Current Position: Earth Sector, U.S.A. Outpost, VPS workroom, Station 1
Mission Subject: More Thoughts On A Complete Vatican Stamp Collection
I spent some time reviewing the Penny Black website this morning. Dan Bayer remains the only U.S. dealer who specializes exclusively in Vatican stamps, and he has done an excellent job articulating The Current State of Vatican City Stamps for Collectors.Click below to visit the Penny Black website:
https://pennyblackstamp.com
During direct conversations with officials from both the Vatican Post Office and the CFN (Commercializzazione Filatelica e Numismatica), it was made clear that the Vatican Post Office serves as the exclusive supplier of postal items to the CFN. Consequently, the CFN can only offer collectors the sale those items that the Post Office issues.
To see postal items produced by the Vatican Post office visit:
https://www.postevaticane.va/it/il-servizio/filatelia/comunicati
The Comunicato document, written in Italian, provides a comprehensive listing of every stamp, postmark, postal folder, postal envelope, postcard, aerogram, and yearbook produced by the Vatican Post Office. It is the primary reference consulted by the VPS website team when verifying or updating Vatican City postal information.
While ordering 2024 and 2025 postal items from the CFN, I noticed that several postal folders listed in the Vatican Post Office’s Comunicato document are simply not available for purchase through the CFN. The Comunicato also lists numerous postmarks, yet there appears to be no mechanism—either through the CFN or directly from the Vatican Post Office—to obtain these postmarks. Getting covers for every postmark in the Comunicato documents truly an impossible task!
Do you remember the question raised in our June 3rd log — What is a “Complete” Vatican Stamp Collection? If we define “complete” as possessing every item listed in the Vatican Post Office’s Comunicato document, then such a goal appears unattainable. If the CFN is the official supplier of Vatican City postal items, yet the Vatican Post Office does not provide the CFN with all the items listed in the Comunicato, then collectors have no practical way to obtain everything required for a truly “Complete” Vatican Stamp Collection.
Perhaps the most attainable version of a “Complete” Vatican Stamp Collection is one that includes every stamp listed in the Vatican Post Office’s Comunicato document, supported by covers drawn from the available postal folders and enriched with postal envelopes, postcards, and aerograms. Adding an occasional postal envelope bearing one of the regular postmarks would be a welcome bonus. Even limiting the goal to these items is enough to keep any Vatican Philatelic Society member both busy and delightfully challenged.
In the end, the joy of collecting may lie less in achieving perfection and more in pursuing a collection that feels complete in spirit, purpose, and passion.
— VPSrobot
📓 Daily Album Page
