Requesting Your Opinions Of Philatelic Catalogs

Working on a project (more to come in a couple of weeks) for beginner/novice or potential collectors and am looking for your opinions on the various catalogs and reference material out there. Basically, what do you think are the pros/cons of Scott versus SG versus Yvert etc., or any other reference material you might think worthwhile to mention to a new collector.

Also open to suggestions such as one that I've already written down. but as an example "search ebay for 4-5 year old catalogs to save money." Anything you might think relevant (in regards to catalogs only, to keep this thread on-topic please!) to someone starting out in the hobby I'd like to hear. Or read, as it might be.

Not looking for a debate please; there is certainly one to be had but just looking for what you'd tell a new or potential collector to search out if they were to start collecting. WW or US, or even country-specific only is fine, whatever you might think relevant, just please keep in mind that a book dedicated solely to early US imperfs is probably not something a novice is going to want to seek out.

There will be several of these threads with other topics, but figured I'd start with catalogs/reference material.

Appreciate any and all thoughts and opinions; and thank you for your time.

~Andy

Stanley Gibbons should be considered the authority on Great Britain and all other stamp issuing entities that fit into the British Commonwealth. That said I am sure there are very prominent catalogs that are used for Canada, Australia, India, and perhaps a few others that go beyond even what Stanley Gibbons does. But as a general catalog for beginners Gibbons is certainly going to be extraordinarily useful for the Commonwealth.

Are you considering using available online catalogs in your project as well?

Edited for voice-to-text errors

Keep it simple and targeted to the audience. Stick to Scott. Period. Expanding to the more detailed catalogs published in other countries is too complex beyond a brief mention that such exist for those who want advanced information as their collections specialize.

My opinion is that catalogs typically fulfill two purposes;
1. Identify stamps
2. Provide valuation
As per #1 above; I think that catalogs are being replaced by various online resources (like SCF) which are easier, free, and much faster than the legacy catalogs.
As per #2 above; Fail. Catalogs valuation is unable to provide meaningful market valuations beyond a loosely applied 'relative value'.

I would also say that I think that too many collectors are too married to catalogs. Of course, catalogs have their place and much of the marketplace uses catalog numbers as a means of communication, but this should not mean that hobbyists buy/make album pages or collect strictly by catalog numbers. Collecting only within the confines of catalogs limits collecting opportunities.

Lastly, catalog editors who include color varieties ought to be taken behind the wood shed and hit upside the head with a big, smelly trout. There were so many issues introduced when catalog publishers started driving collector demand using a highly subjective variable like seeing a color. Critically important color criteria like ambient lighting has been largely ignored in our hobby. Catalog color nomenclature is not standardized and serves only to confuse (see this thread as perfect example https://goscf.com/t/83998&whichpage=2 ). This issue has loomed larger and larger as our hobby has become more worldwide via the internet.

I am unsure of the future of catalogs for these reasons and the ability to transition to the future.
Don

It really depends on the collecting area. For example, for Germany, I would never in a million years recommend a new collector start with Scott. Michel's best for Germany, but if the language barrier is too much, SG would be preferable to Scott. I've seen too many beginning collectors give up on Germany because Scott's Germany listings are such a disaster.

It first and foremost depends upon the geographic location of YOUR target audience as that will impact the answers received. So far you have gotten spot on answers.

Facit handles Scandinavia quite well but like many non-English focused catalogs, they can be a bit awkward to use at first with a multiple language layout.

Even Scott is limited to just US Postal Stationery. If you are going to mention postal stationery collecting, you get into a very different catalog world; be it the extreme detail available for US material as well as any information on other country's issues.

Edited for a "t" not tea.

Don, I was not able to get the link from your post to load. Instead, I think it sent me to Mars.

Oops, sorry. It auto-magically included the ) in the link - fixed.
Don

Anyone brand new to collecting should start with whichever catalog is easiest for them to acquire or access. Whether that's Michel, Scott, AFA, or whatever. The goal (IMO) is to make the new hobbyist broadly familiar with the terminology and way in which the hobby organizes things. And with a paper copy in-hand, allowing them to see the development of stamps across the decades. They don't need to learn specifics, it's enough that they come to learn these things exist and may (or may not) factor into what they develop an interest. It will also most importantly of all show them that they're not alone, that this hobby has a history dating back centuries, with tens or hundreds of thousands of members worldwide.

Since your profile places you in the USA, Scott might be a good one for a general collection. Would you be in the UK and large parts of the commonwealth, Stanley Gibbons does the trick. In Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, Michel would do it and in France, former colonies, and Southern Europe, Yvert does it. In part it is dictated by the language. The catalogues are also those used most frequently in those areas. So, the odds are your fellow collectors will know what you are talking about.

Specific catalogues are better at describing specific territories, but then you are starting to move away from being a beginner. If you are in the USA and have a wide collection of GB & Commonwealth you might want to consult Stanley Gibbons instead of Scott. Also, the wider base for that territory will be using that catalogue. Similarly, Michel will have wider with for German stamp collectors.

If you specialise in e.g. Ireland, Hibernian may be a better solution than Stanley Gibbons. But then you are way off being a beginner, or you are focussing on that area. Also, the base of collectors will be narrower. So, I think, part of the answer is where and for what purpose you use the catalogue.

One problem a new collector faces is the huge number of stamps that have now been issued, and the attendant increase in the size of catalogues. My first catalogue in the 1960s was Gibbons's Simplified, which contained the world in one volume. Now its Stamps of the World consists of five or six books. The beauty of the simplified was and is that it's just that - no shades, perforation varieties etc, just a lot of stamps to get your teeth into.

A buy at just GBP 299.

As a beginner, you can buy either the catalogue, or the stamps. At least, the catalogue contains all stamps.

I'd definitely go for a cheap, earlier edition. My first version cost ten bob from an Oxfam shop.

Since I'm still in the process of re-learning the collecting ropes since I retired four years ago, I'm hesitant to give advice. This is more like a list of steps I've taken and how I've come to regret them (like buying other people's junk collections on ebay before I got clear that I don't want junk stamps in my collection).

When I first started back you could buy Scott digital versions by the country as the price was reasonable. But now they've gone to a subscription model so you can't do that anymore unless you want to pay for the annual subscription.

The thing I've found most useful is a Scott Classics Catalog which covers most countries up to 1940. I found a used one on ebay from 2012 and that works fine for me. I'm not really that interested in the exact current price of anything - I'm not in this for the money (except the spending of it).

I'm also using a Michel Catalog for Germany.

The thing is I seem to have to learn by making mistakes. So even after I read all the good advice on this forum I have to go through this process of seeing what doesn't work before I come to the right conclusion.

Bottom line: be patient as you navigate all this for yourself and figure out which references will be best for what you are trying to do.

My advice is logic driven.

Given that the philatelic market from ebay to auction houses revolves around certain catalog systems you really have many catalog options but little actual choice. Trying to purchase stamps for your collection without Scott numbers is kind of like speaking only Farsi in Alabama. It ain't going to get you far.

If you spread your wings and move to Commonwealth material or buy from GB/CW then SG will become the "language". If you shop on Delcampe or elsewhere or collect European Countries Michel becomes the tongue you need to speak.

There is a hierarchy in play from speaking the primary language to, later on as you specialize,
engaging in regional dialects. Scott, SG and Michel in that order. Really no way around it unless you know from the get-go that you are collecting Russian postal stationary and that is that thank you very much.

You can, of course, happily collect stamps for years without going near a catalogue - it's not the first port of call for a beginner.