Welcome to the Stamp Collecting home page.

Purpose of these pages: The purpose of this project is to provide tools for identifying United States stamps and covers.

Limitation of this project: Words coupled with images can describe rather clearly what features you need to examine in order to identify a stamp or cover. However, some items, particularly stamped envelopes and wrappers, differ only in the color of the paper. Determining the paper color is beyond the scope of the keys below.

How to contribute: Your comments and suggestions are encouraged. You can e-mail info@vfthomas.com or write to Stamp Collecting Project, c/o V. F. Thomas Co.; P. O. Box 400; Southwest Harbor, ME 04679.

Wanted. I am trying to find an organization that is interested in carrying on this project. Web hosting for the V. F. Thomas Co. website, the "parent" site for these stamp collecting web pages, has been paid through 1 May 2013. Unless funding is obtained to continue the website, it will be closed on that date, and this project will be deleted.

U.S. Front-of-the-book Multiple Access Key - This downloadable Excel file allows you to use the auto filter function to narrow your selection to one or a few stamps. Using this multiple access key, you can select any features of a stamp (denomination, perforation, image, etc.) in any order you wish and even deselect any.

U.S. Front-of-the-book Postage Stamp Identifier - A series of online keys guide you, first by images and then by tables, to a determination of the Scott number for front-of-the-book U.S. postage stamps.

U.S. Stamped Envelope and Wrapper Identifier - A series of online keys guide you by simple questions to a determination of the Scott design number for non-airmail and non-official U.S. stamped envelopes and wrappers.