Dissecting Philately • Philatelic Wiki

Welcome to my Wiki Page!

This page serves as a way for me to save and organize the philatelic websites I find most useful. Send me a message if you would like to join me by adding any websites you find useful that are not on this page.

 

More about my philatelic interests can be found here - Dissecting Philately.

 

 

 

🔎 Identification

• The Swedish Tiger - great pictorial reference, choose design then additional details provided
• Stamp Smarter - another great identifier, provides many variables
• 1¢ 1851-57 Step-By-Step Plating Identifier Tool - a simple, step-by-step tool which allows you to determine the Scott Catalog number of a 1851-57 1 Cent Franklin stamp
• dubinweb Identifier - presents early stamps by denomination from 1/2 cent to 3 1/2 cents
• duinweb Envelopes Wrappers Identifier -  see items by denomination first, sort through images
• Identifying Secret Marks - 1873 Continental and 1879 American Bank Note Issues
• Washington/Franklin Stamps of 1908-1922 - examples of the major and minor elements of the W/F stamps 
• Inherited Stamp Collection - I inherited a stamp collection, now what? 
• Revenue stamps - Great resources for US revenue stamps
• GermanStamps.net - Germany, Colonies, and Territories 1872-1945
• Plating the 1 Cent Issues of 1851-1861 - Plating archive of the 1 cent Franklin stamp
• Plating the 3 Cent Imperf Issue of 1851-1857 - Scott Catalog numbers 10, 10A, 11 and 11A are assigned to the imperforate issue
• Stamp Exchange: Great Britain - Visual catalogue of GB stamps
• Visual Type Identifiers - A page of frequently used images to discriminate between stamp types 
• Riverside Stamps | Altered and Faked Stamps - A website with very detailed case studies of fake stamp determination thru analysis 
• Post Office in Paradise -  Mail and postage of Hawaii of the 19th century
• Transportation Coils - from the APNSS
• Stamp Forgeries of the World - http://stampforgeries.com/

 

🗄 Catalogs 

• US Stamp Catalog by Design - A catalog USD
• http://www.mysticstampcatalog.com/vis_index.cfm/catalog/2017_Vol_1
• Stamps of the World Wiki - http://www.stampsoftheworld.co.uk/wiki/Stamps_of_the_World
• Scott 2009 Catalogue - on issuu shared document platform

 

📚 Books / Publications / Newsletters

• link from amazon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3HLL70WQVF25V
• USPCS electronic library https://www.uspcs.org/resource-center/books-monographs/electronic-library/
• APS magazine?
• Alterations, Fakes, Forgeries - lots of information on fakes 
• Philatelic Society of Lancaster County - Their "Links to Philatelic References Available Online" page has tons of full text PDFs
• Philatelic Book of Secrets - Vol I - Vol II - Vol III 
• book of secrets http://philatelicsecrets.com/
• Philotesia Post horn https://www.philosateleia.com/post-horn/
• Ridgeway color guide 1912 - https://ia801009.us.archive.org/23/items/ldpd_8627102_000/ldpd_8627102_000.pdf
• Scribblings - bi-monthly newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library. Has been published continuously since the library was founded in 1993 
• David Saks Philatelic Webpage - Free PDFs of classic and modern philatelic literature 
• "What Philately Teaches" - A lecture delivered by John Luff on Feb 24, 1899 
• Global Philatelic Library - a consolidated listing of philatelic publications, archives, museum items etc. held by 27 libraries (RPSL, APRL, Smithsonian) 

 

🎙 Podcasts

• Stamp Show Here Today - a podcast about stamps, stamp collecting, and postal history, hosted by and made for stamp collectors of all levels
• Stamp Stories (Tea With Puppets) - a Podcast focused on Canadian Stamps. Each episode starts with a stamp and then delves into the history of what makes that stamp so special.
• Dissecting Philately - This podcast is a collection of philatelic adventures of an academic anatomist. Here I share stories of my adventures with collectible items that themselves tell fascinating stories!
• Conversations with Philatelists - Michael Cortese of NobleSpirit and Charles Epting of HR Harmer interview philatelists around the world.

