So, you have a few stamps or a few thousand of them, and you want to know more about them? In that case, you would need a good place to start looking for more info. In this article we’ll try to cover 10 most useful websites where you could find more info about your stamp.

Stamp Catalogs

A stamp catalog is a reference book, and one of the most important tools, every serious collector should use at some point. Typically, it includes images and description, together with other relevant details like issue dates, denominations, perforations, historical context, and prices. The idea and the concept of the stamp catalog dates back to mid-19th century, and the first stamp catalog was published in France by Oscar Berger-Levrault on 17 September 1861 and the first illustrated catalog by Alfred Potiquet in December 1861.

If you’re into philately, you should know that the most popular stamp catalogs today are:

• Michel,
• Scott,
• Stanley Gibbons,
• And Yvert et Tellier.

The problem with printed issues of stamp catalogs is that they become obsolete at some point. While the info, until the time they were issued, is correct, new stamps are constantly issued, and stamp values also change during the time.

Therefore, online stamp catalogs will save us a place on the shelves, money, but also paper.

In this article we’ve deiced to emphasize 2 online stamp catalogs:

• Stanley Gibbons: https://www.stanleygibbons.com
  
  "The company was founded in 1856 by Edward Stanley Gibbons, a young stamp dealer who started his business in Plymouth, England. Gibbons had a passion for stamps, and he quickly gained a reputation for his knowledge and expertise in the field. As the popularity of stamp collecting grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, so did the demand for Gibbons' catalogs, which became the go-to source for collectors looking to identify and value their stamps.

In 1863, Gibbons published his first stamp catalog, which included detailed descriptions and prices for every stamp issued by the British Empire. The catalog was an immediate success, and it established Gibbons as the leading authority on British stamps. Over the years, the catalog grew in size and scope, expanding to include stamps from all over the world." - www.thememorabiliaclub.com

• Scott Catalogue Online: https://www.scottstamp.com
  
  

"The Scott Catalogue is actually a series of volumes that lists every stamp ever made from all over the world, alphabetically by country. Under each country is a brief biography along with a pronunciation code which is quite helpful and fun if you are working with unfamiliar names and are a geography junkie! Philatelists also use the Catalogue to research how much a stamp is worth as the price for an unused stamp is also noted in the listings." - postalmuseum.si.edu

Besides online versions, you can always buy printed versions. Their main advantage of the printed version is, same as printed books versus e-books, is that you don’t have to stare at the monitor the whole time. And printed version has some “magic” in it.

Free Sources

If you’re not ready to pay for catalogs, you can always look for free sources online. There are a plenty of them, but some of them are much better. That comes from the fact that somebody invested a lot of time (and money) to catalogize stamps (and other collectables).

The 3 sources I would like to point out are:

• Colnect: https://colnect.com
  
  Besides stamps, on Colnect you can also check details about your collections of coins, banknotes, sport cards, bank cards, video games, music records, video games, and others. The great thing Colnect has is a visual search. You can simply take a photo of your stamp and search for it, and the Colnect will return the closest result it has.
  
• Stampworld: https://www.stampworld.com
  
  “We want StampWorld.com to be one website that has it all:
  
  
• StampWorld.com is a complete online catalogue of all the stamps that has ever been made in the world.
• Develop StampWorld.com as a meeting place where users can get to know all about stamp collecting. A place to discuss and buy/sell stamps.
• StampWorld.com should be the number one place online to enjoy your stamp collecting hobby.
• A place where everyone regardless of language and/or nationality can meet and connect around the Philatelic hobby.”
  
  
• StampData: http://stampdata.com
  
  “StampData is different from other online catalogs in its deeper knowledge of philately. It automatically sorts stamps by date and face values, it has links from overprints to the types overprinted, and it has links from the stamps to the people and things they depict. It also links stamps to Wikipedia and other websites.”

Websites

The next approach is to try to find your stamps and read more about them. You can do it so on sites like Philatelicly and The Philatelic Database:

• Philatelicly: https://www.philatelicly.com/blog/

• The Philatelic Database: http://www.philatelicdatabase.com

Forum

In the last section is only 1 forum. While forums were very popular in the past, today they are not the “hot” stuff on the internet. Still, many people still use them to interact with others. While they are hundreds of them online, I would like to point out only to this one, because it has the large and active community:

• Stampboards: https://www.stampboards.com

Today we’ve seen 10 sources where you could find your stamps and their details. While you wait for the next article, feel free to take a look at articles related to some famous and valuable stamps.

Continue Reading – Famous and Valuable Stamps

Penny Black: Postal History: 1840 - The Penny Black

The Penny Red and The Two Pence Blue: Postal History: The Penny Red and The Two Pence Blue

Inverted Jenny: Errors, Freaks, and Oddities (EFO): Inverted Jenny

UK - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable UK Stamps

France - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable French Stamps

Germany - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable German Stamps

Ireland - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Irish Stamps

Belgium - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Belgium Stamps

The Netherlands - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Dutch Stamps

Australia - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Australian Stamps

Canada - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Canadian Stamps

Spain - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Spanish Stamps

Portugal - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Portuguese Stamps

Israel - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Stamps of Israel

Vatican - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Vatican Stamps

Italy - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Italian Stamps

Switzerland - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Swiss Stamps

New Zealand - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable New Zealand Stamps

US - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable US Stamps