Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Are you saying that you use a Stanley Gibbons catalogue, or that you use Poppe Stamps to identify stamps in your collection or ones that you'd like to add to it?
If you're using Poppe Stamps as your only reference, you really aren't doing "research". Just having a catalogue number tells you nothing about a stamp except the fact that other stamps were issued before or after it was issued, or that someone decided at some point that a stamp is similar enough to other stamps to be listed near them. Stamp Catalogues identify differences between stamps based on design changes, shade and colour varieties, perforation varieties, different watermarks, paper types, printing methods, and usage. Poppe Stamps offers nothing except catalogue numbers and images.
Poppe Stamps is an online stamp shop, and they do a good job of it, although I find their prices high. You need a real catalogue, regardless of what catalogue that is.
Bob
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For collectors in the US, Scott is the most convenient, unless you're heavily specializing in Great Britain / Commonwealth, and can actually see the difference between "black" and "intense black". 
No comprehensive online catalog using Scott numbers, though.
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Catalogues and catalogue numbers, has and is a real issue for me. As I use USA ebay to sell and 95% of my sales are in Australia it makes for a very unusual situation.
Scott's catalogue users only described stamps by there catalogue numbers. I do not own a Scott's or a Micheal's and in Australia we even spell catalogue differently. After much thought about this issue I decided to describe my stamps by the year and or the name of the stamp and by watermark and or perforations and or perfins and a image to create a universal way for people from many countries to understand which stamp I am referring to, as I only sell and show Australian stamps.
But I have 33 different Australian stamp catalogues and I would have 7 different catalogue numbers after most stamps and then I would also need Scott's and Micheal's numbers as well being a total of 9 numbers after most stamps to get that universal flavour.
I will never learn about USA and Canada stamps, on stamp forums because all I see is a Scott's number. It is a very narrow way of describing a stamp by only using one (catalog) number in a universal world that the computer creates. How many people that use Scott's numbers only think in a non universal manner or even realise this situation?
It is a most interesting issue. KG5
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The problem for me and for most of us, I would think, is the cost of the catalogs. I use a Scotts 2007 that I bought from a guy at our local stamp club at a much reduced rate, and I use an Australasian Stamp Catalog from 2007 also which is very good and provides a better coverage for Australian stamps than Scott does, but doesn't help with communication with anyone but Australian collectors in Australia. 
Regards ... Tim
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I never gave it a second thought that someone from USA or Canada etc would not understand Stanley Gibbons numbers. It was a real shock to the system when I realised that others had no idea what my numbers meant.
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Stamp Cataloguers:
Indeed, it is a most interesting issue and not devoid of humour either.
Because I use Scott stamp numbers, KG5, with uncanny and astonishing accuracy, has diagnosed my malady as thinking in a non-universal manner without my even knowing that I am doing so. The horror of it all is that I use other stamp catalogue numbers from time to time; and am therefore afflicted with thinking in a
multi-non-universal manner, but now I know that I know that I do so.
In an unprecedented occurrence, I'm going to support the advice of "Bobstamp", i.e. "You need a real catalogue…etc."
The user gets more than numbers from a stamp catalogue but (there is always a "but") if "CEODAN" has been collecting for many years using Stanley Gibbons stamp numbers, it is my opinion that he is not at any disadvantage to continue doing so, and to continue enjoying his hobby in his own manner.
CEODAN, the grass may look greener on the other side of the fence, but that may be because it's always raining over there.
John Derry
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The answer to the original question, are you at a disadvantage, depends on what you are trying to do and who you are trying to communicate with.
Bear in mind that there are many catalogues in use around the world, not just Scott and SG. If you want to communicate the identification of a particular stamp, then either
(a) both you and your partner need to have a catalogue in common, in which you can use numbers, or
(b) you use descriptive listings, i.e., you need to list as many of the following as you need to identify a stamp uniquely: country, year, series, face value, description, variety.
Bear in mind that catalogue numbers can change from edition to edition. This only affects a tiny minority of cases, but it can happen. Also, the most recent stamps will not be in your catalogue anyway. For such reasons, I favour descriptive listings rather than catalogue numbers anyway.
