Monday Morning Brief | Scott catalog reorganization

Watch as Linn’s Stamp News editorial director Donna Houseman discusses the reorganization of the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue that will begin with the 2018 edition.

Full video transcript:

Good morning and welcome to the Monday Morning Brief for October 10.

The 2018 edition of the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue marks the 150th anniversary edition of the Scott catalogs. John Walter Scott published the first edition of the Scott catalog in 1868, and his enthusiasm for the stamp hobby lives on today in the Scott catalogs.

The Scott Standard catalog lists more than 700,000 stamps from more than 600 stamp-issuing entities. The Scott editors continue to expand the catalogs each year by updating thousands of values and adding more than 12,000 new listings. Each volume of the Scott Standard catalog now averages more than 1,700 pages and weighs several pounds.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

    Sign up for our newsletter
    Like us on Facebook
    Follow us on Twitter

As we work to improve the Scott catalogs with each passing year, we take to heart feedback from stamp collectors and dealers. We are pleased to announce we’ve heard your pleas to lighten the load, and we have addressed the number one request to reduce the weight of the catalogs.

Beginning with the 2018 edition, we will split each of the Scott Standard catalogs into two volumes, A and B. This change alone represents a reduction in weight for each book by almost 50 percent, making the catalogs easier than ever to reference, transport and store.

Each two-volume catalog will be shrink-wrapped and sold as a set, and collectors will be pleased to find the organization of countries per catalog is largely unchanged. This reorganization allows us to adhere to the same April through November monthly publication schedule as in the past. So Vol. 1 of the 2018 Scott Standard catalog will be published in April 2017, Vol. 2 in May, Vol. 3 in June, Vol. 4 in July, Vol. 5 in August and Vol. 6 in September.

The two Scott specialized catalogs will stay on the current schedule as well. Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers will be published in October, followed by the Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 in November.

The 2017 Scott U.S. Specialized catalog is now available, and the Scott Classic Specialized will be on sale in early November, in time for holiday gift-giving.

As always, collectors can take advantage of significant savings thanks to the Amos Advantage discount program. Amos Advantage members can purchase each two-volume set of the 2018 Standard catalogs for just $99.99. That’s a savings of $35 from the retail price. To join the Amos Advantage discount program all you need to do is subscribe to Linn’s or its sister publications Coin World or Craft Ideas. You will receive discounts on books and accessories produced and distributed by Linn’s parent company Amos Media.

We are sad to report that Allen Kane will retire as director of the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in January 2017. Kane, a former United States Postal Service executive, became museum director in 2002 and has spent the last 14 years revitalizing the museum by focusing on stamps and stamp collecting. Under Kane’s directorship, the museum opened the William H. Gross Gallery in 2013, expanding its physical size and making it the world’s largest museum devoted to stamps and postal history. The hobby owes him a debt of gratitude. Thank you, Allen.

For the most up-to-date stamp news, visit Linns.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For Linn’s Stamp News and Scott catalogs, I’m Donna Houseman. Enjoy your week in stamps.