Stamp Collecting: Catalogues

A stamp catalogue (or stamp catalog) is a catalogue of postage stamp types with descriptions and prices. The stamp catalogue is an essential tool of philately and stamp collecting. Stamp catalogues are part of philatelic literature.

Originally catalogues were just dealers’ price lists, though today that is less common. The catalogues of some major publishers continue to serve as an official price list for the publisher. For example, Stanley Gibbons in the United Kingdom specifically states in the catalogue that the price listed is the estimated selling price by Stanley Gibbons Ltd.

Over time, as philately developed, catalogues tended to accumulate additional supporting details about the stamps, such as dates of issue, colour variations, and so forth. As their use by collectors became widespread, the catalogues came to define what was and was not a legitimate stamp, since many collectors would avoid stamps not described in the catalogue.

In recent years, the Internet has become a common resource for information about stamps. Some catalogues have an on-line version while others are available only on-line.