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Hi CEODAN
I do not think you stamp numbering is an issue but being on a USA forum a Scott's catalogue is going to be great to help you understand some of the stamp issues that are referred to here.
For stamp catalogues it is totally up to the collector. It is a very personal thing especially what numbers you use in your stamping books.
I like to start with a catalogue that has a colour image of every stamp the catalogue deals with before stepping up into the more technical explanation for varieties etc.
The way I have set out Australia KGV Stamps Revealed is a standard I would like to see more stamp catalogue makers use. Their is a colour image of the stamp with reference to perforations, watermarks, dies and shades.
Always Happy Stamping. KG5
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Stamporama is a "U.S.A. forum"? I kinda think not. The founder, Jerry Abern, was an American, but from the beginning it has been an international organization. Our web host, Roy Lingen, is a Canadian and was the creator of this web site. The volunteer committee has been a virtual United Nations. Among the first dealers in our auction were and still are two Canadians, Liz Jones and Lee Payette. Off the top of my head, I can recall members from India, the Philippines, Denmark, France, England, Mexico, Australia, and South Africa. One of the things I have always appreciated about Stamporama is that it is not tied to any one country, and in fact is remarkably free of national identity.
Bob
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Hi Bob,
A couple of years ago I did a count of the different countries in which our members live and it totaled 66.
Regards ... Tim.
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That was nice to know. Thank you!
To Aussies you all look the same to us.
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Drinking too much Fosters again I see.
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looks like two intertwined threads here: nationality and catalogues
SOR is blessed with an international membership, as Bob noted. Our volunteer committee of 7 has 4 living in the US (1 a displace Aussie who we decided to keep), a Canadian, a Nederlander, and an Indian. Luckily for me, they all speak English, even the Aussie. And we have a great international membership participating in discussions and auctions. Jerry, an American, had a great vision indeed, and he saw past our own boundaries in a fabulous. Would that all Americans were as keen-sighted, accommodating, and welcoming. Borders to Jerry just meant different kinds of stamps were likely to be sighted.
As to catalogues, we Americans tend to use Scott more often than not. And, for genereal US, it's the most comprehensive. For rest of the world, and for many other specialty areas, there are many other, better catalogues.
while I use Scott primarily, when I need specific German questions, I look at Michel, and for my seals, I use Green's and Mosbaugh and Hixon's SCP.
I think this discussion points to the advantage of describing stamps with their content and year as well as their catalogue number.
David
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I would also like to point out that I have found many mis-described stamps on Poppe's website. I'm sure it is unintentional and they always fix it when I let them know.
Bob
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Thanks so much to all of you,it is obvious that you represent much experience and knowledge with the world of stamp collecting. I have never used a real catalog and now realize that I am missing out on some of the information available. I recently was contacted by a forum member interested in trading, but because he used Scott and I used Gibbons we we unable to communicate. I understand that many of you collect specific areas of interest, I'm not quite as sophisticated, I collect just about anything I come across and have been doing so for 60 years.With new friendship I believe this hobby will take me to new directions.
Dan
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Dan, nice to learn a little bit more about you, too.
There are many worldwide collectors among us, cherished as much as the specialists. We both contribute.
Yes, sometimes different catalogues can be a problem, but by specifying the year and design, it's easy to trade even without catalogues or without the same reference points.
David
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Catalogues are one of my perpetual challenges.
In the broadest sense, I use Scott for worldwide and Gibbons for anything BC related. For the most part, though, I deal with a seller on eBay who buys the Scott catalogues and "tears them apart" and sells the pages for individual countries... that way I can buy just the pages from countries I need (about 12, currently), not an entire set of catalogues.
Beyond that, in my areas of specialization, I use whatever the most prominent "local" catalogue is. For Sweden, Facit; for Norway, NK and HK; for Denmark AFA; for Switzerland Zumstein, and so forth. Whereas that can be expensive, I'd rather "drop the bucks" on specialized literature than on a pile of Scott catalogues, 90% of which I will NEVER use.
But then, I'm not a worldwide collector.
~Peter
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I've been hanging around Stampboards.com lately and they have a strong Gibbons bias. But as the forum was started by an Australian and I think the majority of the users there are Australian it makes sense.
