I don't believe it is meant to be a specialised catalogue such as you would find in Scott, SG or Michel, etc.
As a stamp identifier, dates, info regarding designers, etc. it is an excellent resource.
If you are looking for something more detailed, then you need to look into accessing a hardcopy version of whichever catalogue you prefer for your area of collection.
Kelly
I wasn't knocking the site. I said I liked the pics and that they'd be a great help. I was just asking so I know how to use it.
So I clicked on some of the Sweden I mentioned and found the variants. On some stamps, there is no description of what the variants are, just a number and nothing else, but I knew what I was looking for and deduced the pattern from some other labelled variants. If I didn't know what I was looking for I don't think it would have helped me.
I clicked on some of the Australia I mentioned but found no variants there. I didn't click every stamp, just a sampling. I see where I could have added (or proposed the addition of) some variants, but again, if I didn't know the variants existed this site wouldn't have helped.
If I was looking to fill a variant hole in my album, I feel I wouldn't find it there.
Still a good site, and a massive undertaking. I wish Scott would show pics of every stamp, but they don't so sites like this are of great help in identifying, but then I still have to return to another catalog to finish the job. Now I know.
Chris
PS I don't think it's such a great alternative for a beginner. Good perhaps, but not great. VERY early in my philatelic career (probably in the first week) I learned the difference between sheet stamps, coils, and booklets, and saw that most of my friends collect all these varieties and decided that I would too. I think there are some people who don't collect every variety, but I've never met any.
Regarding stampworld.com and collecting every varety,
I bought a Scott National album when I got serious about my US collection. I was under the impression that this was the "Cadillac" of stamp albums. Years into it, I kind of wish I had gone with a "face different" album like White Ace. If you're not totally into collecting types I, II, III, IV etc etc it's the way to go
-Ernie
Also remember this website is still a work in progress.
There are varieties in my areas of specialty - Germany and USSR that can only be found in specialised catalogues. The higher value rarities of these two countries are not yet on stampworld, however, if you have copies, they are happy to have you let them know so they can be added to their catalogue
One reason I have been reluctant to use it is that I know several collectors, who published their collections extensively online, whose images had been used on the site, without any permission being asked for or granted. That's always troubled me.
Also, does anybody know who's behind it? They seem pretty mysterious.
I also see it recommended a lot on several of the stamp-related Facebook groups, as if it were as accurate as the mainstream published catalogs.
I do appreciate that it can be handy especially when Scott (or whatever your default catalog is) doesn't show all the stamps of a set.
In my opinion Stampworld cannot replace the standard catalogs - be it world wide or specialized. The standard catalogs can be relied on as being more complete in their listings - each within its own scope of course. Furthermore because they are the standard in a certain area of collecting the CV's are accepted as more of a benchmark than those on Stampworld.
Having said that I find Stampworld a very useful additional resource. In my evaluation their listings are - aside from varieties - more complete than any comparable resource on the internet and the CV's at least indicate whether you are dealing with a common stamp or a more valuable stamp.
As a world wide collector that prefers to spend money on stamps rather than on catalogs I do not buy a new world wide catalog every year. And use Stampworld to fill the gap for the most recent issues. Also as mentioned above an image is provided of pretty much every stamp and the site is very easy to navigate. So I also use it as an identifier.
Does stampworld.com use Scott #'s?
WB
I don't think stampworld uses Scott #s. I was trying to update my Canada listings and noticed that the numbers did not match what I had for Scott.
Tad
If I do not know the year of issue of a stamp, I find that StampWorld is the fastest way to identify it:
- select the country,
- select the denomination,
- maybe narrow the range of years, and
- {Page-Down} to happy.
Once I know the year of issue, I pop over to www.colnect.com ...
... where I BOLO the { Click to see variants }
I've contributed a few minor corrections to colnect.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
"Also, does anybody know who's behind it? They seem pretty mysterious."
One of the neatest features of stampworld is the "latest issues" window toward the bottom. It shows the very latest released stamps world wide. There's a few topicals I'm interested in so you can scroll through and see images of very recently released stamps from all over. Very helpful if you don't have the latest catalogs.
Ernie
I use StampWorld a lot for quickly identifying stamps, especially those in sets. I love the search features that allow you to search by denomination, which makes it very easy and has saved me lots of time. As a catalog, though, it leaves much to be desired. As mentioned originally, varieties are not well listed or are inconsistently applied. There is no rhyme or reason to how they list watermark numbers (they assign watermark numbers in chronological order, but don't define what they look like), they change catalog numbers all the time (so why even assign them?), etc.
I look at is as sort of the "Esperanto" of catalogs and I love he concept, but I'm not sure it will ever catch on, unless they create stability in numbering.
