Thousands of German, British and Italian value changes in Vol. 3 of the 2015 Scott

There are a large number of value changes among the listings for Germany, Great Britain and Italy in Vol. 3 of the 2015 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, which contains stamp listings for countries of the world G through I.

“Germany takes the lion’s share of value changes this year, with almost 3,200. Overall, we found a mixture of minor increases and decreases,” said Scott catalog editor Charles Snee.

Substantial increases are seen for a number of early booklet panes in the postage, semipostal and air post sections (for representative examples, see Germany Scott 356a, B24a, and C30b and C30c).

Numerous value changes are concentrated among the German semipostal stamps, beginning with the first issues of 1919 and continuing through the mid-1940s.

More than 500 value changes were made in German States, many of them increases.

More than 1,000 value changes were made in Great Britain, most of them upward adjustments to the values for unused nondenominated stamps inscribed “1st,” “2nd” and “E” to reflect their current face value following rate changes over the years.

For the most part, the values have been adjusted to double the current face value of these stamps, regardless of the face value at the time of issue.

Increases also can be found in Grenada, where the imperforate-between error pair of the 1873 1-penny deep green Queen Victoria (Scott 5Bj) moves from $12,000 to $13,000 in this year’s catalog.

In Guyana, a total of 40 stamps with handstamped surcharges issued in 2012 are valued for the first time. The values are italicized, which means that the editors relied on scant market data to establish them. At this point, it is apparent that these modern surcharged stamps are hard to find.

In Italy, a close review of modern postage issues, beginning with the 1980 Castles set (Scott 1408-1431), results in approximately 2,300 value changes.

Almost without exception, values for unused (mint, never hinged) stamps are down modestly, on the order of 10 percent or so. More significant reductions are seen for used stamps in this time period.

More than 270 value changes are recorded for Trieste, where stronger market activity pushed values higher. The 1950 set of two with overprints on Italy Scott 538-539 (Trieste Scott 77-78) is now valued at $44.50 unused, a 25 percent jump from the 2014 catalog value of $35.50.

Other countries with significant value changes include Iceland, Iran and Israel.

One of the more dramatic increases in this year’s catalog comes from Iran. The 1-kran yellow error of color (Scott 19c), valued at $20,000 unused in 2014, now sits at $35,000. In used condition, the jump in value is even more dramatic: from $5,500 last year to $15,000 in the 2015 catalog.

A methodical and thorough review of Israel resulted in more than 1,350 value changes. In general, the market for Israel stamps is thin, as can be seen in the lowering of most values. An example is the 1949 souvenir sheet of four celebrating the first anniversary of Israel postage stamps (Scott 16), which falls to $55 unused (mint, never-hinged) and $22.50 used, from $80 unused and $27.50 last year.

On the editorial side, set totals for never-hinged stamps have been added to the listings in Great Britain for Scott 205-208, 210-220, 226-229, 230-233, 249-251A, 252-257 and 258-263.

In Iran, a scarce new error has been added to the 1941 Coat of Arms Official stamps (Scott O58-O71). The 25-dinar carmine stamp printed on both sides (Scott O61a) is valued at $10,000 unused.

The cover price for the printed version of Vol. 3 and each subsequent 2015 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue is $119.99. Linn’s Stamp News subscribers are eligible for a discount when purchasing online direct from the publisher through the Amos Advantage program.

Vol. 4 (countries of the world J-M) will be released in July, Vol. 5 (countries of the world N-Sam) in August, Vol. 6 (countries of the world San-Z) in September, the Scott Specialized Catalog of United States Stamps and Covers in October, and the Scott Classic Specialized Catalog of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 in November.

For more information about the 2015 Scott catalogs, contact your favorite stamp dealer or write to Scott Publishing Co., Box 828, Sidney, OH 45365; or call 800-572-6885.

Information also can be found online at www.amosadvantage.com.