• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Classic Latin America logo

CLASSIC LATIN AMERICA

News, commentary and opinion on Central and South American philately

  • Home
  • Resources
    • Introduction
    • Central America : Philatelic Societies & Specialized Catalogues
    • South America : Philatelic Societies & Specialized Catalogues
    • Fakes and Forgeries
  • Auctions & Shows
  • Absolute Beginners
  • About
  • Contact

Philatelic Resources for Central & South America

Latin America Philatelic Books

These pages provide the most comprehensive overview of Latin American philatelic societies and specialized catalogues on the web.

Let me qualify that: ‘overview’ is the operative word here.

I have subjectively chosen the key resources that a collector may want to consider as their first ‘port of call’ in philatelicly exploring Latin American countries in depth.

The objective is to help you identify the primary sources of information that really ought to be towards the top of any Central and South American collector’s list.

If there is one thing stamp collectors are not short of, it’s information. There is no other hobby with such a wealth of knowledge to support it.

The APS Philatelic Library in Pennsylvania holds more than 23,000 books and 5,700 journals. In the UK, the Royal Philatelic  Society is heading towards 550,000 record entries with a further 420,000 entries accessible from other libraries worldwide.

And these are but two of the many philatelic libraries found around the world.

As if this wasn’t sufficient to keep you occupied, the internet has spawned a dizzying array of websites from societies, organisations and enthusiasts on every philatelic subject imaginable. And it increases day by day.

It’s a maze.

Finding your way through can be a daunting task. If you are looking for something specific you may, in the first instance, want to stop by at the Global Philatelic Library website to get an idea of the key institutional resources and see where your searches lead.

Latin America is catered for as well as any other geographic area but to ‘go deep’ and really understand a country, joining one or more of the national societies will prove rewarding.

Wherever possible, I have included a link to the web address of each active society.

Society website quality ranges from the utilitarian, functional ‘members only’ types through to those that provide an incredible depth of knowledge for free. Non-organisational websites are purposely limited to those few enthusiast sites that add significant value to a particular country and are worth taking the time to explore. You’ll find many more with a bit of casual web browsing.

There are also two dealer associations in South America: one in Argentina and the other in Brazil (details shown under the respective country listing).

Promoting and binding together the multiple associations and federations within Latin America is FIAF Federación Inter-Americana de Filatelia (ES). Based in Costa Rica, FIAF supports and offers sponsorship to philatelic events across the continent.

Specialized catalogues have been produced for nearly every one of the twenty republics.

Availability of these catalogues is another matter.

Some continue to be published on a regular basis, others will be long out of print and you will need to scour eBay or Mercado Libre (ES) for your best chance of finding a copy. Each listing gives details of the most current version of each catalogue, where known.

Very few newly released catalogues are distributed beyond the country in which they are published. In most cases, for catalogues printed within the past few years, an enquiring email to the predominant in-country society is your best bet in ascertaining whether stocks are still available and at what cost.

Lastly, a request.

Information changes, links go dead and new resources emerge. If you notice anything that doesn’t look right or you have any suggestions for improvements, please drop me a mail at nick@classiclatinamerica.com and let me know.

Note: ES, EN etc denotes the predominant language in which each website or publication is written. If you don’t speak Spanish or Portuguese, accessing websites via Google Chrome will offer instant, very workable translations if required.

Go to the Central America section

Go to the South America section

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarJerry B says

    31st December 2018 at 3:08 pm

    If searching Mercado Libre, use the following format for a particular country:

    Mercado Libre – CC

    where C is the two letter country code. For instance, to look at the Colombia Mercado Libre, enter Mercado Libre-CO, in the browser address box.