 

📺 YouTube / Videos

• Exploring Stamps - Host Graham takes us along on his voyage of discovery through stamps as he travels both the real and the virtual world sharing his experiences on social media.
• APS Stamp Chat: Start 'Em Young - The Benefits of Stamp Collecting for Children by Dr. Mike Pascoe 
• Going Postal - Host Henry Lukas takes us through the happenings at the Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History. New video posted monthly.
• Freaks & Errors: A Rare Collection - a social commentary on how we all are searching for ways to control our world, make order out of chaos, connect with one another, and express our passions.
• Chirality - A talk by Dr. Joe Gal

 

📏 Tools / Supplies

• US specialty precision multi-gauge - http://www.slingshotvenus.com/stamps/USSpecialtyPerf5.html

• mounts  http://www.supplies4u.net/product/00922B

• Heirloom hingeless albums

• Ottlite Desk lamp - often described as the best light source when viewing stamps and assessing color 

• Lighthouse stock albums, 64 pages - https://www.nordfrim.com/search?s=stockbook&s=stockbook 

• Measuring Stamps for mounts  https://www.mysticstamp.com/info/how-to-measure-stamps-for-mounts/ 

• PhilaSupplies -  http://philasupplies.com - reviews too

• Stamp Paraphernalia - album pages, great starter kits 

 

Albums / Pages

• APS Stamp Album Pages - free to download, by country, state, topicals 

• Stamp Smarter Album Pages - A wide selection of 'print your own' album pages in PDF format. Simply download and print on standard paper

• https://www.philosateleia.com/

• PDF Stampland - Ready to print unique color catalogs and pages for stamps and blocks, new countries monthly

• Album Easy Software - Free software for creating custom stamp album pages 

• Album Easy User Pages - Free user contributed Stamp Album pages to download 

• Jim’s Stamp Album http://album.dweeb.org/albumnature.html

• Stamp album web http://www.stampalbums.com/

• Great Britain Stamp Album Pages 1840-2017 - free album pages made by a collector 

• Mystic heirloom hingeless YouTube https://youtu.be/omecS3LvheM
• Precancel album http://www.precancels.com/free-albums/
• Palo albums https://paloalbums.com/
• a stamp for every country  https://postalmuseum.si.edu/stampgallery/album/Stamp-for-Every-Country.pdf 

 

 💯 Grading / Expertizing

• PSE - also good database - http://www.psestamp.com/pop/detail.aspx?c=19113

• PF - Philatelic Foundation -  http://www.philatelicfoundation.org/

• preliminary tool -  http://rakium.com/

• http://gradingmatters.com/

• PSE guide to grading  http://psestamp.com/pdf/2009_GradingGuide_092009.pdf

• Filatelia -  https://www.filatelia.fi/ - assistance identifying marks of experts

 

📮 Societies / Associations

• APS http://www.stamps.org/Home
• Ebony Society of Philatelic Events & Reflections - a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the collecting of stamps and philatelic material depicting people and events related to the African Diaspora
• Precancel Stamp society http://www.precancels.com/
• Post Mark Collectors Club (PMCC)  http://www.postmarks.org
• American Plate Number Single society  http://www.apnss.org/
• Scouts on stamps society  http://sossi.org/albums/officialbsa.htm
• ASDA  https://www.americanstampdealer.com/Home.aspx
• American First Day Cover Society (AFDCS) http://www.afdcs.org 
• American Topical Association (ATA) - http://americantopicalassn.org 
• United States Stamp Society (USSS) - a nonprofit group, publishes mostly journal, edits Durland Plate Block Catalog
• American Air Mail Society -  Founded in 1923
• U. S. Philatelic Classics Society (USPCS) - nonprofit association of people interested in the pre-1894 stamps and postal history of the United States
• American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors -  share and discuss ideas and techniques for improving standards of exhibit preparation, judging, and the management of exhibitions
• The Christmas Seal & Charity Stamp Society -  a non profit organization formed in 1931 to attract people of all ages to the hobby of Christmas Seal collecting

 

📆 Stamp Show Calendars

• Stamp community page
• Boston 2026 - http://www.boston2026.org/
• Rocky Mountain Stamp Show - http://www.rockymountainstampshow.com/

 

👥 Stamp Clubs

• https://www.uspcs.org/resource-center/books-monographs/electronic-library/
• RMPL - http://rmpldenver.com/
• Colorado stamp clubs - http://www.linns.com/community/local-stamp-clubs/colorado.html#
• First Issues Collectors Club - promotes the collection of and research on the first postage stamp issued by any nation, province, city, army or other entity.

