ohiohawk
**Member** 
Posts: 36
What I collect: Mainly US, but also world
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Post by ohiohawk on Mar 10, 2021 0:47:43 GMT
I did try a search, but failed to see anything close.
I know SC is scott catalog, but what is the following..
Mi, Sn, Yt, Sg, and Un, ?
My thinking is Sg means Scott?
Thanks in Advance, Ray
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stainlessb
Member 
qaStaHvIS yIn 'ej chep
Posts: 4,906
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Mar 10, 2021 0:56:37 GMT
Mi, Sn, Yt, Sg, and Un, ?
Mi = Michel
Sn = Scott number ( I think... I don't really use Scott much)
Yt = Yvert & Tellier
Sg = Stanley Gibbons
Un = Unitrade (and I think I recall someone saying Unitrade follows Scotts numbering system)
and you might see COB Catalogue Official de Timbres - Poste for Belgium (use Yvert & Tellier #)
I am sure there are others
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brightonpete
Departed
Rest in Peace
On a hike at Goodrich-Loomis
Posts: 5,110 
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Post by brightonpete on Mar 10, 2021 2:47:53 GMT
Yup, Stoneham, although who uses their numbers when SG is so prevalent?
DAKA for the Faroes
Facit for Scandinavia (it includes English (language) too!)
Many others abound!
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bobstew617
Member
Posts: 376
What I collect: Switzerland, Ireland, Scandinavia, Channel Islands, Hong Kong (British Admin), PNG, others...
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Post by bobstew617 on Mar 10, 2021 3:07:50 GMT
let's not forget:
Zumstein for Switzerland (there's SBK too)
Hibernian for Ireland
I just bought a Facit for Scandinavia
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ameis33
Member
What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet
Posts: 546
What I collect: Poland and Italy Republic
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Post by ameis33 on Mar 10, 2021 5:24:13 GMT
Sassone and Unificato for Italy (plus CEI and Bolaffi)
Fischer for Poland
Zagorskji and Soloviev for Russia
ANK for Austria
Every country has its own
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,699
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Mar 10, 2021 10:57:42 GMT
I have only seen Sn for Scott on Colnect.
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vikingeck
Member
Posts: 3,551
What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Mar 10, 2021 11:57:20 GMT
"Sn" for Scott defies logic ! I suppose it means Scott Number . SC seems more sensible.
However as has been said before, specialisation in countries apart from US, is not something Scott does very well. As soon as you look for varieties and shades it is always safer to refer to the catalogue designed for that country in that country.
Yt will tell you far more about France than SC, and SG has more detail for British and Commonwealth then SC . etc etc
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,699
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Mar 10, 2021 12:32:46 GMT
On Colnect, it is called Stamp Number and a wild guess it is to avoid mentioning Scott for copyright reasons.
I see catalogs as a language. One needs to be aware of them to understand those that talk Scott vs SG vs Michel.
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ohiohawk
**Member**
Posts: 36
What I collect: Mainly US, but also world
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Post by ohiohawk on Mar 10, 2021 13:12:30 GMT
I never realized that there were so many, and I think it is sort of weird that Scott is a "bible commandment" for stamps. and sadly allot are missing is missing from them. I do use Colnect to look up the stamps I have, to update them in my "wallet-draining" software, and into the excel inventory I made, with descriptions, and other info. I got so confused on the abbreviations of each in there, and other places. I get why the countries do their own, it just makes sense to me, but it should be done across the board, So say Europe has a stamp in their catalog, and scott as their own system, the numbers should be the same, with the a,b,c,d, ect....
Scott truly needs a slap down, or rival to get them out of being complacent in what they do. and help truly standardize the system. (I know, I'm dreaming)
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cursus
Member
Posts: 2,011
What I collect: Catalan Cinderellas. Used Switzerland, UK, Scandinavia, Germany & Austria. Postal History of Barcelona & Estonia. Catalonia pictorial postmarks.
