Frequently Asked Questions
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Which countries and territories are included?
- South Africa
- Union of South Africa and Republic of South Africa covers issued from 1910 onward.
- Former homelands
- The TBVC territories: Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei.
- Namibia
- South West Africa and modern Namibia.
- Zimbabwe
- Rhodesia and modern Zimbabwe.
- Neighbouring countries
- Bechuanaland and Botswana; Swaziland and Eswatini; and Basutoland and Lesotho.
What does the catalogue cover?
Philatelic covers of Southern Africa: first-day covers, commemorative covers, flown covers and related postal material, including the historical territories and homelands.
Which covers are excluded from PHILCOSA, and why?
- Flight covers before 1950
- Because of the specialised nature of these covers, flight covers issued before 1950 are excluded. Only flight covers for flights that started or ended in Southern Africa are included.
- Maxicards
- All maxi-cards, including SILK maxicards, are excluded at this stage.
- Personalised covers
- The database is limited to covers where at least 25 were issued, so once-off personalised covers are excluded.
- Signed covers
- Some images in the database show signed covers, but an estimated value is given only for unsigned covers. The value of a signed cover depends on the signature and can be considerably higher.
- Covers with printing flaws and deviations
- Only standard covers are included at this stage. Flaws and deviations are a specialised field and can be worth a great deal more than the standard cover.
How do I search for a particular cover?
Use the Search Covers page. Filter by area, cover type, issuing authority and theme, and combine those with a date range, an exact date, or free text from the description. Each filter accepts more than one selection.
Can I export the results?
Yes. Run a search and use the Download all results to Excel button below the results. The export contains every cover matching your criteria, not just the page on screen.
What do the cover numbers and sequence numbers mean?
Covers are identified by the combination of area, cover date and a sequence number, which together form the cover number. Where several covers share an area and date, the sequence distinguishes them in the order they were catalogued.
How is the estimated value of a cover determined?
All values are shown in South African Rand. The figure is not the traditional dealer price, but what a collector could reasonably expect if they wanted to sell the item.
What the estimate is based on
- For standard first-day covers issued by the SA Post Office, the SACC dealer value (2019 edition) was used as the basis, reduced to the price a collector could expect.
- The Atlas listing of date stamps and the Borgstein listing of railway covers were also used as a basis.
- Regular sales on online sites such as Bid or Buy and eBay were taken into account.
- The number of covers issued, where that is known, was taken into account.
- Where the theme of a cover is a popular one, that was taken into account.
Remember that the eventual value of an item depends on what you are willing to pay and what the seller wants for it, not on what a catalogue or this website shows.
If you disagree with a value and would like to propose a change, please let us know. Try to attach proof of an actual transaction to support the proposal.
Some records have no image. Why?
The catalogue text and the cover images are maintained separately, and scanning is ongoing. A record without an image is still a complete catalogue entry; the image will follow.
I think a record is wrong. What should I do?
Please get in touch. Include the cover number shown on the cover details page and describe the correction.