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Welcome to The Gibraltar Study Circle (GSC) web site.

Are you interested in the Stamps, Postal History or Stationery of Gibraltar or Morocco?

If so, come join us!

The GSC is a global non-profit society founded by Wally Jackson in 1975.  It aims to expand the knowledge of the philately of Gibraltar in all its forms for the benefit of collectors (philatelists) from all levels and walks of life. This includes postal history, stamps, postal stationery and associated overprints from Gibraltar and any of these used in Morocco.

Notification of the 48th GSC Annual General Meeting

The 48th Annual General Meeting of the Gibraltar Study Circle will be held at 16:00 hrs on Saturday 23rd March 2024 as part of the Spring Weekend Meeting, dtails below.

Next Meetings:

Spring AGM Weekend Meeting 22nd – 24th March 2024

The Spring Weekend Meeting runs from Friday 22nd March 2024 to Sunday 24th March 2024 at:
Bournemouth Carlton Hotel, Grove Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH1 3DN, U.K.
Please book with the hotel directly on +44 1202 552011 quoting ‘Block ID 5887080‘ and let the Honorary General Secretary, Susan Dare, know so she can send you the menu for the evening meals.  The rates for the hotel are:-
  • Double Occupancy – £149 Dinner, Bed and Breakfast per night
  • Single Occupancy –  £114 Dinner, Bed and Breakfast per night.

Autumn Competition Weekend 20th – 22nd September 2024

The Autumn Competition Weekend 2024 is to be held 20th – 22nd September 2024 at:
Derby Mickleover Hotel, Etwall Road, Derby, DE3 0XX, UK
Please book with the hotel directly on +44 330 0283 404 quoting ‘Gibraltar Study Circle Competition Weekend’ and let the Honorary General Secretary, Susan Dare, know so she can send you the menu for the evening meals.  The Rates for the hotel are:-
  • Double Occupancy – £180 Dinner, Bed and Breakfast per night
  • Single Occupancy –  £150 Dinner, Bed and Breakfast per night.

Gibraltar SG504
Global philately

Membership

The GSC has a global membership covering six continents.  The research carried out by the members has resulted in the GSC being the foremost source of expertise on Gibraltar philately in the world.

If you are interested in becoming a member please fill out and send the Online Membership Form.  If you have any questions please contact the Honorary Membership Secretary via our Contact Us page.

We extend a warm welcome to new members wherever you may live and whatever level of expertise you may have – beginner or seasoned collector with years of expertise. 

Meetings

Weekend meetings are held twice a year in the UK, typically the AGM weekend in Spring and the Competition weekend in Autumn.  Competitions are only open to GSC members.  Members can find more details including entry forms by logging in.

The locations of the meetings are varied to make it easier for people to get to at least one meeting a year.

Families of members are made most welcome.  We try to encourage the social side of the meetings to ensure it is not just about the philately.

We also organise meetings in Gibraltar every few years to which all members are invited.  The most recent visit was in October 2019.

Auctions

There are two auctions of general philatelic material per year, arranged to coincide with the Sunday morning of the weekend meetings.  These auctions comprise up to 400 lots with bidding accepted both in person and via post from members worldwide.

Gib_SG1175
A packet Ship

Postal Packet

The GSC offers a Postal Packet in the UK.  This provides members with:

  • an inexpensive way of obtaining more common material
  • an outlet for their surplus philatelic items.

We are sorry, we cannot extend this internationally as the cost of insurance is prohibitive.

Publications

Books

Gib_SG1506Prior to the formation of the GSC, information about the Postal History and Stamps of Gibraltar was scarce.  There were just two or three publications from the early part of the century, such as The Postage Stamps Of Gibraltar“, by Sir Geoffrey Duveen – Published in 1932, updated 1972

This was enhanced in 1978 by the publication of an excellent summary of Gibraltar postal affairs called Posted in Gibraltar by Brigadier William Hine-Haycock.

Since then, The GSC has published a number of other books covering a wide array of philatelic subjects.  A full list can be seen here.

Study PapersGib_SG1663

Many of these publications started life as Study Papers.  These are exploratory publications putting forward the research of the authors, expressing the ideas and concepts and asking for others to contribute to the knowledge on the subject.  Once sufficient knowledge has been garnered, the Study Paper is put into book format for a more formal publication.  Members of the Study Circle have issued 26 Study Papers on various topics including:

  • Errors and Varieties
  • Forwarding Agents
  • Gibraltar Zeppelin Mail.

The full list can be found here.

“The Rock” Newsletter

Our full colour newsletter, ‘The Rock’, is published quarterly and sent to all members worldwide.  This publication carries a wide variety of articles – mostly philatelic, but not always.  These are submitted by both members and others who are interested in Gibraltar and Morocco Agencies Philately.  Samples of the articles can be found here.