Stanley Gibbons Ltd is a company based in London, England specialising in the trade of collectible postage stamps and related products who are currently based at 399 Strand, London. The company was established by Edward Stanley Gibbons in 1856 on the basis of his purchase of a sackful of rare triangular stamps from the Cape of Good Hope. Stanley Gibbons Ltd held two different premises on the Strand before finally settling at 399. As a consequence of growth, the company had to leave previous shops behind at 425 and 391 Strand before moving to 399, which officially opened in 1981. In 1914 the company received a Royal Warrant from George V. It also has offices in Ringwood in Hampshire.
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Stamp catalogues
The first Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue was a monthly published in November 1865. The company now produces numerous catalogues which are largely defined by country, region or specialism, many of which are reissued annually. The catalogues list details of all known adhesive postage stamp issues and include the publisher's notional selling prices for unused and used stamps.
Prices
As with any stamp catalogue, the prices quoted are the estimated selling prices, of the publisher, at the time of publication. The prices stated in any catalogue should never be taken as the true value of the item. Common to any collectable item, the value is purely what a collector is prepared to pay for the item to have it in his collection.
Stanley Gibbons Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue
The Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue was first published in 1986 with an annual edition each year since. Over the years it has established itself as an essential guide for collectors of Great Britain postage stamps and other philatelic items.
Scope
- All Great Britain stamp issues, from the Penny Black of 1840 to the current issues are listed.
- All Regional, Postage due, Official and Postal Fiscal stamps are included in the listings.
- All different stamp designs are illustrated.
- Every basic stamp is listed, including those with different watermarks or perforations and those showing graphite lines or phosphor bands.
- Gives catalogue values for Mint, Used and some variations.
Other Philatelic Items listed
- Many errors are included in the listings - missing colours, missing embossing, watermark errors, imperforate errors, missing phosphor or graphite and similar errors.
- Gutter Pairs and Traffic Light Gutter Pairs are all listed.
- Details of First day Covers are listed for most issues.
- Details of PHQ Cards are included where cards were issued for an issue.
- Full details included for Presentation Packs, Collector Packs, Gift Packs and Post Office Year Books.
The magazine
Gibbons Stamp Monthly is a magazine that lists new issues and publishes articles of interest to philatelists.
Retail stamp business
As well as publishing, Stanley Gibbons is a stamp dealer with a retail business located in their Central London offices offering both older stamps and new issues and fulfilling customer want lists. They produce their own line of other philatelic products, such as albums, stock books, and other accessories.
Auction house
The company is also a philatelic auction house.
