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Is there an app that identifies stamps from a picture?

Yes. Stamp identifier apps use image recognition to match a photo of your stamp to a database of known issues, then show what it is and roughly what it's worth, usually within seconds.

Before these apps, identifying a stamp meant working through a printed catalogue such as Scott (US) or Stanley Gibbons (UK) country by country, comparing designs, colors and denominations by eye. That still matters for expert work, but for the first question, “what is this stamp?”, a photo is now the fastest route.

An identifier app reads the whole design at once: the portrait or scene, the inscription, the numerals of value, the currency, the frame and the color. That helps most when the country name isn't in English, or when there is no country name at all, as on British stamps. Our guide to how to identify stamps covers the manual method if you want to double-check.

How does a stamp scanner app work?

You photograph one stamp. The app compares its design with a stamp database and returns the best-matching issue, with its details and a value estimate.

1. Capture. Take a photo with the in-app camera or pick one from your gallery.
2. Match. The app analyzes the design (portrait, inscription, denomination, color) and finds the closest known issue.
3. Profile. You see the country, year, denomination and background, plus a reference price range.
4. Save. The result goes into your collection, so you build a searchable record as you scan.

How do I choose a good stamp identifier app?

Look for photo and gallery scanning, country, year and denomination, a value range rather than one number, a rarity signal, a saved collection, and a free way to test it on your own stamps.

Be wary of anything that promises an exact price from a photo alone. Condition, centering and gum can move a stamp's value several times over, which is why StampGo shows a reference price range next to a rarity score instead of a single figure. Our stamp condition guide explains why.

Are stamp identifier apps really free?

Many are free to download, and StampGo is free on both the App Store and Google Play. Try it on a handful of your own stamps before you sort a whole collection.

Most people use a stamp app in bursts: a lot of scanning when they inherit an album or find a tin of old stamps, then occasional checks afterwards. Start with the stamps you're most curious about, such as the oldest, the most unusual or anything that looks misprinted, rather than common modern issues.

When do you need an expert instead of an app?

Use an app to identify and triage. Go to an expert when a stamp could be worth hundreds of dollars or more, when its variety depends on perforation or watermark, or when you need a certificate to sell it.

• The rarity score is high, or the reference price runs into the hundreds.
• The stamp is a known rarity or error, which are commonly faked.
• You plan to sell through an auction house that expects a certificate.
• The value depends on things a photo can't show: regumming, repairs or thin spots on the back.

Expertizing services such as the American Philatelic Society's APEX, the Philatelic Foundation and BPA Expertising issue certificates of genuineness for a fee.

Is StampGo available for iPhone and Android?

Yes. StampGo is available for iOS on the App Store and for Android on Google Play.

The download buttons on this page take you straight to StampGo's listing in the right store. On a computer, scan the QR code for your phone with its camera.