›

SMQ Pricing is confusing

stuart mountsstuart mount
in Chatter 0 LikesVote Down
I was looking up some stamps on the SMQ site and found it confusing. Many used stamps are worth more than a MNH stamp with the same grading? Can anyone shed some light on why a used stamp would have a higher SMQ value than the same stamp MNH with the same condition grading? I looked up 619 5c Minute Man and here are the values: graded 95 used $140, graded 95 MNH $120. I saw this trend on many stamps I looked up, with the used worth more than the MNH. Seemed strange to me. Comments

Comments

  • 2 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • Ted TyszkaTed Tyszka
    0 LikesVote Down
    My guess (and it is only that, a guess) is that we 're starting with a stamp which has a Used value not that much lower than that for an MNH copy. For a 619 MNH to receive a grade of 95 or higher (95 being the point at which the MNH and Used values flip), it basically only has to have near perfect centering. A Used stamp, on the other hand, would not only require near-perfect centering, but would have to be free of damage from cancelling, soaking, hinges, hinge removal, etc, as well as have a nice cancel - not too heavy, not smudged, etc. That makes finding a Used grade 95 or 98 that much more harder to find, and thus more valuable, than a MNH 95 or 98.
  • stuart mountsstuart mount
    0 LikesVote Down
    Your reasoning does make sense. There are probably fewer graded 98 used out there than 98 MNH. As you stated, it would have to be a stamp where the used and unused values are relatively close for this to happen. Thanks for your input.
Sign In or Register to comment.