I agree with the sentiment that we need to use more than the catalogue number to communicate with our fellow collectors, especially internationally. Makes the conversation richer, in my opinion.
I use Scott only because that's what I have access to, and that's what Canadian dealers use. But I use Facit for my Scandinavian stamps (2000 version -- it's time to upgrade!)
I have a problem with Scott in that I hate most of their prefixes. I'd rather airmails and semi-postals were just included in the main catalogue in chronological order. It causes much mental anguish deciding whether to sort my stamps in chronological order by date of issue (preferred) or catalogue number order. Sigh...
Mark
PS -- Scott just launched an iPad / iPhone app. At first glance it looks promising although I still don't think they considered how collectors use the catalogue. A checklist feature is sadly missing.
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I'd heard about a Scott catalogue app, and now I"ve downloaded it. Thanks for mentioning it, Mark. Now, before I plunk down $29.99, is it worth it? I don't care about a checklist, but ease of use is paramount. Some philatelic — philadigital? — publications have been horrible. Linn's StampNews is just about unusable. If the Scott catalogues are actually friendly, I'm in for sure. Anybody tried one?
Bob
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Yes, thanks Mark for sharing this news. I wasn't expecting a Scott catalog for the iphone, but I think the concept is great. I like Bob raced to have a look to see what they had done. In poking around the Apple App Store, I accidentally downloaded the free version, which doesn't actually let you do anything, it is just for you to have a general look. What they have won't really help me. I am mostly a British Commonwealth collector, with a large side interest in US covers prior to 1900. I'll wait to see the rest of the catalog come out. There are a lot of countries missing that I'm interested in, but I'm sure that they will get there with them. They are also missing anything later than 1950 or there abouts. I have a Scott 2007 and so I miss not having the more current stamps in the catalog, but am not prepared to pay the $600 for a new edition. I do like the way you can pick and choose so that you can pay $29.99 for the section that you are interested in.
Regards ... Tim.
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Mark, Scott does have semi-postal and airmail stamps in the main postage listings. They also have those under separate B and C categories. A major inconsistency that needs to be handled one way or the other. Will they? Not until I buy Scott, I'm afraid.
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@Michael: They do? That's news to me. Maybe it's time to upgrade my catalogues since they didn't put airmails and semi postals in the regular listings in 1999!
Regarding the iPhone / iPad app: there's a deeper discussion of the app on the Delphi boards. It looks like they will offer app versions in time with the release of each 2013 volume. Also, a nice "home team" article about the app in the latest Linns.
two discussions from other forums:
http://www.stampcommunity.org/topic.asp?whichpage=1&TOPIC_ID=23208&
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=stamps&nav=messages&msg=45121.14&prettyurl=%2Fstamps%2Fmessages%3Fmsg%3D45121%2E14
The delphi forum seems to be monitored by Scott.
I need to upgrade my catalogues and the app shows promise, but I think I'll go for a set of 2011's on paper and then move to electronic for the 2021 set. I'm with Bob here -- most philelectronic publications are unusable. It'll take them a while to figure it out.
PS -- I just have to ask: Have you ever seen a more unreadable discussion forum than the delphi forums? I mean, why don't you cram a few more ads in there?!?!
(Modified by Moderator on 2012-03-06 19:55:04)
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Mark, Scott has had this inconsistency for decades. Check Italy as one example of this that's been around for a long time. It'll be in your 1999, along with many other countries.
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Scott has only placed a handful of airmails and semis in the main numbering sequence, and only cases where a set includes both regular postage and the special types.
My guess is that it seemed like a good idea for a couple years, but was then maddening since stamps of a particular function are scattered across different sections, and so they stopped. But by then it was too much trouble to reassign numbers, and so they've just preserved this bit of inconsistency.
Incidentally, I have a copy of the 1940 Scott catalogue, which is actually the one where they first introduced the prefixes for the different categories, and the introduction has a few paragraphs discussing their new system. (And yes, the 1940 cat groups Italian semis in mixed sets with regular postage, same as today.)
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Stan, with the older material, it is relatively small, but with modern material there is much more of the sets being combined under the regular postage section..
