Post by madbaker on Feb 4, 2017 20:36:00 GMT
Hello!
I get emails from Linn's stamp news and today's caught my eye. They've published the "Worldwide Stamp Cost" for 2015. It's a listing of the number of stamps issued by country in 2015 and the associated Face and Catalogue values.
I thought I'd share some insights from combing through the data a bit. Not exactly the quality of what PostmasterGS has done, but fun nonetheless.
Disclaimers / Conditions
- The data is based on the major Scott numbers which were assigned in 2015.
- That's major numbers only. No minor numbers like 5204a and 5204b.
- This may cause some issues in comparison based on inconsistencies in how major numbers are assigned.
An example: A souvenir sheet with 6 stamps could be given one major number and a-f minor numbers. I seem to recall that they assign 6 major numbers in some occasions. Or maybe that's they are consistent but other catalogues do it differently? I can't remember.
- Face Value is in the local currency. haha. One country's stamp has a face value of over 20 MILLION units of their currency. Seashells maybe?
- Catalogue Value is in $US and is what was assigned at the time the Scott number was assigned. I assume that's just some multiple of face value.
Additonal Whining By The Post Author
- They don't include USA in the list! Why? Because it's worldwide data I guess and USA isn't 'foreign.' It is to 6.5 billion people but there you go. Either that or the USA is still one of the abuser nations in new issues and the rotten media is suppressing the truth!!!!
- They issued the data in a PDF file. Oh, for the love of all that is holy! Wouldn't you like to sort by something other than country name in alphabetical order? Wouldn't you like to add up all the stamps issued, etc? I know I would.
But never fear! I scraped it all and took 30 minutes or so to put the data into Excel. You're welcome. So now let's look at the data.
Number of Stamp Issuing Entities: 257
258 if you include the USA. Don't get me started. I now regret buying that beginner packet of USA at the club this week.
Number of Entities that Issued at least One Stamp in 2015: 201
The other 56 entities either didn't issue a stamp or didn't get a Scott major number assigned.
Most Surprising (to me) entity that issued Zero stamps in 2105: Ivory Coast
North Korea is on the list too but in that case maybe there's a US embargo? Not sure.
Total Catalogue Value of all Stamps Issued in 2015: $25719.95
But hey, I'll sell them to you for a smooth $25,000!
Total Number of Stamps Issued in 2015: 6718
Holy. But those are all tiny Caribbean islands which prey on collectors, right? Let's see!
Top 10 Stamp Issuing Entities in 2015
I'd only class two of them as 'exploitative islands.' I'll let you make up your own names for the other eight.
In the interest of full patriotic disclosure, Canada is at #13, between China and Phillipines, with 84 stamps and CV $215.85
Whew! Hand typing data into an HTML table is not fun. I'll do one more then end this.
Top 10 Countries by Catalogue Value
There you are, my lovelies! Whenever these lists are published I think of Antigua, Barbuda, St. Vincent and the various Grenadines. I see they've realized they don't need to print lots of stamps, they just have to make them expensive!
(Seriously, I think a high stamp count:CV ratio implies lots of stamps being issued. a Low Count:CV ratio tells me there's lots of multi stamp souvenir sheets, with birds, dinosaurs, Disney characters and Bob Dylan.)
I would assume Catalogue Value is a normalized version of Face Value. ie. Initial CV for mint stamps is two time face value, in US dollars. I hope that's the case. If the CV for Solomon Islands is based on collector demand, then shame on all of you!
(Again, seriously, I don't have a problem with topical collectors, even Disney collectors. Heck, I collect Panini football (soccer) stickers too. It sure seems like there are other, cheaper alternatives for you though.)
One note about Great Britain. I have a friend at the club who has collected GB new issues for his entire life, but the high cost and numerous issues have him seriously questioning this. The prices just go up and up and up. He's started a side collection in cheap Czech line engraved issues just to have some more inexpensive fun.
Final Thoughts
For me, this is just fun Saturday afternoon number crunching. Entertaining, but rather meaningless for me. I like the wallpaper from an earlier generation, that has shrunk in value from twice Face, to 1/2 Face bulk postage to $5 per pound, CTO used.
But at least I know to keep an eye out for a hundred Portugese issues in 2040.
Mark
I get emails from Linn's stamp news and today's caught my eye. They've published the "Worldwide Stamp Cost" for 2015. It's a listing of the number of stamps issued by country in 2015 and the associated Face and Catalogue values.
I thought I'd share some insights from combing through the data a bit. Not exactly the quality of what PostmasterGS has done, but fun nonetheless.
Disclaimers / Conditions
- The data is based on the major Scott numbers which were assigned in 2015.
- That's major numbers only. No minor numbers like 5204a and 5204b.
