Tag Archives: stamp dealers

Spain Celebrates 125 Years of Stamp Markets

Celebrating 125 years of the first Spanish stamp market held in Barcelona, Spanish Mail (Correos) issued a large, colorful commemorative stamp on 8 April 2016. This 57-cent (0.57€) stamp features a vintage photo of stamp collectors in an outdoor stamp-trading venue.

2016 Spanish commemorative stamp celebrating 125 years since the first stamp market. • Credit: Spanish Correos

2016 Spanish 57-cent commemorative stamp celebrating 125 years since the first stamp market in Barcelona. The stamp’s image features a vintage photo of stamp collectors trading in an outdoor setting. • Courtesy Spanish Mail (Correos)

This boldly designed stamp measures 40.9 x 28.8 mm (1.6 x 1.1 inches). Background colors represent the Catalonian flag–a yellow field with four red horizontal stripes. Barcelona is the capital of the country’s northeastern autonomous region of Catalonia.

The world’s first postage stamps were issued in Great Britain in 1840, followed 10 years later by Spain in 1850. Soon, people began collecting used postage stamps in Spain and in the rest of the world. The first stamp shop for collectors in Spain was opened in 1854 in Catalonia by Josep Maria Vergés.

The first stamp market began in Barcelona between 1890 and 1892. Used-book seller Josep Graells Blanch added postage stamps as a sideline to his offerings on Ronda de Sant Antoni during the Sunday-morning booksellers’ fair. Other stamp dealers joined, making it a weekly tradition. Later the Barcelona stamp market moved to Plaça Reial, where it continues to this day, every Sunday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Collectible coins are also traded at the same venue. Plan to visit the next time you’re in town.

To add this commemorative stamp to your collection, contact your favorite stamp dealer, find a stamp dealer or visit Spain’s Correos website for further details.

Finding Stamp Dealers

Thousands of stamp dealers operate across the globe, perhaps even in your neighborhood. They are a great source of both new and used stamps, new issues, albums, stock books, stamp tongs, other stamp-collecting supplies and advice.

To find a local stamp dealer or a philatelic firm that specializes in the topics, countries and types of stamps that you want to collect, use one of these stamp-dealer search engines maintained by national stamp-dealer associations.

Though headquartered in a particular country, association membership often extends to dealers of other nations. Click on their respective logos to access membership information:

American Philatelic Society

American Philatelic Society
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA
560+ dealers in USA, Canada and 19 other nations

 

American Stamp Dealers’ Association
Centre Hall, Pennsylvania, USA
350+ dealers in USA and elsewhere, including China, Germany, Japan, Peru, Serbia and 14 other nations

APTA Logo

Australasian Philatelic Traders’ Association
Blackburn, Victoria, Australia
80+ dealers in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and four other nations

CSDA Logo

Canadian Stamp Dealers’ Association
London, Ontario, Canada
90+ dealers in Canada, France, UK and USA

NSDA LogoNational Stamp Dealers’ Association
Tempe, Arizona, USA
190+ dealers in USA, Belgium, Canada, France, Israel and UK

New Zealand Stamp Dealers Association
Manukau City, New Zealand
45+ dealers in New Zealand, Australia and three other nations

 

PTS LogoThe Philatelic Traders’ Society
Lingfield, Surrey, United Kingdom
300+ dealers in UK, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Malta, Poland, Portugal and numerous other nations

 

For 19 other national stamp dealers’ associations, visit the International Federation of Stamp Dealers’ Associations where you can find links to professional philatelic groups in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

IFSDAInternational Federation of Stamp Dealers’ Associations
Lausanne, Switzerland