UK Telephone Card Catalogues

Over the years there have been many published telephone card catalogues, these catalogues were and are still extremely invaluable for collectors. They provide such information as photos and descriptions for all the cards, the quantity that were issued and the price a card at the time of printing would expect to sell for. The first Phonecard catalogue was printed in 1991 and the latest (and possibly last) was printed in 2006. Below are the majority of the different catalogues and information about what is contained within, starting with the most recent.

World Phonecard Catalogue United Kingdom 2

Published in 2006 this is the most recent Phonecard catalogue that is available and a must for British Telecom (BT) chip card collectors with all issues being included. The catalogue also includes a number of smaller UK telephone card company issues and partnerships with BT and other telecommunication companies in Europe including with France Telecom and Belgacom with a series of cards that could only be used on board the Eurostar trains.

The WPC UK 2 catalogue includes the following telephone cards:

BT smart/chip cards, Eurostar cards, Mercurycards (UK and overseas), Paytelco cards, New World Payphones - Cardlink, Smartz and TalkAround cards, British Rail Telecommunication cards, Nynex cards, Plessey cards, GPT cards, Smart cards, Landis & Gyr cards, Satellite cards, BT/Albacom cards (Italy), BT/Belgium cards (Belgium), BT/Telfort cards (the Netherlands), BT Remote Memory cards, BT Chargecards, BT and Mercurycard proof cards. Plus following the publication of United Kingdom 1 catalogue which covers BT optical cards, there's an update covering miscellaneous cards, additional control numbers, oil rig, prison and engineering trial cards.

If you'd like to own a copy of this catalogue, I now have a strictly limited number in which you can purchase. The UK 2 catalogue can be viewed and purchased via this website.

Printed: 2006
ISBN: 0-9524328-2-X

World Phonecard Catalogue United Kingdom 1

This is the first of two catalogues covering BT Phonecards indepth, while the second one (above) deals with BT chip cards, this first issue covers BT optical phone cards. Although a few optical cards appeared in the United Kingdom 2 update in the back few pages, this catalogue is an absolute must for any collector of BT optical cards. Included in the catalogue are pages of never seen before (well printed at least) BT miscellaneous, trial and proof cards.

The WPC UK 1 catalogue includes the following telephone cards:

BT Advertising cards (BTA), BT Commemorative cards (BTC), BT Definitive cards (BTD), BT General cards (BTG), BT Internal cards (BTI), BT Medical cards (BTM), BT Overseas cards (BTO), BT Promotional cards (BTP), BT Staff Leaving cards (BTL), BT Visiting cards (BTV), BT Gains International Visiting cards (GIV), BT General Visiting cards (BGV), Landis & Gyr Visiting cards (LGV), BT Service cards (BTS), BT Test cards (BTT), BT Engineering Trial cards (BTE), BT Miscellaneous cards (BTX), BT Trial and Proof cards, BT H.M. Prison cards (CUP), Oil and Gas Rig Cards (CUR), Oil and Gas Rig Service Cards (CUT), BT Inmarsat cards (CUX) and Isle of Man optical cards (IOM).

If you'd like to own a copy of this catalogue, I now have a strictly limited number in which you can purchase. The UK 1 catalogue can be viewed and purchased online via this website.

Printed: 2001
ISBN: 0-9524328-1-1

The Standard Catalogue of UK Telephone Cards

The Standard Catalogue of UK Telephone Cards was first issue in 1994, and was produced in a loose-leaf format with pages then going into a ring binder. This clever design allowed for updates (approx. one per year) to be published and the pages removed when new cards were added to a particular category or section of cards. Along with new card issues with each update, price lists could also be changed.

The Standard Catalogue of UK Telephone Cards (with updates 1-4) includes the following telephone cards:

British Telecom cards - BTA Advertising cards, BTC Commemorative cards, BTD Definitive cards, BTG General cards, BTI Internal cards, BTM Medical cards, BTO Overseas cards, BTP Company Promotional cards, BTV Visiting cards, BTS Service cards, BTT Test cards, CUP BT H.M. Prison cards, BCF BT Chipcard Forerunners, Mercurycards, Nynex Cable cards, Paytelco cards, Jersey Telecom cards, Guernsey Telecom cards, Isle of Man optical, magnetic and smart/chip cards, Offshore Gas and Oil Platform cards, New World Payphones - Cardlink cards, Cambridge Telephones cards, Kite Communications cards, Inmarsat cards, British Rail Telecommunications cards, ACC Long Distance (UK) cards and International Payphones (Scotland) cards.

