Stamp catalog

Collect stamp catalogs, review, number and describe all published stamps of a particular country or an area. They are among the most important documents of philatelists.

• 5.1 In German
• 5.2 In English
• 5.3 In French
• 5.4 In Italian
• 5.5 In other languages

Historical development

The first stamp catalogs created in 1861. In France, the Strasbourg booksellers Oscar Berger- Levrault on September 17th 1861 stamps and postal stationery directory under the heading "Description of the hitherto known stamps" out. However, this first stamp catalog in the world still had no illustrations and contained some errors. However, he recorded all 973 previously released postage stamps of the world that were known to the booksellers. The Stamp Catalogue of Oscar Berger- Levrault was not intended for the public and was only produced in an edition of 40 to 50 pieces for his friends. One of these copies is now in the possession of the British Museum in London.

The French state officials Alfred Potiquet came into the possession of a postage stamp catalog of Oscar Berger- Levrault. He decided to revise this. Alfred Potiquet added missing stamp issues - as far as they were known to him - and images to and improved numerous errors of Oscar Berger- Levrault. The revised version was finally published in December 1861 in Paris under the title " Catalogue des timbres - poste crees dans les divers états du globe". 1080 Stamps and Postal Stationery 132 have been enrolled in it. Some errors were, however, still crept.

1862 published several other catalogs, including in England and Belgium. The first illustrated catalog is from the April 1862 from Englishman Frederick W. Booty already with 200 illustrations as simple lithographs. The zoologist John Edward Gray, who likes to refer to himself as the first philatelist the world, announced in 1862 out of the "Hand Catalogue of Postage Stamps ". These were similar to Oscar Berger- Levrault to a list with no images of all stamps in the world.

After the first stamp catalogs were published, there has been a rapid proliferation and to issue a number of new catalogs. Soon the cataloging of all stamps of the world was no longer possible in a work. It was subdivided into individual collections, which have often been subdivided into separate volumes. This allowed individual publishers to specialize in one or more countries and to assess them accurately. Thus, the first specialized catalogs created.

Nowadays, there are already online catalogs on the Internet. One such example, offers the company Michel at a charge. Another example is the free catalog of Colnect or Philotax. Stamp catalogs on CD- ROM are also increasingly being manufactured and offered for sale.

Types of stamp catalogs

The standard catalog

Standard catalogs are stamp catalogs that list sorted in a simplified form by publication date only the stamps of individual countries or even several countries. These provide the standard country collectors and philatelic beginner a useful overview of his collection area. The many features and varieties of stamp issues of a country are not mentioned - this is the special catalogs reserved. The standard catalogs are also offered cheaper than the much larger specialty catalogs.

It used to be often found the name Youth catalog for these catalogs. The default catalog is the oldest Briefmarkenkatalogart the world.

Many publishers of stamp catalogs give out both standard and specialty catalogs. Some publishers, such as the Schwaneberger Verlag ( publisher of the Michel catalog ), however, have focused on the issue of standard catalogs of many countries to address such a large customer base as possible.

The special catalog

Special catalogs deal - unlike standard catalogs - intense with the individual stamp issues of a specific collection area. This particular account of varieties, printing defects, differences in color, retouching, type differences and the like is taken. On the basis of the resulting large size of the catalogs they are often divided into several volumes. Special catalogs not only deal with issues of stamps of individual countries: There are also catalogs for the postmark of a certain area or other special areas, such as the Zeppelin.

Special catalogs are not offered by all publishers. Most often this, as opposed to standard catalogs, even for a small number of specific collection areas. They appear annually in the rule. Particularly extensive specialty catalogs, so-called manuals, but only appear at longer intervals, or even only once and are much more expensive than all the other catalogs.

The design catalog

The design catalog is a different from the conventional type of stamp catalog. He lists all the stamps with a specific motif, such as railways, birds, or insects sports around the world. Such catalogs capture partly also other philatelic items, such as stamps or postal stationery with the respective designs. This has not much to do with the original countries stamp catalogs, these catalogs are still popular and indispensable in all topical collectors. Some publishers, such as Domfil have specialized in this type of stamp catalogs.

The construction of a postage stamp catalog

Add stamp catalogs all published stamps of a country are listed in chronological order and numbered consecutively, so that one speaks of the "Catalogue number" of a postage stamp. The brands are distributed either mapped and rated according to detail of the catalog in particular conservation stages according to catalog prices (mint, folded, stamped, ersttagsgestempelt, complacency devalued, on piece, on cover ). Some stamps, especially in older, takes place ( as far as possible and as far as the claim of the catalog accordingly), an additional classification for further possible differences such as color shade, paper, perforation, watermarks, etc. Trennungsart

Prices in catalogs

In most stamp catalogs the prices quoted enter the value ratio of the stamps on each other and are to be regarded as exchange rates. The real encryption or purchase prices are - depending on the popularity of the collection area - often far below the amount recognized in the stamp catalog prices. This is often problematic because the published rates of output may vary from issue.

Some stamps are traded even above the catalog price, but only if they are looking or above average condition. Collectors are well advised to make knowledgeable also about subtleties: the preservation of the brands that centering, completeness and originality of the rubber in mint and the quality, location and nature of the punch with canceled stamps. In a major revision of prices but is often omitted from most catalog publishers to avoid speculation.

Not published annually, stamp catalogs, such as manuals, usually give no direct price review. Often they use a points system, with which you can compare the rarity of various collectibles with each other. This takes many philatelists well received, since this system allows the collector better to express the value of his collection (in points). Thanks to this points system, for example, the stamp catalogs of Edwin Müller from the 1920s and 1930s are still valid.

The most common stamp catalogs

In German

• Austria net catalog ( Austria ) - Stamps of Austria and German-speaking countries
• Borek Whole World
• DDR Universal Catalog (DDR 1986) - GDR stamps and postal stationery ( transpress Publisher of Transportation Berlin)
• DNK German net - catalog ( Germany ) Lighthouse
• Lipsia catalog ( GDR until 1990) - stamps from all parts of the world ( published until the mid-1960s in the publishing encyclopedia Leipzig, then in transpress Publisher of Transportation Berlin)
• Michel catalog ( Germany ) - stamps from all continents, motif stamps, postal stationery and Specialties
• Philex ( Germany ) - German, European, Israeli and UN stamps
• Philotax catalog ( Germany ) - ( electronic, partly printed form ) stamps from Germany and German-speaking countries and UN stamps
• Zumstein catalog ( Switzerland ) - Swiss and European Stamps ( bilingual: German and French)

• Colnect, an online catalog, Israel (several languages)

In English

• Brusden -White, Australia
• Scott Catalogue, United States
• Stanley Gibbons Great Britain

In French

• Cérès, France
• Dallay, France
• Yvert et Tellier, France
• Zumstein catalog, Catalogue Suisse / Liechtenstein, Campione et nations Unies Genève, Suisse

In Italian

• Catalogo enciclopedico italiano (CEI ), Italy
• Sassone, Italy
• Unificato, Italy
• Bolaffi, Italy

In other languages

• Catalogs Norge, Norway
• Domfil, Spain
• Facit, Sweden
• Pofis, Czech Republic