Match And Medicine Reference Material

I have a pretty good start on Match and Medicine stamps with 52 in stock pages and dealer cards. I had a few previously, but most were buried in a estate lot that I bought a couple years ago and I've been adding to it since then. I'm starting to organize them and would like to know more about them.

Does anyone have a source that they would recommend? Either in print or digital / online.

Something beyond the catalog, that talks about the stamp but also the background, the company, etc. I see this in drips and drabs on individual websites but would like a more concise resource. Preferably free but available at a reasonable cost works too.

When I hear revenue stamps, I think Eric Jackson. There are also several revenue guys (gals?) on the forum that I'm sure will chime in with some recommendations, as well.

Here is a start:

https://www.matchandmedicine.com/

Aldrich, Michael E. A Census of United States Match and Medicine Stamps. (can be ordered from Eric Jackson)
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Friedberg, Richard. Collector's Handbook for Private Die Proprietary Proofs and Census of the Morton Dean Joyce Collection of these Issues.(can be ordered from Eric Jackson)

Griffenhagen, George B. Medicine Tax Stamps Worldwide.(can be ordered from Eric Jackson)

Toppan, George L., Hiram Deats & Alexander Holland. An Historical Reference List of the Revenue Stamps of the United States Including the Private Die Proprietary Stamps. Comes in two editions. (can be ordered from Eric Jackson)

West, Christopher (Elliot Perry). United States Match and Medicine Stamps.(can be ordered from Eric Jackson)

West, Christopher (Elliot Perry). Private Die Match Stamps.(can be ordered from Eric Jackson)

ISBN #0880000988. Holcombe, Henry W. PATENT MEDICINE TAX STAMPS

Adenaw, Julius. COMPLETE CATALOGUE OF THE REVENUE STAMPS OF THE UNITED STATES INCLUDING PRIVATE AND STATE ISSUES, AND GIVING MINOR VARIETIES. Published 1890 (circa)

UNITED STATES STAMPS AND MATCH & MEDICINE STAMPS. Auction by Edson J Fifield. Sale date 1961/10/26-27. Sale #66. 437 lots in a larger sale. Illus. Match (158); Medicine (281); Perfume (42). Incs. rarities & multiples.

THE ROBERT H. CUNLIFFE COLLECTIONS OF UNITED STATES PRIVATE DIE PROPRIETARY STAMPS, PROOFS, TRIAL COLORS, ESSAYS AND COVERS. Cunliffe. Auction by Daniel F Kelleher. Sale date 1997/06/25-26. Sale #602. 1186 lots. Illus. Incs many rarities.

COL E.H.R. GREEN COLLECTION, PART XXIII. Green. Auction by Hugh C Barr. Sale date 1945/10/15-18. Sale #93. 1271 lots. Private Die Proprietary (394).

THE ALPHA O IMBLER MATCH & MEDICINE COLLECTION. Imbler. Auction by John Kaufmann. Sale date 1983/10/28. Sale #099. 1259 lots. Illus. Private Die Prop match (185); Medicine (359).

THE MORTON DEAN JOYCE PRIVATE DIE PROPRIETARY COLLECTION. Joyce. Auction by Andrew Levitt. Sale date 1991/09/12-14. Sale #01. 3,300 lots. Illus. The largest collection ever formed. Incs models, proofs, stamps, postal history.

UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN STAMPS, COVERS AND AUTOGRAPHS; THE MORTON DEAN JOYCE MATCH AND MEDICINE PROOFS AND ESSAYS. Joyce. Auction by Daniel F Kelleher. Sale date 1995/05/02-03. Sale #597. 909 lots of Joyce Pvt Die. Illus. Models, essays, die/plt proofs of Match, Medicine, Perfume & Playing Card Cos. The material not offered in the Andrew Levitt sale of Sep 1991.

classic_paper: I did look at their website.

Parcelpostguy: Thanks for the list. I have seen some of these before but the ones I have looked at so far are just lists or catalogs that really don't get into the details. I'll investigate the ones I have not yet managed to see the contents of. I'm sure one or more may either hold the type of information I'm looking for or can help me with further references so I can amass the information myself.

First the publications mentioned that have no "(can be ordered from Eric Jackson)" next to them should be available from Phil Bansner.

Now I agree with you jconey that catalogs sometimes lack information. But at times they contain a serious amount of information or at least one or two nuggets of useful information. Of course you can't tell which it will be without reviewing the document. Lastly there is "known information" which never see the light of general availability because it was never generally published and as such remains unknown, "known information" to many.

Parcelpostguy: I read ya on known info and suspect that is exactly right!

I figure it'll be a collection of information found a bit here and a bit there or series of small gold mines. Research is one of the things I really enjoy about the hobby anyway. If I ever get as much as I'd like amassed maybe I'll make it available one way or another. via website or pdf.

https://www.google.com/books/editio...c=frontcover

This can be found here, on line.

The Holcombe book, the West books, and the Joyce catalog are absolutely essential reference works to go along with the Boston Book posted above. The others are valuable as later references.

This webpage has some background information about the companies issuing the stamps http://www.rdhinstl.com/mm/mmb1.htm

revcollector: Thanks for the tips and link to "An Historical Reference List of the Revenue Stamps of the United Stamps" Lots of information!

SPQR: Thanks for the link to http://www.rdhinstl.com

Hi all, hope it's okay to be reactivating this thread, but as it concerns reference materials I thought it'd be appropriate to keep this here.

Can anyone advise as to the best source of catalog prices for match and medicines? I don't have a recent Scott US Specialized and am trying to determine if it's worth purchasing; are the prices relatively up-to-date, and if so, what's a good rule of thumb for percent cat?

Or if there's a different pricing resource that's better?

I'm relatively new to revenues and am trying to get a 'feel' for the market. Thanks!

Alas, knowing the genuine "catalog prices" of M&M's largely depends on long term knowledge of the material. The paragraphs in the front of the Scott catalog listings are very misleading; some stamps do go for multiples of catalog in VF condition, but others come that way due to many remainders. There are a lot of M&M's which have not had a price change in many years; some are still pretty accurate and some are much scarcer than the prices listed. Some $10-$15 stamps are VERY difficult to find in VF, although finding them with small (or large) faults is not difficult. And some simply do not exist in VF condition, or perhaps there are only a tiny handful.

Unfortunately revcollector is correct. There are no shortcuts. You need to study the material to learn which stamps readily can be found in nice condition and which stamps are rare in nice condition.

I also recommend looking at the auction catalogs when they are specializing in revenues. Usually well illustrated with some background information, also get a copy of the prices realized so you can track the values.

Thanks, all! No shortcuts, no problem - following the auctions and reading catalogues, etc is half the fun anyway (for me, at least). Less about the actual catalogue values per se and more about understanding the 'gist' of the market.

For pricier/scarcer items, searching archived results at Stamp Auction Network and Siegel Auctions can be useful.