Forgers such as the Spiro brothers, Fournier and Sperati are well-known characters in philatelic folklore. But what of the lesser-known forgers? Gerhard Lang has spent over six years investigating the […]
General Philately
ABNC proofs – understanding the different types
The American Bank Note Company was a prolific printer of numerous issues for many Latin American countries. Die and plate proofs take pride of place in many collections or exhibits. […]
Original ABNC steel plates come to market
So you’ve acquired a nice selection of plate proofs and a few die proofs to enhance your collection. Now how about an original steel plate as the cherry on the […]
The Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue: a review
Once upon a time, Stanley Gibbons’ twin volume South America and Central America catalogues were my daily reference tools. They are still powerful weapons in the Latin America collector’s armoury […]
eBay disrupts catalogue publishing with Stamp Market Index
eBay and Noble Spirit launch online database with over 200 million price transactions We’re now used to most facets of our lives being ‘disrupted’ by the advent of the internet. […]
Exhibiting Latin America…from Denver to Stockholm (Part 2)
Back in Europe, the philatelic world was gearing up to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Philatelic Society by hosting Stockholmia 2019 in the Swedish capital. This was a […]
Stamp Dealers in Argentina and Uruguay
Once upon a time many of the world’s great cities maintained an active philatelic quartier. Stamp shops tended to congregate in a specific part of town to cater for the […]
Fakes, forgeries…and buying online
In the earlier years of philately, faking and forging was big business. In many ways, it still is, with money to be made by unscrupulous types offering dodgy imitations of […]
Philatelic Societies – a review
I’ve recently updated the Resources pages. Part of this exercise was to revisit links to philatelic societies and investigate others that I wasn’t so familiar with. In reviewing so many […]
Which country has the world’s worst postal service?
Which countries should you avoid shipping to? Let’s say you put a few items up for auction on eBay and one lucky winner has an address in Haiti. Would you […]