Quality and United States Stamps

The 2011 Scott catalog has begun “quality pricing” for the first time. The main listing is still for a Very Fine example of each stamp, as it has always been, but now there is a center section that prices most US stamps in different numerical grades. This is not an advance and Scott has lost sight of the fact that sometimes progress is just keeping things the way they were. The reason for the addition was the interest in high grade US stamps and this is an attempt to acknowledge and facilitate this interest. But I have always felt that the emphasis on numerically graded certified stamps was a case of the tail wagging the dog and, rather than showing the strength of our hobby, was a reflection of weakness. New collectors are never numerical graders. They are one of a kind people who wish to fill spaces. Certainly anyone can collect whatever and however they want, but to dignify the grading aberration in the hobby with inclusion in the Scott Specialized catalog gives this kind of collecting far more significance than it deserves. If Scott wanted to help grow the hobby (which would be a wonderful idea), perhaps they could put the Scott catalog on line (for a fee, perhaps with packages for short term or unlimited use). This and other hobby increasing ideas are far more productive than the inclusion of a section that encourages collectors to be even more restrictive in what they collect.