    Realize that any monetary value is generally in the monetary unit of the particular country.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Never miss a new post

Receive an e-mail alert when new posts are published

Your e-mail address will not be published and will only be used for sending you notification of new posts

Key Auctions & Shows (double check before attending in case of any COVID related postponements)

  1. Taipei | Taipei 2021 International Stamp Exhibition

    June 4 - June 8
  2. Chicago | Great American Stamp Show 2021

    August 12 - August 15
  3. Yokohama | Philanippon 2021 International Stamp Exhibition

    August 25 - August 30
  4. Capetown | IPEX 2021 International Stamp Exhibition

    November 9 - November 13
  5. Athens | Notos 2021 International Stamp Exhibition

    November 19 - November 22

View All Events

Featured Posts

  • Introducing Venezuela's EscuelasBook Review – Introducing Venezuela’s Escuelas Stamps by Williams Castillo
  • GJ Specialized Argentina CatalogueNew specialized Argentina catalogue published
  • The MainsheetBookshelf Essentials – The Mainsheet
  • Lazy PostmanWhich country has the world’s worst postal service?
  • FIAF logoPhilatelic Societies – a review
  • Brazil Bulls Eye ForgeryThe Numerals Issues of Brazil – Fakes, Forgeries and Counterfeits
  • Old Central Post Office Buenos AiresStamp Dealers in Argentina and Uruguay
  • John Shaw RPSLThe Collector | John Shaw | Paraguay
  • Mexico National Express CoThe Collector | Peter Bamert | Mexico
  • Black HondurasAnd the second most expensive Latin American country to collect is…Honduras. And the least expensive? Guatemala. Debate!
  • A visit to the Edificio Correos in San José
  • Argentina 20 Peso High ValueSouth American stamps continue to appreciate in value
  • The 1864 Stern essays showing the Paraguay coat of armsThe Collector | Robert Shaw | Paraguay
  • Haiti 1898 President Sam, 50c Rose Brown Sunken Die ProofABNC proofs – understanding the different types
  • Central American NewsletterBookshelf Essentials Part II – The Central American Newsletter
  • Buenos Aires stamp forgeriesFakes, forgeries…and buying online
  • Rocky Mountain Stamp Show 2019Exhibiting Latin America…from Denver to Stockholm (Part 1)
  • Stamp Market IndexeBay disrupts catalogue publishing with Stamp Market Index
  • Venezuela AR39 stampScott Specialized adds another 67 listings to Venezuela
  • Stockholmia 2019Exhibiting Latin America…from Denver to Stockholm (Part 2)
  • The 10 pesos top value of Mexico's Mail Transportation issueThe Collector | Eric Stovner | Mexico
  • The Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue: a review
  • Mi Oficina logoLatin American Philately Zooms Forward
  • ABNC Steel PlateOriginal ABNC steel plates come to market
  • The MainsheetThe Mainsheet goes digital
  • Stanley Gibbons Part 20 South AmericaPart 20, Part 20, wherefore art thou Part 20…?
  • ELASCA websiteIntroducing ELASCA – The European Latin American Stamp Collector Association
  • SOFICH Chile catalogueSOFICH, so good
  • Brazil catalogue cross reference bookCollect Brazil? You probably need this…
  • Neal West NicaraguaThe Collector | Neal West | Nicaragua

No interest in Latin American stamps?

For news and opinion on the broader stamp market, click on the General Philately category below

Categories

  • Analysis
  • Auctions
  • Dealers
  • Events
  • General Philately
  • People
  • Philatelic Societies
  • Post Offices
  • Publications
  • Stamp Issues
  • The Collector

Recent Comments

  • Peter on The Collector | Robert Shaw | Paraguay
  • Nick Salter on The Collector | Robert Shaw | Paraguay
  • Peter on The Collector | Robert Shaw | Paraguay
  • Roberto C. Eaton K. on The Collector | Robert Shaw | Paraguay
  • Will Castillo on Latin American Philately Zooms Forward

Recent Posts

  • The Collector | Robert Shaw | Paraguay
  • The Mainsheet goes digital
  • ABNC proofs – understanding the different types
  • The Collector | Peter Bamert | Mexico
  • Forthcoming auctions and initiatives in the hobby

Footer

Menu

  • Home
  • Resources
    • Introduction
    • Central America : Philatelic Societies & Specialized Catalogues
    • South America : Philatelic Societies & Specialized Catalogues
    • Fakes and Forgeries
  • Auctions & Shows
  • Absolute Beginners
  • About
  • Contact

Recent Posts

  • The Collector | Robert Shaw | Paraguay
  • The Mainsheet goes digital
  • ABNC proofs – understanding the different types
  • The Collector | Peter Bamert | Mexico
  • Forthcoming auctions and initiatives in the hobby

Categories

  • Contact

© Copyright 2018 www.classiclatinamerica.com