- This may cause some issues in comparison based on inconsistencies in how major numbers are assigned.
An example: A souvenir sheet with 6 stamps could be given one major number and a-f minor numbers. I seem to recall that they assign 6 major numbers in some occasions. Or maybe that's they are consistent but other catalogues do it differently? I can't remember.
- Face Value is in the local currency. haha. One country's stamp has a face value of over 20 MILLION units of their currency. Seashells maybe?
- Catalogue Value is in $US and is what was assigned at the time the Scott number was assigned. I assume that's just some multiple of face value.
Additonal Whining By The Post Author
- They don't include USA in the list! Why? Because it's worldwide data I guess and USA isn't 'foreign.' It is to 6.5 billion people but there you go. Either that or the USA is still one of the abuser nations in new issues and the rotten media is suppressing the truth!!!!
- They issued the data in a PDF file. Oh, for the love of all that is holy! Wouldn't you like to sort by something other than country name in alphabetical order? Wouldn't you like to add up all the stamps issued, etc? I know I would.
But never fear! I scraped it all and took 30 minutes or so to put the data into Excel. You're welcome. So now let's look at the data.
Number of Stamp Issuing Entities: 257
258 if you include the USA. Don't get me started. I now regret buying that beginner packet of USA at the club this week.
Number of Entities that Issued at least One Stamp in 2015: 201
The other 56 entities either didn't issue a stamp or didn't get a Scott major number assigned.
Most Surprising (to me) entity that issued Zero stamps in 2105: Ivory Coast
North Korea is on the list too but in that case maybe there's a US embargo? Not sure.
Total Catalogue Value of all Stamps Issued in 2015: $25719.95
But hey, I'll sell them to you for a smooth $25,000!
Total Number of Stamps Issued in 2015: 6718
Holy. But those are all tiny Caribbean islands which prey on collectors, right? Let's see!
Top 10 Stamp Issuing Entities in 2015
| Country | Stamp Count | Cat Value ($US) |
| France | 215 | $449.70 |
| Solomon Islands | 209 | $2160.50 |
| St. Thomas & Princ. | 204 | $1806.25 |
| Australia | 190 | $287.10 |
| Japan | 187 | $1085.70 |
| Great Britain | 131 | $474.65 |
| Cuba | 117 | $147.40 |
| Russia | 109 | $115.45 |
| Romania | 102 | $327.75 |
| Portugal | 97 | $200.60 |
I'd only class two of them as 'exploitative islands.' I'll let you make up your own names for the other eight.
In the interest of full patriotic disclosure, Canada is at #13, between China and Phillipines, with 84 stamps and CV $215.85
Whew! Hand typing data into an HTML table is not fun. I'll do one more then end this.
Top 10 Countries by Catalogue Value
| Country | Stamp Count | Catalogue Value ($US) |
| Solomon Islands | 209 | $2160.50 |
| St. Thomas & Princ. | 204 | $1806.25 |
| Japan | 187 | $1085.25 |
| Antigua & Barbuda | 55 | $521.50 |
| Tonga | 32 | $507.50 |
| St. Vincent | 55 | $483.50 |
| Great Britain | 131 | $474.65 |
| France | 215 | $449.70 |
| Grenada | 70 | $411.35 |
| Niuafo’ou (Tin Can Island) | 20 | $406.00 |
There you are, my lovelies! Whenever these lists are published I think of Antigua, Barbuda, St. Vincent and the various Grenadines. I see they've realized they don't need to print lots of stamps, they just have to make them expensive!
(Seriously, I think a high stamp count:CV ratio implies lots of stamps being issued. a Low Count:CV ratio tells me there's lots of multi stamp souvenir sheets, with birds, dinosaurs, Disney characters and Bob Dylan.)
I would assume Catalogue Value is a normalized version of Face Value. ie. Initial CV for mint stamps is two time face value, in US dollars. I hope that's the case. If the CV for Solomon Islands is based on collector demand, then shame on all of you!
(Again, seriously, I don't have a problem with topical collectors, even Disney collectors. Heck, I collect Panini football (soccer) stickers too. It sure seems like there are other, cheaper alternatives for you though.)
One note about Great Britain. I have a friend at the club who has collected GB new issues for his entire life, but the high cost and numerous issues have him seriously questioning this. The prices just go up and up and up. He's started a side collection in cheap Czech line engraved issues just to have some more inexpensive fun.
Final Thoughts
For me, this is just fun Saturday afternoon number crunching. Entertaining, but rather meaningless for me. I like the wallpaper from an earlier generation, that has shrunk in value from twice Face, to 1/2 Face bulk postage to $5 per pound, CTO used.
But at least I know to keep an eye out for a hundred Portugese issues in 2040.
Mark
