Scott catalogue facts for kids

The Scott catalogue is a very important set of books for people who collect postage stamps. It is published every year by a company called Scott Publishing. These books list almost every stamp ever made around the world.

The catalogue helps stamp collectors know what stamps exist. It also helps them understand how rare or valuable a stamp might be. The Scott catalogue uses its own special numbering system for stamps. This system is used by most stamp collectors in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

What is the Scott Catalogue?

The Scott catalogue is like a giant encyclopedia for stamps. It helps collectors identify and organize their stamps. As of 2021, it comes in fourteen big books. These books cover stamps from all countries that have ever issued them. There are also special books for United States stamps and very old stamps (from 1840 to 1940).

You can also find the Scott catalogue on CDs and DVDs. The numbering system it uses is very popular. It helps stamp collectors easily talk about specific stamps.

How the Catalogue Started

The cover of the very first Scott catalogue from 1868.

The first Scott catalogue was a small book. It had only 21 pages. It was called Descriptive Catalogue of American and Foreign Postage Stamps. This first book came out in September 1868. It was made by John Walter Scott, who was a stamp dealer in New York. The book tried to list all the stamps in the world at that time. It even gave prices for them.

Over the years, the Scott company stopped selling stamps. But they kept publishing the catalogue. It grew bigger and more detailed as stamp collecting became more popular. The catalogue now includes prices based on how much stamps sold for in the past year. By 2006, the catalogue was more than 5,000 pages long!

Understanding Stamp Numbers

The Scott catalogue uses a special numbering system for stamps. Regular stamps get simple numbers. Special stamps, like airmail or semi-postal stamps, get a capital letter before the number. For example, "C" is for airmail stamps.

A small part of the 2002 Scott catalogue. It shows stamps from Bolivia. Each stamp has a Scott number, design, value, color, and prices for unused and used stamps.

The numbers usually go in order. Sometimes, if a new stamp comes out in a series, Scott might add a letter after the number. For example, "C3a" means it's a small change or an error of the third U.S. airmail stamp. The famous Inverted Jenny stamp is known as "C3a".

Why the Scott Catalogue is Important

The Scott catalogue is very important in the United States. Its publishers own the copyright to their numbering system. This means others need permission to use their numbers.

The people who edit the Scott catalogue decide what counts as a real postage stamp. For example, in the 1960s, some countries made stamps that were probably never used in a post office. Scott usually does not list these stamps. If a stamp is not in the Scott catalogue, most American dealers will not buy or sell it.

Scott also lists stamps from countries that the U.S. government has embargoed. Sometimes, these stamps do not have a value listed. This is because it's hard for Scott's editors to get these stamps. Also, American collectors cannot legally buy them. However, this policy can change. Stamps from Cuba and Libya are now in the Scott catalogues again.

Because Scott is so important, many U.S. collectors know the stamp numbers by heart. Dealers can just say a number, like "United States no. C3a," and collectors know they are talking about the rare Inverted Jenny stamp.

What's Inside the Catalogue?

The Scott Stamp & Coin Company in 1893.

The Scott catalogue comes in many volumes. As of 2021, there are twelve main volumes. Here is how they are organized:

• Volume 1a: United States, United Nations, and countries starting with 'A' up to Australia
• Volume 1b: Countries from Austria to 'B'
• Volume 2a: Countries from 'C' to Curacao
• Volume 2b: Countries from Cyprus to 'F'
• Volume 3a: Countries starting with 'G'
• Volume 3b: Countries from 'H' through 'I'
• Volume 4a: Countries from 'J' through 'L'
• Volume 4b: Countries starting with 'M'
• Volume 5a: Countries from 'N' through 'P' (up to Philippines)
• Volume 5b: Countries from 'P' (from Pitcairn Islands) to 'S' (up to Samoa)
• Volume 6a: Countries from 'S' (from San Marino) to 'T' (up to Tete)
• Volume 6b: Countries from 'T' (from Thailand) to 'Z'

Catalogue Cover Themes

The covers of the 2002 Scott catalogue featured art on stamps.

For many years, the pictures on the front cover of the Scott catalogue followed a special theme. Here are some examples of past themes:

• 1993: Trains and Birds
• 1994: Ships and Butterflies
• 1995: Space and Mushrooms
• 1996: World War II
• 1997: Olympics
• 2000: Millennium
• 2001: Space exploration
• 2002: Paintings
• 2003: Airplanes (for the 100th anniversary of the first airplane flight)
• 2004: Famous Buildings
• 2005: Earth's Features
• 2006: Mail Transport
• 2007: Scouting
• 2008: Odd-shaped stamps
• 2009: Abraham Lincoln
• 2010: Birds
• 2011: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
• 2012: Bridges
• 2013: Lighthouses
• 2014: Women
• 2015: Stamps from "Dead Countries" (countries that no longer exist)
• 2016: New York City
• 2017: Royalty
• 2018: Stamp Collecting (for Scott's 150th Anniversary)
• 2019: Trains

Stamp Pictures in the Catalogue

In 2001, Scott announced a plan to include a picture of every stamp in its catalogues. Many of these pictures came from Scott's own collection. They started with black and white images in 2002. Color images were added later, starting in 2003 for older stamps and 2005 for U.S. stamps. By 2006, the main Scott catalogues had color images.

A doctor named Hsien-ming Meng, who collected stamps, helped a lot. He let Scott scan his huge collection. Thanks to him and other collectors, Scott has pictures of almost all stamps now.

Special Scott Catalogues

Scott Publishing also makes other special catalogues:

Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers

This book is often called the Scott Specialized. It lists all United States postage stamps and their history in much more detail. Many collectors see it as the best single book for U.S. stamps. It gives extra information about different types of stamps and errors. A new edition comes out every year.

Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue: Stamps and Covers of the World

This catalogue focuses on older stamps. It includes stamps and covers made between 1840 and 1940. For British Commonwealth nations, it goes up to 1952. This single book covers all stamp-producing countries for those early years.

See also

In Spanish: Catálogo Scott para niños