About the Listings
Stamps are listed in order by Michel catalog number, cross-referenced by Nu-Line, Scott and Yvert numbers (click here for more information about these catalogs). Varieties are described by their characteristics in the following order: perforation, color, paper type and overprint variety. Shifted overprints are noted only when they are displaced by at least 3mm.
How to Use the Navigation
Navigation consists of four tabs ("stamps", "covers", "reference" and "community") and short cuts to the help page (question mark icon) and the home page (house icon). Clicking on a tab refreshes the top navigation frame. After the page refreshes, the left-most tab will indicate the current section.
Each corresponding section contains a pull-down menu of links ("Make a Selection"). Use this menu to change pages within the current section. The page content should change automatically when you release the pull-down menu. If if doesn't, you may need to click on the small blue arrow at the right of the menu. If an error results, you'll need to upgrade your web browser before you will be able to properly view this site. I recommend using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or higher.
Layout
This site is formatted for monitors with a resolution of at least 800 x 600 pixels. If your monitor is set to a lower resolution, you may need to scroll pages to view some of the content (you should be able to adjust your settings through your computer's monitor or display control panel).
This site contains a lot of graphics. If you are accessing the Internet via a modem, please be patient while pages and images load. I believe it is worth the wait.
Printing
You may wish to print pages from this guide for reference away from your computer. Using Internet Explorer (on Windows machines), click on the content portion of the site (the section with the white background), then select Print from the File menu. In the Print dialog, click on the Options tab, then tick the "only the selected frame" radio button.
I like to print two stamp listing pages side by side on a single a sheet of paper. Your printer may or may not support this feature. If it does, in the Print dialog, make certain the Portrait radio button is ticked, and under "Layout" select "2 pages per sheet". I find the results to be more "book like" and easier to browse. Try increasing the font size in your browser if the text is too small to comfortably read.
Color Varieties and Paper Types
Color varieties and paper types are often difficult to accurately describe. Follow this link for information about my interpretations: notes on color and paper.
Scans
In addition to the illustrative scan for each catalog number, scans of all major overprint varieties and cancels have been, or will be, included. I have not included scans of perforation or minor color varieties as I don't feel they would be very useful. Screen resolutions and colors vary too much.
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Copyright Information: All articles and catalog information, including catalog numbers, are copyrighted by their respective authors and publishers, and are used here for educational, cross-reference purposes only. This web site should not be construed as a competing catalog product.
All other information ©1999-2007 Andrew Crenshaw unless otherwise indicated. Permission is granted to print and distribute original content on these pages for educational purposes so long as the content is not changed (including this notice) and no income is derived from their distribution. All other rights reserved.