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Following up on the brief comments about the Scott iPad apps, I've purchased the complete Classic (1840-1940) catalogue. I'm really impressed, and so were several members of my stamp club at last night's meeting, even the most "Luditic" of the Luddites. Even our club treasurer, who considers all Apple products to be Rotten Apples, had not a negative comment to make.
The app isn't perfect — what app is?. There's no provision for a checklist, which I believe someone else here commented on, and the search engine is clunky and useful only if you already know the Scott catalogue number.
I would buy the U.S. Specialized catalogue right now if I could afford it.
I'll post more later, probably in the thread that Rodolfo has started. If you have questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
Bob
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Cool. Looking forward to your review Bob. I'm glad you're happy with the catalogue -- that sounds promising.
Now I need to find the thread you are referring to.
Mark
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I've posted comments about my iPad/Scott Classic catalogue experience to this discussion: "Philatelic Catalogues and Literature Discussion : Scott for iPad and iPhone are ready!" Click on this link:
http://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=20&id=5623#33314.
Bob
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04:14:49pm
I am going to throw a monkey wrench into this thread. I am well aware that Scott is considered the standard catalogue for the US market, and that Stanley Gibbons is the UK standard. However even though we do predominantly use Scott numbers in Canada, I was told that the Uni-trade catalogue is the Canadian standard. It is the only catalogue that I see for sale by Canada Post and I frequently see it sold by just about every Canadian vendor I have looked at.
To muddy it up a bit more, I have started using StampManage for cataloging my stamps (I have the benefit of starting from scratch here so is no big issue to use it for me) and the software (designed in Canada) has the Scott numbers already in the system, but also data entry fields for Stanley and Michael as well as a blank field for Other, which I will be using for my Uni-trade numbers.
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03:46:23pm
I have been collecting for many years but am new to organizes groups. My question is am I at a disadvantage having the majority of my collection cataloged using Stanly Gibbons numbers? I don't have access to Scott numbers, presently I us Poppe Stamps as my main research reference.
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Are you saying that you use a Stanley Gibbons catalogue, or that you use Poppe Stamps to identify stamps in your collection or ones that you'd like to add to it?
If you're using Poppe Stamps as your only reference, you really aren't doing "research". Just having a catalogue number tells you nothing about a stamp except the fact that other stamps were issued before or after it was issued, or that someone decided at some point that a stamp is similar enough to other stamps to be listed near them. Stamp Catalogues identify differences between stamps based on design changes, shade and colour varieties, perforation varieties, different watermarks, paper types, printing methods, and usage. Poppe Stamps offers nothing except catalogue numbers and images.
Poppe Stamps is an online stamp shop, and they do a good job of it, although I find their prices high. You need a real catalogue, regardless of what catalogue that is.
Bob
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
For collectors in the US, Scott is the most convenient, unless you're heavily specializing in Great Britain / Commonwealth, and can actually see the difference between "black" and "intense black".
No comprehensive online catalog using Scott numbers, though.
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Catalogues and catalogue numbers, has and is a real issue for me. As I use USA ebay to sell and 95% of my sales are in Australia it makes for a very unusual situation.
Scott's catalogue users only described stamps by there catalogue numbers. I do not own a Scott's or a Micheal's and in Australia we even spell catalogue differently. After much thought about this issue I decided to describe my stamps by the year and or the name of the stamp and by watermark and or perforations and or perfins and a image to create a universal way for people from many countries to understand which stamp I am referring to, as I only sell and show Australian stamps.
But I have 33 different Australian stamp catalogues and I would have 7 different catalogue numbers after most stamps and then I would also need Scott's and Micheal's numbers as well being a total of 9 numbers after most stamps to get that universal flavour.
I will never learn about USA and Canada stamps, on stamp forums because all I see is a Scott's number. It is a very narrow way of describing a stamp by only using one (catalog) number in a universal world that the computer creates. How many people that use Scott's numbers only think in a non universal manner or even realise this situation?
It is a most interesting issue. KG5
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
The problem for me and for most of us, I would think, is the cost of the catalogs. I use a Scotts 2007 that I bought from a guy at our local stamp club at a much reduced rate, and I use an Australasian Stamp Catalog from 2007 also which is very good and provides a better coverage for Australian stamps than Scott does, but doesn't help with communication with anyone but Australian collectors in Australia.
