Welcome to Philatelphia - you've finally found it, and I hope it's just what you've been looking for.
Looking for philatelphic information on the internet can be a frustrating challenge. Searches for stamps usually result in useless links to sites related to postage or handstamps. Many of the sites that are actually related to philately are annoying - they are filled with countless advertisements, there are only a few stamps available on the site, the actual stamp information is only a scan of a catalog page or a PDF document, and clicking on a link that implies more detailed information about a stamp redirects you to an auction or a store.
Philatelphia is designed to be much more user friendly and direct. You can go to the Catalog page right now and start looking for some stamps that you might be interested in, even if you're not a member - there are different ways to search for stamps and different ways to view the results. You will never be redirected to another site unless you explicitly choose to do so. Any future advertising will be limited to one small advertisement on a page, with a special page devoted to all past advertisers.
This site is still in its infancy, and there's a lot to do. About 75 per cent of the time spent on the site will be devoted to adding and organizing items in the catalog. The rest of the time will be spent on improving the tools and features available on the site. I have developed a unique stamp numbering system, to avoid copyright infringements, so it may take you a little time to get comfortable with it.
Contributions and editing will be appreciated (images or information for the catalog, suggestions, problems with features, erroneous information in the catalog, etc.). Use the Feedback page for now if you need to communicate or submit an issue (you are not required to enter your email address on the Feedback page). I still need a source for getting the values of stamps.
There are currently about 650 items in the catalog, encompassing 50 countries. Development has been initiated to display the native text of a stamp in addition to English (Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, etc.). The basic structure for linking stamps with similar stamps, series, and collections is also in its beginning phases.
Thanks for using the site - I hope you find it informative and easy to use.
David Schuettner
President of Philatelphia
March, 2006