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Anyone know anything about stamps?
Topic Started: Jan 24 2009, 01:34 PM (530 Views)
Quagmire
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Senior Carp
I collected as a kid. Dont remember a whole lot. But I think I recall a huge value gap depending on condition, and certainly on whether it was cancelled or not. I remember ordering from suppliers large amounts of fairly exotic/rare stamps, but they were cheap as hell and came in fat stuffed envelopes full of them, because they were cancelled (postmarked).

Also, how are they mounted in your album? If they are affixed with adhesive and unshielded (as many albums are), crash and burn. Serious stamps of value are kept very protected. The condition of the perforations (bent or not) and amount of color fading has huge value on impact. Sheets intact, and first day covers are of higher value than their constituent stamps.

The stamp itself is only one small piece of the puzzle, condition is huge.
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RosemaryTwo
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My grandpa used little pieces of adhesive tape--the stamps can sort of flip up, if that makes sense.

They're about half and half cancelled and half not.

They're not in envelopes, but this album hasn't been opened in decades, so the stamps are at least flat and have not been exposed to light.
"Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua
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Quagmire
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RosemaryTwo
Jan 24 2009, 05:36 PM
My grandpa used little pieces of adhesive tape--the stamps can sort of flip up, if that makes sense.

They're about half and half cancelled and half not.

They're not in envelopes, but this album hasn't been opened in decades, so the stamps are at least flat and have not been exposed to light.
Yeah, those are 'hinges'. I used them. Stamps of value should not be mounted that way. Good stamps are kept in glassine envelopes or sleeves and only handled with tweezers, no finger oils.

If your grandpa knew his stuff, then he probably knew those stamps werent valuable, and mounted them that way accordingly. He probably didnt ruin otherwise valuable stamps by mistreating them.

There may be some diamonds in the rough there tho. But take my word with a grain of salt. I was just kid, and many years ago. Just thinking out loud. I mean, certainly condition affects value, but I dont know if something particularly rare wont still carry significant value when cancelled or damaged.
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RosemaryTwo
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This album is from 1922 and the stamps were all collected not much later than that.

He was born in 1916, so I'm guessing he was about 10 to 15-years-old when he stuck these in the album.

I'm suspicious that you're right and that these are worth no more than maybe a few hundred dollars total.

If there are any of value, it's b/c he stuck them in an album as a kid and the album has largely been untouched since then.

Too bad about the hinges, I understand what you're saying.

"Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua
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RosemaryTwo
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I did find a torn off corner of one of my stamps selling for about $40, which makes me wonder what an entire stamp would sell for.
"Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua
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Quagmire
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Well now, actually, at 10 years old (ish) he may not have known the right way to treat stamps, and maybe there's something rare taking a beating on a hinge just waiting to be rescued.

Also, the age of these stamps slipped my notice. I never dealt with anything that old. That may be a whole different ball game. I dunno. Especially since they were obtained that long ago and sat in the album untouched for decades, rather than bouncing around distributors and collectors.

If you have some from countries that dont exist anymore, that could be well worth a look.

Again, I'm no expert. There were thick catalogues I would go to the library to check out. (I think they were published by Scott) that gave the value of all stamps in existance (by year) in both mint and cancelled form. I'd comb thru my whole collection hoping to find something. I suggest you do something similar. I would imagine those resources would be online in this age. But there's definitely channels for you to evaluate the collection yourself before contacting an expert. You could identify the handful of pieces you have that are potentially valuable, and bring those to an experts attention. I wouldnt be discouraged yet, until looking into it more.

Edit: Oops, sorry Mik. I missed your post about the Scott catalogues.
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Quagmire
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RosemaryTwo
Jan 24 2009, 06:10 PM
I did find a torn off corner of one of my stamps selling for about $40, which makes me wonder what an entire stamp would sell for.
Exactly. Its well worth a look.
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RosemaryTwo
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Thanks, Quagmire.

I've ignored them for years and something made me pull the album down this afternoon. I've really enjoyed looking at them.

I think you and Mik are right, I need to haul these babies off to the library to see if they have that Scott index book.

Some of the pictures are amazing. No love hearts on these -- lots of men and landscapes.
"Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua
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kenny
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Uh Oh.
I'm getting interested.
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RosemaryTwo
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A typical page in the album looks like this:

Posted Image
"Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua
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RosemaryTwo
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Kenny, it's fascinating. Understanding world history is important to understanding these stamps.

I have a stamp from 1914 from the Portuguese Congo. Another from 1914 from "Afrique Occidentale Francaise -- Senegal."

Seeing these stamps drives home how different the world was. And they are quite beautiful. I need a magnifying glass.
"Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua
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Quagmire
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Wow. My albums would have actual pictures of the stamps printed on the page, and you'd affix the hinged stamp over top it. Seeing how different (old, period) that page looks by comparison makes me wonder if the actual album itself might not even be an antique, apart from the stamps its houses.
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RosemaryTwo
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Some of the spaces have pictures in this album. Maybe 1/3 of them do.

I have one of these stamps (two cent Carmine) from Newfoundland 1919. I'm also learning that if you have the complete set, they're worth a lot more than if you just had one of say 8 in a series.

Posted Image

Here's one for Thrace, occupation stamp, issued under Allied Occupation. I have this in green:

Posted Image

Some of my favorites are old ones from Turkey:

Posted Image

"Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua
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bachophile
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Posted Image

if u happen to have this one, ill buy it from u for 25 cents. u can make a 1 cent profit, and im missing this particular one from my own collection.
"I don't know much about classical music. For years I thought the Goldberg Variations were something Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg did on their wedding night." Woody Allen
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OperaTenor
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Pisa-Carp
bachophile
Jan 24 2009, 08:31 PM
Posted Image

if u happen to have this one, ill buy it from u for 25 cents. u can make a 1 cent profit, and im missing this particular one from my own collection.
Bach, I pow3ned or whatever the hell it is on post #7 on that one.

:tongue:


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RosemaryTwo
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I've been going through all of my stamps looking for that one. I have a few that are teasingly similar looking, but so far no luck.
"Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua
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