Has Anyone Tried To Complete A "One Stamp From Every Country" Collection?

I've recently found the Smithsonian album of one stamp from every country to ever issue stamps. I'm working my way through it, filling in what I can with an old worldwide album that used to be my Dad's. Has anyone completed this task? If so what we're the hardest countries to find?

I did it with the 357 stamp-issuing entities that are represented in my edition of the Scott International Part One (1840-1940). It's been a while, but I think last one I got was La Aguera. Before that, it was one of the German States but that was only because it was relatively expensive at a time I had little money to spend on stamps.

I do not think the challenge is so much to find the stamps. When you collect on a budget, the challenge is rather that the cheapest issues for some countries still rank in the high to very high catalog values ranges. Such as, for example, some Italian and German States or British Columbia & Vancouver Island....

This sounds like fun! I might have a go as a sideline. I'm not sure which entities the Smithsonian album includes. If things like the Swiss cantons are present, there would be some pricier items.

I see that you can download the album here

http://postalmuseum.si.edu/stampgal...-Country.pdf

A quck glance suggests that it's not too forbidding - for instance, the constituent states of Columbia/Colombia aren't included.

The hard part is not the country sections, it will get difficult if you start to include some of the revolutionary groups that issued stamps. There are Chinese Liberated Areas that no postage stamp is known but they issued revenue stamps.
Some stamps that I have mounted in my collection are The Black Flag Republic,the KKK of the Phillipines,Long Island and Central Albania there are many more that the catalog doesn't list but I have included in my collection .

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think some of the tougher ones to find will be the 6 pages of different countries and states of India.

I tried to get my kids to do a "one stamp per country" collection but I couldn't quite get them to pursue it. I recall as a kid trying to find at least one stamp for everything in my Citation album and making the "big splurge" for British Columbia & Vancouver Island in high school. Still have that stamp...

It is interesting that a highly regarded group such as the Smithsonian National Postal Museum would print a publication that historically ties Annam & Tonkin and Cochin China with Cambodia. Those two "countries" historically were part of the early development of Vietnam!!

I started to try to collect 1 stamp from each country and realized that some countries have had so many different governing bodies that how would you represent that country with just one stamp. The Album that I put together has room for 1160 different stamps. So far I have from 674 of them. examples of some of my pages, I use 60+ lb paper and change the color of the paper for each new letter.

Those are really nice pages Lee! I really like the states of India, especially the red Dhar stamp.

Benay148. Thank you

Most of what I have picked up came from our local stamp club auctions.

That's a very interesting concept, someone can add more than 1 for each county and put few of his favourites but keeping in mind to keep the counts low ( so no need for a full set )

I have thought about doing a "one page from every country" collection. Collecting the most beautiful / iconic stamps from every country on one page would be a fun project.

Then you'll love this sheet of the Dhar ½ Pice



The Indian States do indeed present some challenges to completion. At least Dungarpur is listed, if pricey



but there are other States which are not (yet) listed, such as Kotah and Tonk



(This is an example of unstamped mail from Kotah State: I can't afford/haven't yet found a genuine stamp of Kotah, never mind Tonk!)

Then there are the arguables, like Rajkot



which only ever issued postal stationery, but not your actual stamps. Or the Chagai Hills, where the PO was operated by a British officer, but was never authorised by the Imperial Post Office:

Very cool Tony! Definitely will try to get some of those in my collection someday!