If you went to Washington, D.C., to tour the city, you would need more than a camera and comfortable shoes, you would need a guidebook. Without one, you might wander aimlessly throughout the city, from one unidentified building to another. You might miss the Capitol or even the White House or the Washington Monument. You would probably be unaware of the many other attractions available.

Your guidebook for stamp collecting is the stamp catalog. The catalog is your illustrated map, directing you to many stamp attractions and depicting where you are, what you have accomplished, and where you want to be heading.

Since 1867, when John Walter Scott published one of the first catalogs (a stamp list with prices), a number has been assigned to every stamp issued by every country of the world. Scott and Minkus publish U.S. Specialized catalogs and their numbers are used in most other catalogs and price lists in the United States. Scott publishes six volumes of catalogs covering the entire world in addition to its U.S. Specialized Catalog.

The diagram below shows what information can be found in a catalog. But, how do you locate that information for a specific stamp? First, of course, you must identify the country. Then you should determine the year, or at least the general time period, when the stamp was issued.

For U.S. issues, featuring a person, you can easily determine the time period; armed with the date of death for that person and the knowledge that no U.S. stamp has ever honored a living person. The denomination also can be helpful, since postage rates are generally grouped in a sequence. You can quickly thumb through the catalog searching for a grouping of stamps with the same denomination, and begin there.

Finally, look at the stamp pictures in the catalog for one that matches the stamp you are trying to identify. Be certain to compare all the elements — denomination (number), color, perforations, variations — to be sure you have found the correct listing.

The Scott catalog and some others simplify the locating process by providing an index for U.S. regular and commemorative issues.

The catalog prices that are listed, even in a current publication, should be considered as only a rough guide. They represent what you might approximately pay for a stamp, and the price for which you could sell it. The condition of any stamp has a great influence on its price relative to the catalog listing. Catalog prices for mint stamps are for those in "fine" condition and only lightly hinged. A stamp considered "superb" might sell for several times the catalog value. And naturally, stamps in less than fine condition will sell for a small percentage of the listed price. Your club advisor can provide further information on determining the condition of a stamp.

The best way to become familiar with stamp catalogs is through use. Try using a catalog from your school or local library. Read the beginning of the catalog and you will find that it is filled with information about the catalog format and about stamp collecting. Then take the catalog and some stamps from your collection and attempt to locate the listing for each.

Remember, catalogs are much more than just price lists. They are guidebooks containing information about stamp attractions to make your continuing tour of the hobby more fun.

(We wish to thank the U.S. Postal Service for permission
to utilize a version of this article originally published in its
Ben Franklin Stamp Club's "Stamp Fun" newsletter.)