What can be Done: El Salvador is an excellent country to collect. The classic stamps are accessible and the number of varieties manageable. The twentieth century has numerous long and interesting sets. Airmails are completeable, and the Officials have a great deal of interest. Further, since 2001, El Salvador has used the US dollar as its currency. A few nations do this (Ecuador is another). The reason is that these countries have trouble managing their debt and their budgets. Using the US dollar means that there is a stable exchange rate. This means that Salvadoran stamps don’t depreciate if the national economy deteriorates. As a result of using the US dollar, El Salvador has had rapid growth for over a decade.
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El Salvador is one of one of several countries that collectors often consider when they are looking for a second country to collect. If you collect United States stamps, for instance, you very quickly come to the point where each stamp is costing you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. If you add a collection of El Salvador, you are collecting a country where the stamps are attractive and interesting and where there are virtually no stam
ps valued at more than $100. So it becomes the search that philatelists who collect this country enjoy.
Specialized Catalogs: The Scott Classic Specialized catalog is very good for El Salvador.
Specialty Albums: The Scott Specialty album is very good for El Salvador.
Availability of Material: Good collections of El Salvador are seldom seen. El Salvador never issued stamps for philatelists and was not tied into the new issue network that began worldwide in the mid-twentieth century so that even sets that catalog $20 are tough to obtain. Because of the popularity of El Salva
dor and the difficulty in finding material, most El Salvador stamps get quickly scooped up when they are offered. It’s always interesting when a collector begins El Salvador after collecting a more easy to find country. Many collectors are not used to having to search hard for their stamaps and having to buy them immediately when they are offered. That is the case with El Salvador, so if you decide to collect this country be prepared for a new buying experience.
Expense: There are almost no stamps of El Salvador that sell for more than $100, and the entire country probably catalogs less than $5,000. The difficulty in collecting El Salvador is not expense but finding the material.
Overall Grade: B