As a service, I do include the Stampworld catalogue numbers and (more importantly) a hyperlink to the Stampworld listings in my store listings, where I am allowed to use hyperlinks. As an example: http://noernbergstamps.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=557_147_148&products_id=16909
I use both Stampworld and Colnect for new-issue release dates, but it has to be said that these dates do not always agree. Also interesting on both sites is the stamp (or set) description, again often at variance with our much-loved, highly-respected, 'world-recognised' British catalogue, used as it is by so few people anywhere.
Sadly, it is extremely difficult to attribute Stanley Gibbons numbers to new issues, even with the listings at the back of their monthly magazine. Hardly any online traders list their stock by SG number, even in Britain.
Harder still is to correlate SG numbers with Scott numbers, which rules me out of some discussion and all trading or buying on Stamporama!
Truly, British stamp collectors have it tough!
"T[blue]here is no rhyme or reason to how they list watermark numbers (they assign watermark numbers in chronological order, but don't define what they look like),[/blue]
"
Sadly they have placed a digital watermark on each image, distorting it slightly.
Well I'll be a monkey's uncle. Never noticed that before. Thanks, Merv! I now eat my words.
Doug,
Kindly post photo of your primate nephew (or niece).
Lars
No problem Lars. Here's one from last Christmas when we were singing Christmas Carols.
No snow in Cleveland this past Xmas.
LOVE it!
.
I use it as a quick reference for putting sets together as issued. I like that it gives for the most part, almost every issue of a set except occasionally high value ones. When doing USSR, I like that I can easily arrange the sets especially when there may be two sets within the same year that are virtually the same design. Just makes things quicker. I don't use catalogue numbers anyway when I work on my Russia or extensive eras of Germany and I find it lacking in some of the German States/Colonies but that's not a problem. I don't use catalogue numbers because I use three different catalogues (Scott, SG, Michel) for both countries because Scott does not provide every issue or much detail whereas the other two do with supplementary details) and prefer to focus in issue dates, designers, etc. when the rare times come that I'm able to have time to actually create the pages and mount them. So I definitely appreciate stampworld.
Stampworld.com has been touted as a great 'catalog' in another thread.
Unfamiliar with this site, I've been playing around with it this afternoon. It seems to have great pictures of every type, so can be a great help with identification. However it seems to be lacking in what other catalogs consider major varieties. For example, early Sweden stamps generally come in either coil or booklet form and most catalogs and albums acknowledge this, but this site only seems to list the coils. Another example, modern Australia often comes in both perforated and die cut varieties, but this site often doesn't list the die cut varieties. In at least one instance it manages to list a die cut variety of one issue, but Scott lists three different die cut varieties.
Is this site really lax with its variety listings, or are they hidden away somewhere and I'm just not finding them?
Chris
re: stampworld.com
I don't believe it is meant to be a specialised catalogue such as you would find in Scott, SG or Michel, etc.
As a stamp identifier, dates, info regarding designers, etc. it is an excellent resource.
If you are looking for something more detailed, then you need to look into accessing a hardcopy version of whichever catalogue you prefer for your area of collection.
Kelly
re: stampworld.com
I wasn't knocking the site. I said I liked the pics and that they'd be a great help. I was just asking so I know how to use it.
So I clicked on some of the Sweden I mentioned and found the variants. On some stamps, there is no description of what the variants are, just a number and nothing else, but I knew what I was looking for and deduced the pattern from some other labelled variants. If I didn't know what I was looking for I don't think it would have helped me.
I clicked on some of the Australia I mentioned but found no variants there. I didn't click every stamp, just a sampling. I see where I could have added (or proposed the addition of) some variants, but again, if I didn't know the variants existed this site wouldn't have helped.
If I was looking to fill a variant hole in my album, I feel I wouldn't find it there.
Still a good site, and a massive undertaking. I wish Scott would show pics of every stamp, but they don't so sites like this are of great help in identifying, but then I still have to return to another catalog to finish the job. Now I know.
Chris
PS I don't think it's such a great alternative for a beginner. Good perhaps, but not great. VERY early in my philatelic career (probably in the first week) I learned the difference between sheet stamps, coils, and booklets, and saw that most of my friends collect all these varieties and decided that I would too. I think there are some people who don't collect every variety, but I've never met any.
re: stampworld.com
Regarding stampworld.com and collecting every varety,
I bought a Scott National album when I got serious about my US collection. I was under the impression that this was the "Cadillac" of stamp albums. Years into it, I kind of wish I had gone with a "face different" album like White Ace. If you're not totally into collecting types I, II, III, IV etc etc it's the way to go
-Ernie
re: stampworld.com
Also remember this website is still a work in progress.
There are varieties in my areas of specialty - Germany and USSR that can only be found in specialised catalogues. The higher value rarities of these two countries are not yet on stampworld, however, if you have copies, they are happy to have you let them know so they can be added to their catalogue
re: stampworld.com
One reason I have been reluctant to use it is that I know several collectors, who published their collections extensively online, whose images had been used on the site, without any permission being asked for or granted. That's always troubled me.
Also, does anybody know who's behind it? They seem pretty mysterious.
