Should The Scott Classic Specialized Include WW2 Era Issues?

Not that I expect Scott to make such a change, but while I understand the "tidiness" of having the catalog run 1840-1940 (though it already makes an exception for the British Empire, including issues to 1952) it seems kind of odd that the rest of the world's issues are only covered until 1940, when the real historical milestone would be the end of World War II in 1945. For those nations already occupied by the Germans by the end of 1940, the end date is quite awkward. I just think it would make more sense for Scott to have the classic era run until the end of 1945 so that the entire World War II era could be included in one catalog rather than remain split among the six catalogs currently.

Just an opinion

Hi!
Well,I tend to agree with you. The 1940s was probably the most eventful decade in history (for the world as a whole) and I would have liked to see the "classic" period extended to 1949 and fully cover the war and postwar years. Of course my opinion is just that.........

Speaking of the Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue......... Are the pics / descriptions the same there as in the regular worldwide Scotts catalogues? Said another way, I currently have a 2003 worldwide set of 6 volumes. Would I gain any more information (for the classic period) by getting a SCS Catalogue?

The specialized contains a lot of info on varieties of perforation/shade/watermark etc that are not included in the main catalogs (esp one going back to 2003). It also provides more price info for multiples and on cover usage. It also includes new listing for things such as the China Treaty Posts and the Morocco Sherifian post which are not included in the general catalogs (at least not in my general set from 2006..that may have changed)

It's not a cheap catalog, the 2014 is listing on Amazon at $169 IIRC, but it is a luxurious book (hard cover, not paperback) and it continues to improve with each edition.

I currently have the 2010 edition and am planning to get the '14 when it comes out.

The pics appear to be the same. What you don't get with the standard 6 volume catalogue compared to the Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 are all the minor numbers.

Just checking Norway....

Standard Scott Vol 4 J-O
1867-68
11 1s black
12 2s orange
13 3s lilac
14 4s blue
15 8s carmine rose


Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940
1867-68
11 1s black, coarse impression
11a 1s dark gray, fine impression
12 2s orange
12a 2s bright yellow orange
13 3s dull lilac, coarse impression
13a 3s reddish violet, fine impression
14 4s blue, thin paper
14a 4s greenish blue, thick paper
15 8s carmine rose
15a 8s rose, clear impression

That inclusion alone makes the Classic 1840-1940 much more valuable for the classic era collector.




I agree. I doubt, though if Scott will expand the dates of their already extensive and expensive ($140!) catalogue.

But I would sure like to see a "Classic Light" companion volume that included WW from 1940-1960.

I guess it would depend on how many extra pages would be needed to expand ROTW listings from Dec 31 1940 to Dec 31 1945. My guess is probably under 100 pages total, but that would be a base from which any minor varieties would then be added on. So yeah probably not, but it just bugs the inner historian in me to have the catalog end coverage in the middle of WWII (so we get the first issues of General Gouvvernment Poland, Slovakia or Bohemia & Moravia but not the balance, which are then spread across 3 catalogs...ARGH!)

In 2008 alone, there were 12,000 updates for issues that were found only in the Scott Classic catalog. My impression is that some stamps appear in the "regular" Scott catalogs before they appear in the Specialized, but thousands appear first in the Specialized. Some of these make their way into the "regular" catalog, but many do not.

It would be a hard decision for any publisher as to when to terminate a classics specialized. The 100 years, 1840-1940, is convenient, but I suppose ultimately arbitrary. The Michel equivalent to Scott covers through 1900 (Europe only). One of my favorite reference books restricts "classic" to 1840-1870, largely confined to engraved issues. I suppose that a decision would ideally need to be made on a country by country basis.

We had this discussion with the Scott catalog editors during a APS public meeting at a stamp exhibition and show . --------------Here is what I suggested-----that a separate specialized catalog maybe called the "Golden Age" for 1940 to 1970 ,this new catalog could follow the Classic with much more detail as mention in the above posting . They said it would hurt their main 6 volume series catalog . But my respond was their main catalog is becoming irrevalent to most collectors .But they ended the discussion with "not in their lifetime "