Printed: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
ISBN: 0-9524328-0-3

BT Phonecard Catalogue - A guide for telephone card collectors - Volume 1

This catalogue was issued by British Telecom to support their internal club for collecting phone cards named BT Phonecard Collectors Club which later became BT Phonecard Direct. The catalogue wasn't a comprehensive list of all BT's cards, rather the cards that collectors could buy through the BT collectors clubs. The catalogue gave the number of cards that were issued altogether and the number available to collectors through BT's club. The catalogue covers issues from July 1981 to May 1994 and a number of presentation packs - where sets of cards were issued in envelopes or pieces of card to display the cards.

BT Phonecard Catalogue Volume 1 includes the following telephone cards:

BT Phonecards - Definitive phonecards, Special phonecards, Branded cards, Advertising cards, Private Promotional cards and 7 presentation packs.

Printed: 1994
ISBN: N/A

Telephone cards of the world - Part 1 - Great Britain and Ireland

A catalogue from the (fairly) early days of collecting in 1993. Like the catalogue below a different lesser known BT card number referencing is used e.g. A20 for an advertising cards, S10 for Special/Commemorative issues. This catalogue also includes the first private BT issues, later known as General (BTG).

This catalogue also includes UK issues from Mecurycards, Paytelco, International Payphones, New World Payphones, Plessey/GPT, Jersey Telecom, Guernsey and Ireland.

Telephone cards of the world - Part 1 includes the following telephone cards:

British Telecom - Complimentary cards, Definitive cards, Official/Service cards, Test cards, Special/Commemorative cards, Advertising cards, Private cards, Prison cards, Mecurycards - Complimentary Corporate cards, Definitive Corporate cards, Special Corporate cards, Private cards, Internal cards, Test cards, Paytelco, International Payphones, International Payphones Scotland, Cambridge Telephones, New World Payphones - Cardlink cards, Immarsat cards, Offshore Oil and Gas Platform cards, Plessey/GPT cards, Guernsey, Ireland - Dublin Definitive cards, Dublin Special cards, Limerick Definitive cards, Limerick Special cards, Galway Definitive cards, Electronic chip cards, Isle of Man - Optical cards, Magnetic cards and Jersey.

Printed: 1993 (Fourth Edition)
ISBN: 1-898344-00-0

Collect British and Irish Telephone Cards

Printed in 1991 this publication by Stanley Gibbons like the catalogue above uses a different BT card referencing system from the later and better known reference numbers given to each card. This early issue also doesn't BT private issues later known as BTG General cards. Private issues started appearing in 1992 when British Telecom reduced their minimum order quantity down to just 500 cards, previously it had been 5,000.

This catalogue also includes early issue Mecurycards as well as Irish, Guernsey and Isle of Man cards.

Collect British and Irish telephone cards includes the following telephone cards:

British Telecom - Complimentary cards, Definitive cards, Special/Commemorative cards, Advertising cards, Official/Service cards, Test cards, Prison cards, Mecurycards - Complimentary cards, Definitive cards, Special / Corporate cards, Internal card, Test cards, Paytelco, International Payphones, Immarsat cards, Offshore Oil and Gas Rigs (Platform) cards, Plessey/GPT cards, Ireland CallCards - Dublin Definitive cards, Dublin Special cards, Limerick Definitive cards, Limerick Special cards, Galway Definitive cards, Electronic smart cards, Isle of Man - Optical cards, Magnetic cards and Jersey.

Printed: 1991
ISBN: 0-85259-307-4

If you have any questions about the various telephone card catalogues please contact me on my website or if you're on Facebook contact me via my Facebook page.

Although all of the catalogues above are now out of print, they do occasionally pop up on eBay. I also know of a dealer/Phonecard collector who has copies of the two most recent catalogues (World Phonecard Catalogue UK 1 and 2) to sell, if you'd like to buy a copy please contact me and I'll pass your e-mail address on.

Interested in learning more about collecting telephone cards? See the collectors guide for an introduction to collecting including what to collect, where to buy and how to store phonecards.

Last updated: 8th January 2024