Regards ... Tim
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
I never gave it a second thought that someone from USA or Canada etc would not understand Stanley Gibbons numbers. It was a real shock to the system when I realised that others had no idea what my numbers meant.
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The past is a foreign country, they do things different there.
02 Mar 2012
08:02:08pm
re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Stamp Cataloguers:
Indeed, it is a most interesting issue and not devoid of humour either.
Because I use Scott stamp numbers, KG5, with uncanny and astonishing accuracy, has diagnosed my malady as thinking in a non-universal manner without my even knowing that I am doing so. The horror of it all is that I use other stamp catalogue numbers from time to time; and am therefore afflicted with thinking in a
multi-non-universal manner, but now I know that I know that I do so.
In an unprecedented occurrence, I'm going to support the advice of "Bobstamp", i.e. "You need a real catalogue…etc."
The user gets more than numbers from a stamp catalogue but (there is always a "but") if "CEODAN" has been collecting for many years using Stanley Gibbons stamp numbers, it is my opinion that he is not at any disadvantage to continue doing so, and to continue enjoying his hobby in his own manner.
CEODAN, the grass may look greener on the other side of the fence, but that may be because it's always raining over there.
John Derry
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
The answer to the original question, are you at a disadvantage, depends on what you are trying to do and who you are trying to communicate with.
Bear in mind that there are many catalogues in use around the world, not just Scott and SG. If you want to communicate the identification of a particular stamp, then either
(a) both you and your partner need to have a catalogue in common, in which you can use numbers, or
(b) you use descriptive listings, i.e., you need to list as many of the following as you need to identify a stamp uniquely: country, year, series, face value, description, variety.
Bear in mind that catalogue numbers can change from edition to edition. This only affects a tiny minority of cases, but it can happen. Also, the most recent stamps will not be in your catalogue anyway. For such reasons, I favour descriptive listings rather than catalogue numbers anyway.
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Hi CEODAN
I do not think you stamp numbering is an issue but being on a USA forum a Scott's catalogue is going to be great to help you understand some of the stamp issues that are referred to here.
For stamp catalogues it is totally up to the collector. It is a very personal thing especially what numbers you use in your stamping books.
I like to start with a catalogue that has a colour image of every stamp the catalogue deals with before stepping up into the more technical explanation for varieties etc.
The way I have set out Australia KGV Stamps Revealed is a standard I would like to see more stamp catalogue makers use. Their is a colour image of the stamp with reference to perforations, watermarks, dies and shades.
Always Happy Stamping. KG5
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Stamporama is a "U.S.A. forum"? I kinda think not. The founder, Jerry Abern, was an American, but from the beginning it has been an international organization. Our web host, Roy Lingen, is a Canadian and was the creator of this web site. The volunteer committee has been a virtual United Nations. Among the first dealers in our auction were and still are two Canadians, Liz Jones and Lee Payette. Off the top of my head, I can recall members from India, the Philippines, Denmark, France, England, Mexico, Australia, and South Africa. One of the things I have always appreciated about Stamporama is that it is not tied to any one country, and in fact is remarkably free of national identity.
Bob
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Hi Bob,
A couple of years ago I did a count of the different countries in which our members live and it totaled 66.
Regards ... Tim.
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
That was nice to know. Thank you!
To Aussies you all look the same to us.
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Drinking too much Fosters again I see.
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
looks like two intertwined threads here: nationality and catalogues
SOR is blessed with an international membership, as Bob noted. Our volunteer committee of 7 has 4 living in the US (1 a displace Aussie who we decided to keep), a Canadian, a Nederlander, and an Indian. Luckily for me, they all speak English, even the Aussie. And we have a great international membership participating in discussions and auctions. Jerry, an American, had a great vision indeed, and he saw past our own boundaries in a fabulous. Would that all Americans were as keen-sighted, accommodating, and welcoming. Borders to Jerry just meant different kinds of stamps were likely to be sighted.
