Mosbaugh’s U.S. All Funds Seal Catalog – Section III – Catholic Seals
(2021 edition). 182 pages, 8½ by 11 inches, spiral bound. More than 800 illustrations. Published by the Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society. Available from John Denune, 234 East Broadway, Granville, OH 43023 or at [email protected]. Comb-bound on paper, $33.50; CD, $8.95.
Many collectors are familiar with Christmas and Easter seals, but these are just a fraction of the seals issued worldwide. One specialty area within the seal domain is that of Catholic seals, postage stamp-like labels that are used to promote religious values or raise funds for Catholic organizations, religious orders or institutions.
Collectors of U.S. Catholic seals have long relied on Mosbaugh’s catalog, first compiled in 1962, revised in 1981 (with a further supplement several years later). Mosbaugh’s U.S. All Funds Seal Catalog is a multi-volume resource listing all known U.S. seals. Now, thanks to editor George Painter, a completely new version of the Catholic Seals catalog is available.
The new catalog, which gives background on the seal-issuing organizations and dates of issue, is nearly twice as large as the previous catalog, lists 57 new Catholic organizations and provides updates for a number of other Catholic organizations.
This catalog retains the alphabetical order of the organizations (and within those, chronological listings) as used in previous editions, but is improved in significant ways.
First, high-quality color scans illustrate the seals, making identification much easier.
Second, references to source articles that contain more background information are listed with the organization.
Finally, catalog values are updated to reflect current market conditions.
An important difference between the two catalogs is that a number of seal listings have been removed because they are now considered poster stamps, are not U.S. based, or are not Catholic (e.g. St. Jude’s Hospital, which was assumed to be Catholic in the original catalog). All removals are explained fully. Other organizations merit a separate catalog due to the voluminous issuance of seals (e.g. Boy’s Town).
Certain sections have been massively revised to encompass new information and seals. For example, the Knights of Columbus Bishop’s Project seal listing now extends to the year 2020 (30 years of updates from the original) and contains the most recent information on this long-lived seal issuing organization.
This is not a criticism, but some seals are known to exist (and are listed), but no pictures are available for the catalog. This highlights the challenge and joy of Catholic seal collecting – un-listed seals are lurking in boxes somewhere. You just have to find them!
A welcome addition is the table of contents.
This catalog will be the definitive reference for Catholic seal collectors for years to come. The editors welcome collectors to share additions and updates to the catalog.