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News, commentary and opinion on Central and South American philately

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How to value a stamp

Of course, you already know the answer to this. Take your chosen catalogue, find the stamp, check the value, deduct a decent percentage from the inflated price in front of you and…Voila! Easy. Except the world has moved on and a catalogue (less percentage discount) is no longer the most accurate way of determining value. […]

13th July 2025Categories General PhilatelyLeave a Comment4

Evolution of a Stamp: The Peru 1897 Lima Post Office Issue

Peru 1897 Lima Post Office Stamp Issue

Before a stamp is printed, indeed before proofs are created, a stamp must be designed and ideas proposed. Source material must be acquired upon which a design is to be based and then transformed into a miniature size. The source material forms the Production File until it is ultimately archived. If the source material has […]

9th December 2024Categories Stamp IssuesLeave a Comment8

The Future of Latin American Philately

Keep Calm and Collect Stamps

I’ve lost count of the articles I’ve read over the years discussing philately’s future. Not to mention the letters submitted to magazines and journals, invariably bemoaning the purported decline in interest in stamp collecting. The arguments follow a familiar pattern and tend to focus on two well-worn themes… One: children don’t collect stamps anymore so […]

15th July 2024Categories Analysis, General Philately, Philatelic SocietiesLeave a Comment8

Latin American stamp design and its harshest critic

The Observer's Book of Postage Stamps by Anthony S. B. New

Turn to the letters page of any self-respecting philatelic monthly magazine and you will invariably find a diatribe from a reader bemoaning the paucity of creativity in current-day stamp design. Whether it be yet another Harry Potter or Marvel series of stickers, or the ubiquitous photoshopped images that tend to monopolise stamp design, there is […]

18th December 2023Categories General Philately, PublicationsLeave a Comment3

One (Philatelic) Database to Rule Them All

Knowledge is power...but only if you know where to look

Peter Moorer is on a mission. To create a single search tool that can enable Latin American collectors to have digital access to any article, journal, catalogue or publication ever produced on Central and South American philately. And to include links to videos, websites and, well, absolutely anything out there that can help with your […]

5th August 2023Categories General Philately, People, The CollectorLeave a Comment1

Collect Latin American stamps but don’t speak Spanish?

Mr Philatelist

OK, confession time. I don’t speak Spanish. Not that it has ever hindered me in my philatelic pursuits (although I would get much more out of Mi Oficina videos, if I did). Back at school we sat through just two years of French and German lessons. That was it; at age thirteen, language tuition was […]

23rd April 2023Categories General PhilatelyLeave a Comment6

Costa Rica at The Royal

Roland Nordberg Classic Costa Rica

There are a few ways in which an advanced collection can be shared with fellow philatelists, not least in the global competitive arena in the Quest for Gold. Club displays are the alternative route with some offering more cachet than others; none more so than an invitation to speak at the Royal Philatelic Society in […]

22nd February 2023Categories Events, People, PublicationsLeave a Comment0

The Postage Stamps & Postal Stationery of Guatemala

Quetzal Guatemala Stamp

We appear to be in something of a Golden Period in the introduction of new resources for the Latin American philatelist. An excellent example is the Mi Oficina YouTube channel which has now garnered well over 1600 subscribers since inception and is heading towards 250,000 views in under three years – a remarkable achievement and […]

1st January 2023Categories PublicationsLeave a Comment3

Venezuela – the final specialized catalogue for 2022

Asofilca Venezuela Specialized Stamp Catalogue

Just as I’d pressed ‘send’ on my recent post about new Latin American catalogues, along comes yet another (very welcome) reference work. This time, it is Venezuela’s turn. The last generation of specialized catalogues of Venezuela were originally published by Juan Jose Valera. He had been releasing updated editions since 1964 and old copies can […]

3rd December 2022Categories PublicationsLeave a Comment7

New Specialized Catalogues: Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru and Paraguay

Cefibol Catalogo Especializado en Filatelia Boliviana

It’s been a good year for new and updated specialized catalogues for the Latin American collector with four catalogues recently published. First up is the Cefibol catalogue – Especializado en Filatelia Boliviana by Daniel Gonzalez Fernandez. This is a substantial, full color catalogue that improves considerably upon my aging Cefilco alternative. The first Cefibol catalogue […]

1st November 2022Categories PublicationsLeave a Comment3

Collecting Classic Honduras

Honduras Ambulante Mourning Cover

Honduran philatelists are a rare breed. With a steady supply of forgeries and a history of philatelic exploitation, the country is often overlooked in favour of its Central American neighbours. But the consistently low price of the material means that the specialist, armed with a little knowledge, can build up a formidable collection for a […]

20th August 2022Categories Forgeries, People, The CollectorLeave a Comment4

The Bustamantes of Peru

The Bustamante 2022 'Catalogo Especializado De Las Estampillas Del Peru'

For three generations the Bustamante family has been producing both simplified and specialized catalogues for collectors of Peru. A new edition is planned for publication in 2022 (see details below). In this article we discuss Peruvian catalogues and collecting Peru with Ysmael Bustamante, the grandson of the founder. CLA The name “Bustamante” has been associated […]

11th April 2022Categories People, PublicationsLeave a Comment3

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  • ELASCA websiteIntroducing ELASCA – The European Latin American Stamp Collector Association
  • Rocky Mountain Stamp Show 2019Exhibiting Latin America…from Denver to Stockholm (Part 1)
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  • Asofilca Venezuela Specialized Stamp CatalogueVenezuela – the final specialized catalogue for 2022
  • Mr PhilatelistCollect Latin American stamps but don’t speak Spanish?
  • RPSL Latin America bookletRoyal puts on a Latin American show
  • Stanley Gibbons' Latin American catalogues have not been published since 2007/8Part 20, Part 20, wherefore art thou Part 20…?
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  • Peru 1897 Lima Post Office Stamp IssueEvolution of a Stamp: The Peru 1897 Lima Post Office Issue

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