As to catalogues, we Americans tend to use Scott more often than not. And, for genereal US, it's the most comprehensive. For rest of the world, and for many other specialty areas, there are many other, better catalogues.
while I use Scott primarily, when I need specific German questions, I look at Michel, and for my seals, I use Green's and Mosbaugh and Hixon's SCP.
I think this discussion points to the advantage of describing stamps with their content and year as well as their catalogue number.
David
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President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org
03 Mar 2012
01:49:52pm
re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
I would also like to point out that I have found many mis-described stamps on Poppe's website. I'm sure it is unintentional and they always fix it when I let them know.
Bob
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12:20:12pm
re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Thanks so much to all of you,it is obvious that you represent much experience and knowledge with the world of stamp collecting. I have never used a real catalog and now realize that I am missing out on some of the information available. I recently was contacted by a forum member interested in trading, but because he used Scott and I used Gibbons we we unable to communicate. I understand that many of you collect specific areas of interest, I'm not quite as sophisticated, I collect just about anything I come across and have been doing so for 60 years.With new friendship I believe this hobby will take me to new directions.
Dan
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Dan, nice to learn a little bit more about you, too.
There are many worldwide collectors among us, cherished as much as the specialists. We both contribute.
Yes, sometimes different catalogues can be a problem, but by specifying the year and design, it's easy to trade even without catalogues or without the same reference points.
David
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Catalogues are one of my perpetual challenges.
In the broadest sense, I use Scott for worldwide and Gibbons for anything BC related. For the most part, though, I deal with a seller on eBay who buys the Scott catalogues and "tears them apart" and sells the pages for individual countries... that way I can buy just the pages from countries I need (about 12, currently), not an entire set of catalogues.
Beyond that, in my areas of specialization, I use whatever the most prominent "local" catalogue is. For Sweden, Facit; for Norway, NK and HK; for Denmark AFA; for Switzerland Zumstein, and so forth. Whereas that can be expensive, I'd rather "drop the bucks" on specialized literature than on a pile of Scott catalogues, 90% of which I will NEVER use.
But then, I'm not a worldwide collector.
~Peter
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
I've been hanging around Stampboards.com lately and they have a strong Gibbons bias. But as the forum was started by an Australian and I think the majority of the users there are Australian it makes sense.
I agree with the sentiment that we need to use more than the catalogue number to communicate with our fellow collectors, especially internationally. Makes the conversation richer, in my opinion.
I use Scott only because that's what I have access to, and that's what Canadian dealers use. But I use Facit for my Scandinavian stamps (2000 version -- it's time to upgrade!)
I have a problem with Scott in that I hate most of their prefixes. I'd rather airmails and semi-postals were just included in the main catalogue in chronological order. It causes much mental anguish deciding whether to sort my stamps in chronological order by date of issue (preferred) or catalogue number order. Sigh...
Mark
PS -- Scott just launched an iPad / iPhone app. At first glance it looks promising although I still don't think they considered how collectors use the catalogue. A checklist feature is sadly missing.
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
I'd heard about a Scott catalogue app, and now I"ve downloaded it. Thanks for mentioning it, Mark. Now, before I plunk down $29.99, is it worth it? I don't care about a checklist, but ease of use is paramount. Some philatelic — philadigital? — publications have been horrible. Linn's StampNews is just about unusable. If the Scott catalogues are actually friendly, I'm in for sure. Anybody tried one?
Bob
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Yes, thanks Mark for sharing this news. I wasn't expecting a Scott catalog for the iphone, but I think the concept is great. I like Bob raced to have a look to see what they had done. In poking around the Apple App Store, I accidentally downloaded the free version, which doesn't actually let you do anything, it is just for you to have a general look. What they have won't really help me. I am mostly a British Commonwealth collector, with a large side interest in US covers prior to 1900. I'll wait to see the rest of the catalog come out. There are a lot of countries missing that I'm interested in, but I'm sure that they will get there with them. They are also missing anything later than 1950 or there abouts. I have a Scott 2007 and so I miss not having the more current stamps in the catalog, but am not prepared to pay the $600 for a new edition. I do like the way you can pick and choose so that you can pay $29.99 for the section that you are interested in.
Regards ... Tim.
