2024 Scott U.S. Specialized catalog includes many important value and editorial changes

From the Scott Editors by Jay Bigalke

Many important value and editorial changes enhance the historic 102nd edition of the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers.

One of the most frequent complaints I receive about this catalog is its weight, and this year that problem was addressed head-on. The large essays and proofs section will debut in a separate Scott catalog that will be published in fall 2023. That is the final section we plan to break out from the U.S. Specialized print edition. It and the other sections removed in prior years remain in the Scott Catalogue Digital Subscription.

Before we turn our attention to the specifics of this new catalog, we salute Scott editor emeritus James E. Kloetzel for working tirelessly on the thousands of value changes and hundreds of editorial changes. Kloetzel and the rest of the Scott editors have been busy adding and expanding listings and making significant improvements throughout the catalog.

Valuing overview

Many of our official Scott catalog advisors commented this year that the values for very fine stamps shown in the U.S. sections of the catalog quite accurately reflect that market. We have also noticed that results from auction sales are reasonably in line with most Scott values.

As always, however, some stamps appeared for sale this past year that are seldom seen, and numerous value changes for those stamps appear in the 2024 catalog as a result.

The unique used Boscawen, N.H., postmaster’s provisional (Scott 4X1) dropped precipitously from $300,000 to $85,000. On the other hand, the New York, N.Y., postmaster’s provisional signed “RHM” (9X1d) on cover from New Hamburgh, N.Y., rocketed to $32,500 from $12,500 last year.

In the classic era, the 1851 3¢ orange brown stamp (Scott 10) in unused, original gum condition moved sharply from $4,000 last year to $5,500, because the market better recognized the scarcity of that stamp in very fine grade.

New, higher values are seen for used examples of many of the 1867-68 stamps with grill. In the 1870-71 series, the unique 24¢ purple H-grill stamp with points up, from the stock of the late Richard Champagne, was sold this year for $4,750. It is now valued thus after many, many years of being dashed.

Many other generally small value increases are found throughout the 19th-century postage listings in the 2024 catalog. The same is true for earlier 20th-century postage stamps.

In the Air Post section, the ultramarine and carmine variety of the 1938 6¢ Eagle and Shield airmail stamp (Scott C23c) continues its upward climb and is now valued at $325 in mint, never-hinged condition.

The vertical pair with full horizontal gutter between of the 1968 10¢ carmine Fifty-Star Runway airmail (C72) is now valued for the first time at $300 in mint, never-hinged condition.

As a result of the sale of the late Bill Mooz’s SEPCIMEN errors of the 1875 Official special printings, many substantially higher values are now seen.

The sale of the late Mel Getlan’s massive vending and affixing machine perforations collection resulted in myriad editorial and value changes in this interesting collecting area. Collectors and dealers will want to examine carefully all the changes made.

Many scarce and rare local stamps and covers came to the auction block in 2023, resulting in value increases and decreases. Quite a few items that were dashed in previous years are valued for the first time.

Many value changes also are seen in the Post Office Seals section, and in the Test Stamps section, values have replaced many previously dashed listings.

The Encased Postage section also includes many higher values for 2024. The Revenues section received a thorough review, and hundreds of value changes were made.

Among the many value changes in the Confederate States, the most striking was due to the sale of the unique 10¢ black Independence, Texas, stamp (Scott 41X1) on cover, which drove the catalog value from $20,000 to $70,000.

Values of forever stamps were updated to reflect the new 66¢ postage rate that took effect July 9, 2023.

Collectors of recent new issues will want to pay particular attention to a number of se-tenant issues and wedding-related stamp issues of the past decade. Many saw notable increases in this edition of the catalog.

In a new twist to the market, counterfeiters have copied some of the more valuable forever stamps issued during the last year, so collectors need to be vigilant when attempting to purchase a legitimate stamp for their collections.

Editorial enhancements

One of the most exciting additions to the 2024 U.S. Specialized catalog is the authenticated discovery of a 5¢ black Millbury, Mass., postmaster’s provisional stamp on white print paper, as distinguished from the long-listed examples on bluish letter paper. This white-paper variety is now listed as Scott 7X2.

In the classic postage listings, a past omission has been corrected with the addition of a unique cover bearing a pair of the 1908 5¢ blue coil stamp perforated 12 horizontally (Scott 317). Previously no cover was listed for this very scarce coil.

In the Confederate States, Scott 114XU2 has been added for the 5¢ black Wytheville, Va., postmaster’s provisional featuring a different “5 PAID” handstamp.

Numerous footnotes were added in the modern postage listings to indicate counterfeit examples exist.

A new edition of the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Counterfeits, scheduled for publication this fall, could double in size from the 2023 edition.

Lastly, a new Essays section was added to the Philippines section.

To purchase the 2024 Scott catalogs, both print or digital editions, call Amos Media at 800-572-6885 or visit Amos Advantage online.

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