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Post by cursus on Mar 10, 2021 13:29:59 GMT
There's also Maury catalog for France and Edifil for Spain and dependencies. Zumstein, also covers Liechtenstein. Scott, is nearly usseless for European stamps
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vikingeck
Member
Posts: 3,551
What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Mar 10, 2021 14:26:38 GMT
I never realized that there were so many, and I think it is sort of weird that Scott is a "bible commandment" for stamps. and sadly allot are missing is missing from them. I do use Colnect to look up the stamps I have, to update them in my "wallet-draining" software, and into the excel inventory I made, with descriptions, and other info. I got so confused on the abbreviations of each in there, and other places. I get why the countries do their own, it just makes sense to me, but it should be done across the board, So say Europe has a stamp in their catalog, and scott as their own system, the numbers should be the same, with the a,b,c,d, ect.... Scott truly needs a slap down, or rival to get them out of being complacent in what they do. and help truly standardize the system. (I know, I'm dreaming) Scott is only the universal standard for the USA collector , almost ZERO use elsewhere . There is a lot of world outside of the USA my friend! "s ay Europe has a stamp in their catalog, and Scott as their own system, the numbers should be the same, with the a,b,c,d, ect..." Yeah but who is going to persuade 20+ catalogues, each with their own different technical speciality numbers to adopt a unified system? After all some folks still use Fahrenheit, and Gallons (which were different from UK Gallons) when the rest of the world has gone Celsius, Litres , Metric , or very nearly .............UK still has miles not Km  |
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jpotx113
Member
Posts: 460
What I collect: USA, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Machins, misc. WW
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Post by jpotx113 on Mar 10, 2021 14:59:15 GMT
It would be nice to have one number and one number only for each stamp, regardless of the catalog...especially when SG tends to change numbers. I collect Machins and you can expect those to change from time to time.
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djcmh
Member
Posts: 794
What I collect: Worldwide
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Post by djcmh on Mar 10, 2021 15:04:50 GMT
Indeed at the global level philately is a Babel of different catalogues each with their own system and rules of "grammar" in how stamps are organized.
At Colnect the goal is to be a "universal translator" so collectors know the Michel trasnslation for a specific Scott or Gibbons number.
Colnect currently supports 43 different stamp catalogs from around the world and there are at least another dozen I would like to see added to provide more specialized coverage for specific countries.
And yes, Stamp Number is the Colnect term for the American catalogue. For Canada issues it also represents Unitrade, since that catalog is based on the American one. Un is the abbreviation for Italian catalogue Unificato.
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vikingeck
Member
Posts: 3,551
What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Mar 10, 2021 15:11:29 GMT
I am a dinosaur . I like a book in the hand so sadly I have not been able find any use for Colnect which has proved a huge disappointing no no for me
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jpotx113
Member
Posts: 460
What I collect: USA, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Machins, misc. WW
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Post by jpotx113 on Mar 10, 2021 15:33:34 GMT
I like a book in the hand so sadly I have not been able find any use for Colnect which has proved a huge disappointing no no for me
I like a book, too. In fact, I recently updated my Scott catalog for the entire series. However, the last few months I've really started to use Colnect while sorting through thousands of stamps. It much easier to obtain catalog numbers this way, at least once you learn a few shortcuts. I'm also able to import into my database with makes it even better.
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renden
Member
Posts: 9,162
What I collect: Canada-USA-France-Lithuania-Austria--Germany-Mauritius-French Colonies in Africa
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Post by renden on Mar 10, 2021 15:45:51 GMT
And yes, Stamp Number is the Colnect term for the American catalogue. For Canada issues it also represents Unitrade, since that catalog is based on the American one. Un is the abbreviation for Italian catalogue Unificato. Well, not exactly. Unitrade is Canada's Specialized Catalog and offers more varieties, details and its price is in $C (CV) It also covers the Provinces for both stamps and plate proofs and its BOB has its own system and in summary it has more information, which is normal. The main numbers uses the Scott. Unitrade does have 776 pages and lots of illustrations in the margins for varieties. SCOTT snippet of 2019 e-specialized Canada for Large Queen 27:
UNITRADE 2021 CANADA SPECIALIZED:
*Mint copies (with original gum, add 100%. NH + OG (cert. required) add 300%
*VF *F *VG UVF UF UVG onCover
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djcmh
Member
Posts: 794
What I collect: Worldwide
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Post by djcmh on Mar 10, 2021 16:20:11 GMT
Renden correct, better I should have said Unitrade has as its base Scott and then elaborates much further. The basic stamps however are the same catalog numbers, which I think is why it was decided to use Sn code for Unitrade at Colnect (that decision was made long before I became coordinator so it was a catalogue legacy I inherited).
