Question On Stanley Gibbons Catalog Listings

from this set of 30 stamps, what does 8/20 and 22/30 refer to??? Doesnt seem to explain in the legend - that I see. tks....

The way I read it is two sets of stamps, one from 8-20 and the other from 22-30. You did not show the whole page - I don't have any idea what happened to # 21 ?


Peter

From # 8 to # 20 : 13 stamps
From # 22 to # 30 : 9 stamps
Total 22 stamps

tks. here it is. I guess its their way of dropping a stamp from the set???

I think what the editors did is list two "short sets". In other words, the one expensive stamp in the series would normally not be offered as part of a set.


Peter

The first thing to note: an SG Catalogue is a price list. It is a catalogue as a travelling salesman in sewing machines would have, but for stamps.

The second thing to note: SG assigns full catalogue numbers to different shades of the same stamps. It also adds a letter when a value is issued between two consecutive numbers; i.e., if a 10a and 12a stamp have consecutive numbers and an 11a stamp is issued later, it will have got the same number as the 10a stamp and an a is added (if not already used for a variety). Basically, they add the first available letter.

It is custom to list as set only the most basic (cheapest) of each face value and basic colour (or combination of colours). In essence, numbers 20 and 21 are "shades," i.e., they are the same green and purple stamp for which SG catalogued two slightly different green colours that were never intended to be different. So, the price of a full set includes only the cheapest of the shades.

Compare this to the SG Great Britain Concise. Below the George V Mackennals with simple cypher watermark, it states "set of 15." My 1995 edition lists 51 different numbers, including some a and b numbers and a c number. Only 15 are truly different stamps (face value and colour combinations), with two types of the 2d and two colours (agate and olive-green) for the 9d.

Your catalogue does not merely state "set of 22" but also makes it clear what SG would sell as a complete set excludes number 21, as it is essentially a colour variety of the much cheaper and more common nr. 20.