Stamp Catalogues
If you are interested in postage stamps, you have most probably encountered some of the renowned international stamp catalogues, e.g. "Michel" (Germany), Stanley Gibbons (UK), Yvert & Tellier (France) or Sassone (Italy). They cover the official stamp issues of recognized countries and territories all over the world.
But those official catalogues leave open a huge "grey area" of stamps which are not really deemed "official", eg recognized by the Universal Postal Union UPU , but which are much more than mere advertising labels. They might have been issued by unrecognized states, by local mail services and islands, by railways, by charity organisations or even by micronations.
For a growing number of stamp collectors, this philatelic "grey area" is becoming more and more interesting. Modern "official" stamps have high printing runs and often are targeted towards the philatelic market, while classical stamps from pre WW II times are often very expensive.
"Unofficial" stamps are fascinating because they give you a feeling of discovery and are not that easy to obtain, although they are usually not expensive. Also, they are often linked to interesting history, both international and local. The only detractor used to be the lack of documentation - as they were not listed in any catalogue, it used to be very difficult to position a certain stamp in its context and find out further details about it.
But that has changed! You might be surprised to hear that this philatelic "grey area" also has its great Catalogue Publisher. One man, Ralph Phillips, a great collector fascinated by these "unofficial" or semi-official stamps, has created a surprisingly high number of high quality catalogues for various philatelic areas which are not covered by the large catalogue publishers in most cases. He regularly keeps all of the catalogues up to date. Three of the catalogues, for UK island stamps, also contain ready-to-print album pages.
From Yourstamps' perspective, the catalogues covering the Scottish Islands (CAT-RP-08) and the Micronations of the World (CAT-RP-22) can be highly recommended, because a number of Yourstamps customers will find their stamp issues documented there (they know about this of course). The Scottish Islands catalogue is a subset of the Modern British Locals catalogue (CAT-RP-01). By the way, the Micronation issues of Musograd and Capricornia, used on all Yourstamps shipments, are also completely documented in the Micronations catalogue.
We are also working on adding catalogues on special collecting areas from other catalogue makers to our offer. The first catalogue of this kind is the excellent "Maluku Selatan" catalogue by Anders Backman, which we offer as a watermarked PDF.
Yourstamps is proud to offer the whole range of the Phillips Catalogues for purchase:
- Yourstamps will be responsible for your order and invoicing.
- We will also manage any complaints and issues.
- At the moment, the catalogues are not available in print, but only on CD.
- Contact us if you prefer other modes of delivery.
- You will receive the most up-to-date version of the catalogue CDs.
- Payment is in advance, via PayPal, Credit Card and EU Bank Transfer.
- An invoice will be sent electronically by Yourstamps
- The invoice will also included in the shipment for customs purposes.
- No VAT added as Yourstamps is a small enterprise according to German tax law
- The catalogue CDs will be delivered directly from the publisher, Ralph Phillips (Israel).
- Shipping is included in the price.
Catalogue Order Form:
You will receive an automatic confirmation of this order. After we have processed your order, you will also receive an invoice in electronic form for payment. Your order can be cancelled at any time before delivery has been started. Delivery will be initiated after your payment has been received. After delivery, you would need to return the sealed CDs directly to Yourstamps to receive a refund.
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