I also see it recommended a lot on several of the stamp-related Facebook groups, as if it were as accurate as the mainstream published catalogs.
I do appreciate that it can be handy especially when Scott (or whatever your default catalog is) doesn't show all the stamps of a set.
re: stampworld.com
In my opinion Stampworld cannot replace the standard catalogs - be it world wide or specialized. The standard catalogs can be relied on as being more complete in their listings - each within its own scope of course. Furthermore because they are the standard in a certain area of collecting the CV's are accepted as more of a benchmark than those on Stampworld.
Having said that I find Stampworld a very useful additional resource. In my evaluation their listings are - aside from varieties - more complete than any comparable resource on the internet and the CV's at least indicate whether you are dealing with a common stamp or a more valuable stamp.
As a world wide collector that prefers to spend money on stamps rather than on catalogs I do not buy a new world wide catalog every year. And use Stampworld to fill the gap for the most recent issues. Also as mentioned above an image is provided of pretty much every stamp and the site is very easy to navigate. So I also use it as an identifier.
re: stampworld.com
Does stampworld.com use Scott #'s?
WB
re: stampworld.com
I don't think stampworld uses Scott #s. I was trying to update my Canada listings and noticed that the numbers did not match what I had for Scott.
Tad
re: stampworld.com
If I do not know the year of issue of a stamp, I find that StampWorld is the fastest way to identify it:
- select the country,
- select the denomination,
- maybe narrow the range of years, and
- {Page-Down} to happy.
Once I know the year of issue, I pop over to www.colnect.com ...
... where I BOLO the { Click to see variants }
I've contributed a few minor corrections to colnect.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
re: stampworld.com
"Also, does anybody know who's behind it? They seem pretty mysterious."
re: stampworld.com
One of the neatest features of stampworld is the "latest issues" window toward the bottom. It shows the very latest released stamps world wide. There's a few topicals I'm interested in so you can scroll through and see images of very recently released stamps from all over. Very helpful if you don't have the latest catalogs.
Ernie
re: stampworld.com
I use StampWorld a lot for quickly identifying stamps, especially those in sets. I love the search features that allow you to search by denomination, which makes it very easy and has saved me lots of time. As a catalog, though, it leaves much to be desired. As mentioned originally, varieties are not well listed or are inconsistently applied. There is no rhyme or reason to how they list watermark numbers (they assign watermark numbers in chronological order, but don't define what they look like), they change catalog numbers all the time (so why even assign them?), etc.
I look at is as sort of the "Esperanto" of catalogs and I love he concept, but I'm not sure it will ever catch on, unless they create stability in numbering.
As a service, I do include the Stampworld catalogue numbers and (more importantly) a hyperlink to the Stampworld listings in my store listings, where I am allowed to use hyperlinks. As an example: http://noernbergstamps.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=557_147_148&products_id=16909
re: stampworld.com
I use both Stampworld and Colnect for new-issue release dates, but it has to be said that these dates do not always agree. Also interesting on both sites is the stamp (or set) description, again often at variance with our much-loved, highly-respected, 'world-recognised' British catalogue, used as it is by so few people anywhere.
Sadly, it is extremely difficult to attribute Stanley Gibbons numbers to new issues, even with the listings at the back of their monthly magazine. Hardly any online traders list their stock by SG number, even in Britain.
Harder still is to correlate SG numbers with Scott numbers, which rules me out of some discussion and all trading or buying on Stamporama!
Truly, British stamp collectors have it tough!
re: stampworld.com
"T[blue]here is no rhyme or reason to how they list watermark numbers (they assign watermark numbers in chronological order, but don't define what they look like),[/blue]
"
re: stampworld.com
Sadly they have placed a digital watermark on each image, distorting it slightly.
re: stampworld.com
Well I'll be a monkey's uncle. Never noticed that before. Thanks, Merv! I now eat my words.
re: stampworld.com
Doug,
Kindly post photo of your primate nephew (or niece).
Lars
re: stampworld.com
No problem Lars. Here's one from last Christmas when we were singing Christmas Carols.
No snow in Cleveland this past Xmas.
re: stampworld.com
LOVE it!
re: stampworld.com
.
re: stampworld.com
I use it as a quick reference for putting sets together as issued. I like that it gives for the most part, almost every issue of a set except occasionally high value ones. When doing USSR, I like that I can easily arrange the sets especially when there may be two sets within the same year that are virtually the same design. Just makes things quicker. I don't use catalogue numbers anyway when I work on my Russia or extensive eras of Germany and I find it lacking in some of the German States/Colonies but that's not a problem. I don't use catalogue numbers because I use three different catalogues (Scott, SG, Michel) for both countries because Scott does not provide every issue or much detail whereas the other two do with supplementary details) and prefer to focus in issue dates, designers, etc. when the rare times come that I'm able to have time to actually create the pages and mount them. So I definitely appreciate stampworld.