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Mark, Scott does have semi-postal and airmail stamps in the main postage listings. They also have those under separate B and C categories. A major inconsistency that needs to be handled one way or the other. Will they? Not until I buy Scott, I'm afraid.
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
@Michael: They do? That's news to me. Maybe it's time to upgrade my catalogues since they didn't put airmails and semi postals in the regular listings in 1999!
Regarding the iPhone / iPad app: there's a deeper discussion of the app on the Delphi boards. It looks like they will offer app versions in time with the release of each 2013 volume. Also, a nice "home team" article about the app in the latest Linns.
two discussions from other forums:
http://www.stampcommunity.org/topic.asp?whichpage=1&TOPIC_ID=23208&
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=stamps&nav=messages&msg=45121.14&prettyurl=%2Fstamps%2Fmessages%3Fmsg%3D45121%2E14
The delphi forum seems to be monitored by Scott.
I need to upgrade my catalogues and the app shows promise, but I think I'll go for a set of 2011's on paper and then move to electronic for the 2021 set. I'm with Bob here -- most philelectronic publications are unusable. It'll take them a while to figure it out.
PS -- I just have to ask: Have you ever seen a more unreadable discussion forum than the delphi forums? I mean, why don't you cram a few more ads in there?!?!
(Modified by Moderator on 2012-03-06 19:55:04)
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Mark, Scott has had this inconsistency for decades. Check Italy as one example of this that's been around for a long time. It'll be in your 1999, along with many other countries.
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Scott has only placed a handful of airmails and semis in the main numbering sequence, and only cases where a set includes both regular postage and the special types.
My guess is that it seemed like a good idea for a couple years, but was then maddening since stamps of a particular function are scattered across different sections, and so they stopped. But by then it was too much trouble to reassign numbers, and so they've just preserved this bit of inconsistency.
Incidentally, I have a copy of the 1940 Scott catalogue, which is actually the one where they first introduced the prefixes for the different categories, and the introduction has a few paragraphs discussing their new system. (And yes, the 1940 cat groups Italian semis in mixed sets with regular postage, same as today.)
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Stan, with the older material, it is relatively small, but with modern material there is much more of the sets being combined under the regular postage section..
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Following up on the brief comments about the Scott iPad apps, I've purchased the complete Classic (1840-1940) catalogue. I'm really impressed, and so were several members of my stamp club at last night's meeting, even the most "Luditic" of the Luddites. Even our club treasurer, who considers all Apple products to be Rotten Apples, had not a negative comment to make.
The app isn't perfect — what app is?. There's no provision for a checklist, which I believe someone else here commented on, and the search engine is clunky and useful only if you already know the Scott catalogue number.
I would buy the U.S. Specialized catalogue right now if I could afford it.
I'll post more later, probably in the thread that Rodolfo has started. If you have questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
Bob
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
Cool. Looking forward to your review Bob. I'm glad you're happy with the catalogue -- that sounds promising.
Now I need to find the thread you are referring to.
Mark
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re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
I've posted comments about my iPad/Scott Classic catalogue experience to this discussion: "Philatelic Catalogues and Literature Discussion : Scott for iPad and iPhone are ready!" Click on this link:
http://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=20&id=5623#33314.
Bob
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Back in the hobby after a 25+ year absence. Currently with VERY few stamps, no albums, no tools, no supplies and LOTS of time! I love a challenge!!! LOL
23 Apr 2012
04:14:49pm
re: Scott vs Stanley Gibbons
I am going to throw a monkey wrench into this thread. I am well aware that Scott is considered the standard catalogue for the US market, and that Stanley Gibbons is the UK standard. However even though we do predominantly use Scott numbers in Canada, I was told that the Uni-trade catalogue is the Canadian standard. It is the only catalogue that I see for sale by Canada Post and I frequently see it sold by just about every Canadian vendor I have looked at.
To muddy it up a bit more, I have started using StampManage for cataloging my stamps (I have the benefit of starting from scratch here so is no big issue to use it for me) and the software (designed in Canada) has the Scott numbers already in the system, but also data entry fields for Stanley and Michael as well as a blank field for Other, which I will be using for my Uni-trade numbers.
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