 

 

✅ Checklists / Inventory

• http://stampsmarter.com/features/ChecklistHome.html
• Steve Malack pricelist / http://malack.com/pricelist/
• Colnect

 

Social Media

• The Digital Philatelist - goal is to help modern philatelists find information in the vast world of social media
• Mikes twitter list 

 

🛒 Online Buying / Auctions / Dealers

• eBay - 

• HipStamp - 

• delcampe - The greatest marketplace for collectors, 85 million items for sale, More than 1,2 million members, 20 years of experience

• Stamps2Go

• Zillions of Stamps -  BUYING AND SELLING OF STAMPS FOR THE PHILATELIC COMMUNITY, HOSTED BY THE LEADER IN STAMP PUBLICATIONS, LINN'S STAMP NEWS.

• ASDA Find a Dealer tool -  https://www.americanstampdealer.com/Dealer_Search.aspx?Group=1099&id=1099

• stamp Store APS  https://stamps.org/StampStore

• Kelleher auctions  http://db.kelleherauctions.com/php/about_us.php?lang=1

• Hunt stamps  http://www.huntstamps.com/rhome1d.asp

• Eagle Stamps  http://www.eaglestamps.com/

• Stanley Gibbons  https://www.stanleygibbons.com/

• Scott A. Shaulis  http://www.shaulisstamps.com/PlateBlocksFind.aspx

• Siegel  https://siegelauctions.com/

• regency

• HR Harmer  https://hrharmer.com/en/home#

• Stamp Circuit - http://www.stampcircuit.com 

• Stamp Finder -  https://www.stampfinder.com

• NobleSpirit - http://noblespirit.com

• Stamp Market Index - https://www.stampmarketindex.com 

• National Stamp Dealers Association (NSDA) - find a dealer and other resources 

 

🖌 Art / Preservation / Restoration

• https://www.etsy.com/shop/oldstampart
• loveland - https://withlovefromloveland.com/the-valentine-re-mailing-program/
• Alphabetilately -  https://alphabetilately.org/index1.html
• US Postal History Map - Neat postal history examples from each state in the United States (and D.C.)
• The Stamp Restorer - Specialist in #philatelic #paperconservation. Employed part time by the British Library

 

🗞️ News & Newsletters

• Mystic This Day in History - an email every day that uses US stamps to summarize historic events of that day
• Philosateleian Post Horn - provides free U.S. stamp album pages for collectors, plus information and news about stamps and stamp collecting
• APS E-Newsletter - Non-members are welcome to subscribe. We hope you will see the great value of APS membership!
• NobleSpirit - Monthly newsletter
• The Spellman Newsletter - The Spellman Museum is a center of learning for people of all ages. It preserves, enhances and expands its collections, library, and facilities and provides programs and activities as a philatelic trust for the lifelong education and inspiration of the general public; promotes the hobby of stamp collecting; and, is a resource to engage historians, the curious, and the researcher.
• The Postal Museum - The Postal Museum reveals the surprising and fascinating story of the first social network and makes our extraordinary collections available and enjoyable for all.
• Linn's Stamp News - 
• Stamp News Now -  where stamp and cover collectors from across the USA and around the world share in this great hobby also known as philately

 

Museums / Philatelic Points of Interest 

• Smithsonian National Postage Museum - https://arago.si.edu/
• Stanley Gibbons, London, UK
• The Spellman Museum, Mass 

 

📱 Apps / Software

• https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snupps/id771685459?mt=8
• https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mystic-stamp-this-day-in-history/id1075821812?mt=8
• PERFOmaster 3000 -  free software (Windows only) that determines perforation measurement
• The Stamp Analyser - digitally measures the stamp perforations, the stamp frame and the balance among the four margins to determine the centering grade of the stamp 

 

🗣 Community Forums / Discussion Boards

• Stamp Community Family - Very active forum, 18K+ members, 61K+ topics
• Stamp Boards -  Where Philatelists Meet
• The Stamp Forum - 
• StampoRama - APS Executive Director Scott English is active on this forum
• r/philately - A place to discuss stamps and postal history with fellow collectors
• r/stamps - A subreddit for pictures of stamps
• Virtual Stamp Club - 

 

✉️ Covers

• Todd Ronnei's Churchill Stamps and Covers (and other philatelic pursuits) - Todd makes custom covers
• Flea Market Love Letters -  project archiving of correspondence between people (Liz)

 

Misc

• NYT stamp collecting isn’t dead  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/opinion/stamp-collecting-isnt-dead.html
• Inverted Jenny website https://invertedjenny.com/
• HWI Stamp Insurance -  for APS members only
• USPS Informed Delivery - get daily email with scans of letters coming to your mailbox, great way to see when your orders have arrived