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renden
Member
Posts: 9,162
What I collect: Canada-USA-France-Lithuania-Austria--Germany-Mauritius-French Colonies in Africa
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Post by renden on Mar 10, 2021 16:58:17 GMT
I have no problems with how Colnect does its codes etc. Appreciate your comment re: Unitrade Canada Specialized. I did my only swap a while ago and it was for Denmark stamps - No problem using Sn for Denmark, but when I did my swap list, based on a friend's want list, I realized how difficult it is when you use Unitrade......lots of errors in the code numbers and varieties non existent. I did manage though but felt it was very time consuming. Since am new to Colnect, I found it non user friendly and there is lack of "help" for the newbie. The swap was a success, because my friend was very patient !!
I do not have an inventory on Colnect, of my 35,000 stamps (in inventory) + those not touched yet.
Thanks for your knowledge !
René
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pattib
Member
Posts: 80
What I collect: Anything France but especially semi-postal. Worldwide to 1920.
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Post by pattib on Mar 10, 2021 17:53:45 GMT
I never realized that there were so many, and I think it is sort of weird that Scott is a "bible commandment" for stamps. and sadly allot are missing is missing from them. I do use Colnect to look up the stamps I have, to update them in my "wallet-draining" software, and into the excel inventory I made, with descriptions, and other info. I got so confused on the abbreviations of each in there, and other places. I get why the countries do their own, it just makes sense to me, but it should be done across the board, So say Europe has a stamp in their catalog, and scott as their own system, the numbers should be the same, with the a,b,c,d, ect.... Scott truly needs a slap down, or rival to get them out of being complacent in what they do. and help truly standardize the system. (I know, I'm dreaming) Scott is only the universal standard for the USA collector , almost ZERO use elsewhere . There is a lot of world outside of the USA my friend! "s ay Europe has a stamp in their catalog, and Scott as their own system, the numbers should be the same, with the a,b,c,d, ect..." Yeah but who is going to persuade 20+ catalogues, each with their own different technical speciality numbers to adopt a unified system? After all some folks still use Fahrenheit, and Gallons (which were different from UK Gallons) when the rest of the world has gone Celsius, Litres , Metric , or very nearly .............UK still has miles not Km I guess I did the quote function wrong. Sorry about that. I would venture to guess that the reason Scott is a "bible commandment" for USA collectors is because it is in English for all countries. I think if more specialized catalogs from other countries were available with an English translation, they would be more readily adopted here in the US. |
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,699
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Mar 10, 2021 20:37:34 GMT
There was an old joke about software programming languages. If you had 50 languages before and created a replacement for all then you would up with 51 programming languages. No progress. There is no universal agreement on depth of specialization.
The challenge is if you collect the world or a large part especially modern you have to draw the line somewhere. From my comparison between SG and Scott for British commonwealth after 1900 or so the coverage is not dramatically different.
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ohiohawk
**Member**
Posts: 36
What I collect: Mainly US, but also world
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Post by ohiohawk on Mar 10, 2021 22:26:13 GMT
The last Scott I purchased was 1992 when I was in the military (79-92) when I got out, bit cheaper then. I do use Colnect (with my pc and the android app) from 1992 onward, because I have the 2 books from scott. I came across those there, which did confuse me, because I could not find a help file on the abbreviations to speak of, hence asking here.
I do agree to a point that each region has a listing of their own, I have stamps from countries I have never heard of before, till I did some serious work on finding those places. I eventually did, buried deep in a countries history. but took me actually visiting those countries, or being stationed there, then back home, library's, and the likes. I do find Colnect a help, to a point, sometimes it can not find anything, and even clicking on similar ones don't help.
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djcmh
Member
Posts: 794
What I collect: Worldwide
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Post by djcmh on Mar 10, 2021 23:58:19 GMT
With Colnect it is important to remember that it is not complete but rather a continuous work in progress. As it is being developed based on the Wiki principle it means that all listings are based on what users contribute. If there is a stamp or variety which no one has contributed, then in will remain missing until someone finally does contribute the information. And while the Catalog does list almost one million unique items, it is still a long way from being "complete".
Renden re Unitrade if when on Colnect you find errors please do let me know or use the Improve our Catalogue feature listed on the bottom of each stamps main information page so that the errors can be corrected. While all efforts are made to ensure data is correct human error is always possible and unless the errors are pointed out they will remain hidden in the haystack of data the catalogue contains.
