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     AP Cover March 2019   

    Member David Lindwall's article
    got Guatemala? was published in
     the March 2019 issue of
    The American Philatelist. APS members
     may read the article online here.
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   Topical Time cover

   The March/April issue of Topical Time,
   the journal of the Americal Topical
   Association, contains two articles on
   Mayan topics on stamps.
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Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events

 


Welcome!
Thank you for visiting the International Society of Guatemala Collectors web site.  The ISGC is a non-profit organization and APS affiliate founded in 1948; membership in the Society is open to anyone interested in stamps and postal history of colonial and modern Guatemala and adjacent regions of Central America.

All memberships include a subscription to El Quetzal (EQ), published four times a year. Members also have access to the member side of the ISGC website, where you may participate in the online Forum discussions, and have access to the entire run of back issues of EQ, starting with #1, published in 1949. Guatemala-1, the out-of-print Volume 1 of the Postal History and Philately of Guatemala, is also available online to members, as well as other out-of-print ISGC publications. Members may also download the ISGC Guatemala Stamp Album to print through the Document Library.


To watch the video got Guatemala?, an introduction to collecting Guatemala Stamps, click the play button on the YouTube player, and enlarge to full screen.

2019 Spring ISGC Auction Completed

The 2019 ISGC Auction closed for bidding on May 15th. The auction consisted of 42 lots with many hard to find items of Guatemala philately. Featured in the auction were scarce covers with fiscal stamps used in the place of regular postage stamps (with many of the covers being accepted in the mail), the rare 1886 Official New Year's Souvenir Greeting Card, and many full sheets of more modern material difficult if not impossible to find on the market.
  
View or download PDF files concerning the auction:


2019 ISGC Auction Listing
2019 ISGC Auction Rules and Bid Sheet
2019 ISGC Auction Lots Images
2019 ISGC Auction Results

High resolution images of any lots are available on request from the Auction Manager.

Send any questions to the Auction Manager:

Jonathan Topper
Topper Stamps & Postal History
10480 Grant Road, Suite 117
Houston, TX 77070

or via email: jonathan@topperstamps.com

Lot 109

Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries

Collecting the stamps of Guatemala is an interesting and potentially complex challenge, and collectors of the country are helped by a large body of available information. El Quetzal editor and former International Society of Guatemala Collectors (ISGC) president David Reitsema has added to this information by writing these articles to assist ISGC members and other ISGC website visitors distinguish between genuine stamps and fakes.

More articles in this series about Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries will continue to be posted periodically on the website.

   To watch the video Guatemala - Forged Stamps and the ISGC, click the play button on the YouTube player, and enlarge to full screen.

          

Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott 1-4
Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott 5-6
Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott 7-10
Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott 11-14
Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott 17-20
Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott 60-74
Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott 75-85
Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott 86-87
Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott 124-130
Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott 143
Guatemala Fakes and Forgeries, Scott O1-5

Jonza Documents Available for Member Download

Long-time ISGC member Jack Jonza has collected nearly 150 articles and clippings that have information of interest to Guatemala collectors. The articles come from many sources, including magazines that have not been published in many years. These have now been scanned and indexed, and may currently be viewed and downloaded in the Document Library by members after logging in. The first PDF in the folder (Jonza Documents Contents) was prepared from a spreadsheet containing information on the documents, including author, publication, publication date, catalog numbers,etc. Download it, then use the links in the titles to go to the individual documents that interest you. 

El Quetzal

David Reitsema is the current editor of El Quetzal . Reitsema is one of the Directors of the ISGC and has previously served as its President.  He has authored numerous articles in El Quetzal over the years.  EQ has an entirely new format commencing with the December 2012 issue, and the printing quality has been dramatically improved. A PDF of the entire March 2017 issue has been made accessible on-line to the public to serve as an example of what is available to members.
The cover of the current issue of El Quetzal, #379, September, 2019, including the table of contents, is available for viewing. Members may sign in to view the entire issue online in the Library section of this website. Past issues are also available.

News

Mazepa's "Colonial Central America" Crowned Champion of Champions

8/26/2017   James P. Mazepa's "Colonial Central America", depicting the development of the postal system in the Kingdom of Guatemala, was crowned Champion of Champions at the APS Stampshow in Richmond, Virginia.   Read>>

A Note on PayPal Payments

Please use the email address listed on the Join/Renew ISGC Button on the Menu to make dues payments via PayPal. The email address for the Treasurer on the Contact Us area is for communication with the Treasurer, not for payments.

Exhibits

Exhibits now available for viewing:  The Quetzal Airmails (Jaime Marckwordt), A Selection of Guatemalan Postmarks, 1871-1902 (Cécile Gruson), Collecting Guatemala (David Jickling, coordinator), Guatemalan Auxiliary Markings, 1898-1967 (David Fine), and Guatemala Airmail 1924-1945 (Dr. Andrew Cheung). Also available:  PDF file of the Perforation Gauge Presentation from Washington 2006.
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