, you'll find plenty of helpful, friendly advice here.

Get a pile of stamps of your chosen country, take the first one and find it in the catalogue. Place it in the catalogue. Do this for each stamp and you will have learned a whole lot very quickly.

Yes, you will need a catalogue, but you don't have to work through from 1850 to the end until you find it. Be a detective and use clues:

1) Name - We tend to use the same name for a foreign country all the time, unless it is a total change like Ceylon/Sri Lanka. But inside the country its official name can change a lot: Xland, Kingdom of Xland, Xland Republic, People's Democratic Republic of Xland.In this case all stamps with the same inscription are likely to be on the same few pages.

Coinage - countries sometimes change the denomination. Britain changed from d to p around 1970.It doesn't narrow it down a lot, but it's still half the catalogue you don't need to go through. Also prices tend to inflate over time. Early high denomination stamps tend to be expensive, so you are unlikely to have any yet! So if you are looking for a cheap stamp with a high denomination on it, it may be better to start at the back and work forwards. However be aware that some countries have had periods of hyperinflation. If I see a German stamp denominated in millions I look at end of WW1, if its Yugoslavia I look at early 1990s.

History - learn as much as you can of the history of the country you collect. If you have a stamp with Stalin on, it will not be later than 1956 - unless it's Albania.

Style - this is a sense you develop as you work through, but from the very start, if a stamp is simple and sophisticated it is probably early. If it looks as if it has been designed by Bart Simpson on acid, then start modern and work back.

Subject matter - look at the people and things on the stamp. Is someone using a phone attached to the wall? At what period did people have cars that shape? Are all the people dressed like a grandad going to a funeral? Is Australia commemorating winning a cricket match? All these things can push you towards the right time period.

Keep a catalogue in the bathroom. When you are in the bath/on the toilet flick through it. At first it will be information overload, but soon you'll find you are looking at a stamp and thinking 'I saw that in the bath last week. I'm sure it was in the middle of all those WW2 types.'

Good luck.

Cancellations / cancels / postmarks and other auxillary postal markings on the envelope piece or cover or stamp itself will sometimes have a date on them that will help to place the stamp.

But now, for example, in Canada or the USA, we are using up older postage from years before that people bought for investment purposes or collections and the dates can bemisleading.

The face value of the stamp may help you out. For instance, in the U.S., 5 cent stamps were quite common from 1961 to 1967 or so when the rate for 1 ounce at first class was 5 cents. 5 cent stamps may be found in other time periods but they were most common then. A stamp catalog may help in pinning down the year. You don't need Scotts Specialized for that...any dealer such as Mystic will help at least that much.

Hi!

Lots of good advice so far! Welcome to the Forum and to the hobby - a lifelong one for sure!

Pick up a Scotts US catalog off of ebay. You do not need a new one, and there are hundreds of them issued in previous years on line for very minimal dollars. Get one and go thru it, familiarizing yourself with the main stamps and their timeframes. With some study, you will soon be able to ballpark the time of a stamp just by looking at the layout, subject, paper, and amount.

My first US catalog was a Scotts 2012 US Pocket Stamp Catalog. I got it at a local store new for $23. But you could get it or an older one for just a few bucks on ebay. Anyway, this small version has a wealth of info in it for the US collector.

One last thing... the prices quoted in them are typically high, representing what a big retailer would want. You can do significantly better via the auction format - either ebay or elsewhere.


ENJOY !!

Mobilman44

Thanks everyone for your great advice ( esp. Bamra1 and mobilman44). If I have foreign stamps as well as US stamps, can I still use Scotts? Thanks.

Yes the catalogs are in alphabetical order

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this before, but for US Stamps, I suggest you go to your local post office and purchase a copy of "The Postal Service Guide to US Stamps". Although not as detailed as the Scott catalog, it is a great resource for new collectors, as all of the stamps are pictured in color on a black background on one page and the catalog listings (which coincide with the Scott Catalog numbers) including values and dates of issue of the various stamps are clearly listed on the other side of the page.

There is also an extremely helpful alphabetical index in the back of that "Postal Service Guide to US Stamps" that will identify all the stamps issued on that subject by Scott Catalog number.

The cost for the 2012 Guide is $21.95, which is considerably less than a Scott Catalog would be. If you can wait another month or two, the new 40th edition (2013) will be available in that timeframe.

If you can't find the Guide at your local post office, you can always order it online at this link:

https://store.usps.com/store/browse...desYearbooks

I really like the Postal Guide to US Stamps. The visuals are great and love the wire binding so the pages lay flat.

Couldn't recommend that enough for a beginner

Another vote here for the Postal Guide to US Stamps. I am a beginner, and I love it.

Hi again,
I also have the Postal Guide to US Stamps (got older one off ebay). It is surely nice, but I find the Scott's Catalog "more betterish" if one can only afford a single book. Frankly, both together work very well, and I've used both of them a lot.

Here is another awesome resource. You can search by keyword on the stamp (note: Scott also has a topic index at the end of the regular listings)

You have to create an account to use this tool, but it has helped me find many stamps!

You can search by country, denomination, keywords in the title, color, currency, and year range.

http://stampworld.com/en/stamps/advanced_search/