Collectors Buying With Confidence – catalogs and then catalogs

Hello,   How is everyone?  Well I hope. Coping with the heat or the rains.  Or sadly the earthquakes.  Having been through all three in past12 months I feel for everyone affected and hope all are well.

But to stamps and now the topic of Collectors Buying With Confidence…….  because they are using their catalogs wisely.

Yes I know  that is a US spelling of catalog and my sincere apology but it allows me to start with this stamp.  What is it? Scott MH 61, or is it?

 

 

In  the Stanley Gibbons catalog there is a 1 centre phosphor band issue  (SG  X875 issued in 1977)  and a 2 phosphor band issue SG X874 issued in 1975).   I use this one stamp as an example. There are many others I could use of course, and not  just  GB stamps, but I hope this one makes the point.  Collectors Buying With Confidence know  1) what they are buying and 2) they know the seller knows what they are selling.

So Scott MH 61 is which stamp?    Well I do not think you know because the Scott catalog, as far as I know does not distinguish between the two issues. They just list MH61.   So from some sellers you could get either a 1 centre band issue or a 2 band issue.  More likely 1 band as that was the more common issue.

Is this, Collectors Buying With Confidence. I don’t think so.  So it also shows that it is good to have a  decent catalog as well.

In this example you can clearly see the 2 bands so if you are using SG you know this is SG X874.

But sometime the phosphor band(s) do not show so clearly.  This is the 1 centre band issue and as you can see, the phosphor band is not very clear at all.

 

 

So to my second point, the seller knows what they are selling. To me this is pretty important. After all, when I am looking to add to my collection I do not want the hassle of getting a stamp only to find it is not what was listed for sale.  Sure accidents can happen and hopefully be corrected politely but for very cheap stamps the cost of correction is just not worth the hassle and I tend to let those get put down to life experiences.   I am still clearing up from house and property flooding so that sort of puts stamp matters into perspective. 

 

One final point, and which Collectors Buying With Confidence will know,  these 25c stamps  are just that. They are not $3.45 stamps or any other silly price you might see them listed for at times, and, we should not be deluded into thinking otherwise just because someone who doesn’t know what they are really listing is asking a high price. A high price, as we know in all walks of life, does not always mean value for money!

 I had another topic in my head yesterday but have already forgotten what it was 😊  If you have one you would like me to write about please do not hesitate to drop me a line  I am on cddstamps@gmail.com

Michael  cddstamps.com …. Please visit my online store https://www.hipstamp.com/store/cddstamps    where I think you will see quality and appropriately described stamps.