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renden
Member
Posts: 9,162
What I collect: Canada-USA-France-Lithuania-Austria--Germany-Mauritius-French Colonies in Africa
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Post by renden on Mar 11, 2021 0:44:19 GMT
djcmhThanks - I did know about corrections but.....so much work and no pay $$  I have no financial interest in this beautiful site - So there you go, free advertising !! René
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ohiohawk
**Member**
Posts: 36
What I collect: Mainly US, but also world
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Post by ohiohawk on Mar 11, 2021 0:47:50 GMT
With Colnect it is important to remember that it is not complete but rather a continuous work in progress. As it is being developed based on the Wiki principle it means that all listings are based on what users contribute. If there is a stamp or variety which no one has contributed, then in will remain missing until someone finally does contribute the information. And while the Catalog does list almost one million unique items, it is still a long way from being "complete". Renden re Unitrade if when on Colnect you find errors please do let me know or use the Improve our Catalogue feature listed on the bottom of each stamps main information page so that the errors can be corrected. While all efforts are made to ensure data is correct human error is always possible and unless the errors are pointed out they will remain hidden in the haystack of data the catalogue contains. Not a problem with letting you know. and as soon as I get ahead with things, I will become a member there. but being disabled, sort of makes things a little tight at times. and I will check against things while I do search for what I am looking for. |
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jpotx113
Member
Posts: 460
What I collect: USA, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Machins, misc. WW
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Post by jpotx113 on Mar 11, 2021 1:19:21 GMT
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ohiohawk
**Member**
Posts: 36
What I collect: Mainly US, but also world
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Post by ohiohawk on Mar 11, 2021 2:13:54 GMT
Oh I know, if purchasing a membership to help them get things done, then I am fine with that. other places would not even get the sweat off my backside, because of junk stuff. and I do have a free account.. but if I can help, then I will. just like I joined a few sites like this, and all of them are not as helpful as this site is.... |
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djcmh
Member
Posts: 794
What I collect: Worldwide
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Post by djcmh on Mar 11, 2021 7:14:47 GMT
Oh I know, if purchasing a membership to help them get things done, then I am fine with that. other places would not even get the sweat off my backside, because of junk stuff. and I do have a free account.. but if I can help, then I will. just like I joined a few sites like this, and all of them are not as helpful as this site is.... Free members can also contribute items missing, and make comments to have erroneous or missing data added - don't need to be a paid member to be a contributor. Everyone is welcome to help in making Colnect as complete a catalog as possible for the benefit of stamp collectors everywhere.  (And for full disclosure, I am also a volunteer for Colnect, I do not receive any compensation other than free Premium Membership (which is possible for anyone willing to work as a catalog editor). My work with Colnect is because I see in the platform an amazing tool to provide identification information to all collectors around the world.) |
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cursus
Member
Posts: 2,011
What I collect: Catalan Cinderellas. Used Switzerland, UK, Scandinavia, Germany & Austria. Postal History of Barcelona & Estonia. Catalonia pictorial postmarks.
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Post by cursus on Mar 11, 2021 8:54:47 GMT
I fully agree with Alec. After 50 years of stamping, I still prefer printed catalogs (altough I use a PDF Michel for Scandinavia) and don't find any use for Colnet. As for the request that "if more specialised catalogs would have English versions, they would be more used in US", American collectors should realise that there's a world of languages outside English.
In continental Europe is not that strange that "normal" (not too cultivated) people, can speak or read 3 or more languages. English is not my mother tonge and I don't have any problem on being here, reading SG or Scott, going through Y&T, Sassone, Michel or Zumstein.
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salentin
Member
collecting Germany,where I live and about 20 more countries,half of them in Asia east of the Indus
Posts: 6,514
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Post by salentin on Mar 11, 2021 10:17:37 GMT
I think pattib is quite right: English is the most used foreign language worldwide. Just had a look to the list of catalogues,issued by Michel. They offer several catalogues of different parts of Germany in English. Of course this offer is not aming at the US-market alone,but to many people worldwide,who know English better than German. I even found a catalogue "Luxembourg Special" what is bi-lingual,German and French. Maybe there are more,as they offer far more than a hundred different catalogues ! However the use of Michel has a catch: quality costs !
To find a stamp on colnect is O.K.,if you have a real good idea,where to look for it. Otherwise it will be very much more time-consuming,than to leaf through a printed catalogue. However the less stamps are illustrated in a printed catalogue,the more Colnect may be better.
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,699
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Mar 11, 2021 11:12:18 GMT
For images, I prefer Stampworld when I know the country. You can scroll through the images or do a quick search by denomination. Michel publishes a guide to their catalogs for English-speaking users. I have a lot of respect for Michel for their work. www.briefmarken.de/images/PDF/NEWS/Introduction_Englisch.pdf |
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I have no financial interest in this beautiful site - So there you go, free advertising !!
