The simplest place to start would be a stamp catalogue. There are many on the market and of course, different people prefer different catalogues. You are most likely to come across the Scott Standardized Catalogue of Stamps which can be purchased from a book store or stamp dealer. You might also want to check your local library to see if you can borrow a copy.


The current Scott catalogues for the entire World are covered in 5 separate volumes in alphabetic order. Another popular worldwide catalogue is Stanley Gibbons. SG also has a website at www.allworldstamps.com that allows you to check the stamp value online. This listing isn't complete, but it's free and relatively simple to use.

Now, that being said, catalogues are only a guideline to value. (CV)

Al Singer, summarizes it here:

In general, and taking stamps with values under $500, approval dealers will sell stamps at 60% - 100% of CV, store front dealers will sell at 60% - 80% of CV, bourse dealers because of limited overhead, sell at 50% - 60% of cv, and collectors who do occaisional selling, sell at 35% - 45% of CV.
Looking at the cheapest stamps, Scott explains in the cat. preface that the $0.20 CV is not an actual stamp value but the dealers' handling fee. Bourse dealers take only half of that. On the other hand, higher value stamps, $500 CV and over, are best purchased at auction, where the market determines value. A stamp of that value, in VF to XF will often have a reserve of 50% of CV, and will sell at 65% to 80%.

As for knowing what catalog suits your needs best, it is generally regional preference.

Here are some common catalogues and for what country they are used: Scott - Worldwide, specialty in USA Stanley Gibbons - Worldwide, speciality in Great Britain Michel - Worldwide, volumes by region, specialty in Germany OCB - Belgium Hibernian - Ireland Sakura - Japan Yvert and Tellier - France

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