Talk:List of postage stamps

Real World Rarities, not just local

I took out unnecesary rarities in this list, of non-Commonwealth nations of South-America, Asia and African countries, since they are speculative in its issues, and without philatelic value whatsoever for a collector. Considering having listed such local rarities among a world-class list is a huge philatelic mistake (you cannot list a stamp from Africa next to a UK Stamp) Why? How many collect seriously the UK, and how many collect seriously Lybia, Brazil or Argentina? (not to mention the speculative nature of them) Hence, they were took out, to not misslead the young philatelists! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 150.214.110.32 (talk) 10:01, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

I've reverted your edit. Your reasons are entirely subjective.--Dmol (talk) 10:09, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

Old 2004 posts

Technically, this is a list of stamp types rather than individual stamps, but I doubt any individual of the non-unique types will ever get its own article distinct from an article about the type. Stan 14:49, 5 Jan 2004 (UTC)

My guess is that when the list grows, it should be organized by country. Stan 14:49, 5 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Your prediction seems to have come true. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ardour (talk • contribs) 20:20, March 22, 2007

Unique Stamps

I'd like to see a list of unique stamps. I haven't found one anywhere. The only ones I know of are the British Guiana 1c Magenta and the Treskilling Yellow. If there are a reasonable number, then maybe someone can make such a list.24.64.223.203 23:02, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

"notable" redundancy

With some half-million types of stamps in existence, I think's it pretty clear that any "list of postage stamps" must necessarily restrict itself to notable ones, so I think adding "notable" to the title is kind of redundant. Stan 13:07, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

This article seems subjective. How did you decide whether these stamps were/are notable? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ardour (talk • contribs) 20:20, March 22, 2007

This is a subjective topic but notability is based on known rare, valuable or significant stamps known to philatelists. If you don't know the topic, then you won't be aware of what stamps are notable or not. Some Wiki-philatelists are members of the WikiProject Philately and watch this page. They have the knowledge to add, or remove edits, as has done in the past. Check out any of the listed stamps and you will come up with the answer that they are notable, and that is claimed in all of the individual articles, as is required by Wikipedia to comply with notability. ww2censor 02:05, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

It would be good to have a reference or two - presumably us philatelists have some origin for our beliefs as to which are the most notable, where do we hear it from? Auction catalogs? :-) Stan 12:46, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

So let's see if we can cobble together a set of criteria into which "notable'" stamps fall;

• very rare stamps where few are known to exist
• some country's first issues are notable
• stamps that sell at auction, or privately, for record amounts of money
• intentional or unintentional errors that are well known and reported in the main philatelic press

for a start. I will look for some references too. What do you think? ww2censor 15:04, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

• About.com: Rarities of the World Image Gallery gallery of famous stamps produced by Erika Martinez artistic coordinator for H.E. Harris & Co., one of America's oldest stamp publication companies.
• National Postal Museum: The Rarities Vault Article about some notable stamps ww2censor 03:27, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Some of this is "lore" among collectors, when there are unusual stories of how an extremely rare stamp was created in error or how a stamp was discovered or the unusual circumstances of its production, such as the creation of the Post Office Mauritius or the relationship of the Hawaiian Missionaries to the early history of Hawaii. A clear example of this is in the value collectors assign to the Penny Black because of the historical circumstance surrounding its design and production -- greater than it would be based on scarcity alone or on the fact that it is a "number 1". Part of it is an undefinable "aura" which attaches to a stamp or cover which was prized by one of the greatest philatelists. The best philatelic writers, such as L. N. and M. Williams or Fred Melville, have popularized these legends. And there's also something about the "character" found in some of these, such as the Basel Dove. Once you hear this lore, you say to yourself, "Now, if I could find one of those ..." It's a qualitative appreciation and not simply rarity; it isn't merely in prices realized, and certainly it doesn't come from catalogs. Fconaway 04:06, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

You are probably correct Fconaway. I think the About.com listing is pretty accurate but I am sure its stamps too suffers the same character you mention. ww2censor 04:12, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Stan Shebs asked for some references as to our "subjective" choice of the most notable stamps. Here's a good one, from a traditionalist's viewpoint: Edward J. Nankivell, "Great Rarities", Chapter VIII, pp. 34 et. seq., in Stamp Collecting as a Pastime, Stanley Gibbons Philatelic Handbooks, London and New York (1902) at Project Gutenberg. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fconaway (talk • contribs) (13:34, July 21, 2007)

While the list itself can draw upon any stamps that meet notability criteria, the "Best known" section is the kind of thing deprecated for lists in Wikipedia. That section should probably be withdrawn. Thanks. HG | Talk 06:26, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

External Links

The stamp magazine link is not a primary source. In fact, it doesn't even cite primary sources, so it can't even be considered a secondary source. If you consider that a legitimate source, then http://www.famousstamps.org/famousstampsindex.htm is just as good, and actually much better because all the stamps are located on one page, and it includes the much more coverage than the stamp magazine link. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.202.106.64 (talk • contribs) (14:13, July 11, 2007)

This has already been responded to here, here and here. Please do not add tis link again. ww2censor 18:46, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

U.S. centric

This article is a bit U.S centric...are two of the WORLDS most notable stamps really from America in such a small list? --wt —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.9.146.15 (talk • contribs) 06:33, 4 November 2008

Maybe you need to learn to count because there are six U.S. stamps out of the 30 or so live articles does not confirm your allegation. ww2censor (talk) 15:38, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

And yes, you will always find more "notable stamps" from the US, than, say, Burkina Faso - the philatelic history is longer, there are more unusual varieties, the research that establishes notability is far more extensive, etc. Stan (talk) 18:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

Chinese

Where's that famous Chinese stamp that's the most valuable in the world because it doesn't have Taiwan on? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.144.193.60 (talk) 13:14, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Yes, I guess that is quite a notable stamp, and you can add it. --Michael Romanov (talk) 01:10, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

The world's most valuable stamp is the Swedish Treskilling Yellow whose last published sale price was equal to US $ 2,060,000. I don't know how much the stamp you are referring to is valued at but it certainly does not hold the same status in philatelic circles. I suggest you WP:WTAF before adding anything. ww2censor (talk) 04:27, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

We are talking about this stamp. Last year, it was sold for $474,800. I read about it in an article by Don Sundman:

• Sundman D. Market review // Official 2011 Blackbook Price Guide to United States Postage Stamps / M. Hudgeons, T. Hudgeons Jr. and T. Hudgeons Sr. — 33rd edn. — New York: House of Collectibles, Random House, Inc. — 2010. — P. 8—9.

--Michael Romanov (talk) 06:48, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Michael. ww2censor (talk) 12:47, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Sundman specified that the Chinese stamp was the most expensive stamp sold last year. --Michael Romanov (talk) 12:54, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Duttia 1894, red control mark

The listing includes an 1894 stamp of Duttia, with a red control mark. However, this stamp is not listed in the Gibbons catalog. The ones listed have only a blue control mark. Can anyone validate the listing?Fconaway (talk) 04:50, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

This could be the stamp on cover shown in a scan at http://www.stampcommunity.org/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7685&whichpage=10. It is said to have been sold at auction for £36,500 in 2006.Fconaway (talk) 05:26, 20 November 2013 (UTC)