Websites providing useful information to stamp collectors are few and far between unfortunately, despite the fact that the internet has been around for nearly 30 years now. Fortunately, there are a few out there that are veritable gold mines of information for the specialist, and it behooves me to mention them to you here.
Re-Entries Website By Ralph Trimble
Ralph is a leading world expert in re-entries and for many years he has been documenting and plating all the re-entries he can find on Canadian stamps, and to a lesser extent, stamps from other countries. He is exceptionally strong in the early classic period to the end of the Admiral period and his site is replete with high resolution scans that show each re-entry in amazing detail. He annotates all his scans extensively as well and explains exactly what to look for. You can access this site via the following link:
Postal History Corner By Phil Covex
This is an amazingly detailed website for the postal history collector, that covers postage rates and usages on all Canadian stamp issues right up to the 2000's. Phil is meticulous in his analysis of the postage rates evidenced by the frankings on the covers. Sadly though, he is no longer with us, and the site has not been updated since 2014. But it remains an invaluable must for any collector wishing to specialize in Canadian postal history. You can access the site via the link below:
http://postalhistorycorner.blogspot.com/
Flyspecker.com By Scott Robinson
This website provides nice images of most Canadian plate flaws and constant varieties on Canada's engraved stamps. Most of these, as Scott points out are not well illustrated in Unitrade, so this is a valuable reference when checking through your stamps for these varieties. You can access the site via the link below:
Phil Bansner's Literature Website
Phil is a literature dealer in the US whose inventory has nearly any philatelic reference book you could ever want or need. His website is user friendly and easy to search. You can access it via the following link:
https://www.philbansner.com/default.htm
BNA Proofs Website
An invaluable website that lists almost all the documented essays, die proofs, plate proofs and other collateral material for most all Canadian stamp issues to the 1970's including revenues. The site lists and describes each item, and is easy to navigate. The listings tell you how many known examples there are, what the approximate value is, based on auction prices realized, and most of the items have clickable illustrations. This site is a must for those specialists who are trying to scope out their collecting area to determine what exists before they start collecting.
You can access the site here:
The Broke Stamp Collector
This excellent blog has been started by a new collector who I consider a friend. He basically inherited a stamp collection, which was in such terrible shape he had to throw it out. But rather than walk away from the hobby, he decided to start anew. His posts, in my opinion exemplify what this hobby is truly about: he doesn't have a lot of stamps, or very expensive stamps, but he does enjoy what he does have to the fullest. His posts take a stamp from his collection and delve into the the story behind the subject matter on the stamp. They are not too long - just long enough to read over your morning coffee or on your lunch hour or coffee break. I find them very fascinating and learn a lot from them. You can access the blog via the following link: