Stamp Collecting Software Comes of Age

Stamp collectors lament of days gone by when you handled every stamp with care and catalogued each entry by hand. Now there is powerful, user-friendly software to do the work for you. It also builds in much functionality to assist you with cataloging, buying, and selling. This is a compilation of various software titles. This review is not an implied endorsement of any of the products listed. We leave it to you to do your own comparisons, and perhaps share comments about what you liked or didn't like about software packages you've used.

Hobbysoft publish four programs for stamp collectors: Stamp Keeper Deluxe, Stamp Keeper, Stamp Keeper for Plate Number Coils, and Stamp World. They allow you to easily each issue, evaluate your collection, create standard and custom reports, and automatically create a want list.

SOFT PRO has a family of software products for stamp collectors. Their EZ STAMP http://www.ezstamp.com/ uses licensed Scott numbers and includes images from stamp issues from 148 countries. On the same weblink, you can check out companion products for increased functionality for stamp collecting and cataloging: AlbumGen, EZ Image, and The Washington / Franklin Identifier ( WFID). They help you evaluate your collectibles, grade and catalog them. They also have software for easy FTP and dragging and dropping images. Here is a great resource for stamp collecting topics and resources: http://www.stamplink.com/

Stamp Catalogs: Which Ones to Use for Which Stamps

Ever want to know where to find certain stamps and how much they cost in case you want to buy some new ones to complete your collection of Elvis, airplane, French, Japanese, or early American stamps? Well, there is probably a catalog just for you. Unless you are a major stamp buff, you may not know that not all stamp catalogs are created equal. Depending on the type of stamps you are collecting one particular catalog might be better than any of the others.

Here are some stamp catalogs and what they are best used for.

For French stamps, the best source is “Yvert et Tellier”. This is a century old French concern which lists stamps that French philatelists collect the most. It is an excellent source of stamps for France, Andorra, Monaco, and any of the former French colonies.

The Sakura Catalog is the best source for Japanese stamps.

The Hibernian Catalog specializes in stamps from Ireland.

The OCB Catalog specializes in Belgian stamps.

For German stamps go to the Michel Catalog. It also covers the rest of the world, but is best for Germany.

The Stanley Gibbons Catalog also covers the world, but is particularly good for stamps from Great Britain.

And similarly, the Scott Catalog has stamps from around the world, but specializes in US stamps.

One of the best sources of information, however, can be found on the Glassine Surfer website: http://www.glassinesurfer.com/webdirectory.shtml. This site connects you to a myriad of collecting sites where you can research your collection and connect with people with the same stamp collecting interests as you.