What are my stamps worth

Just wondering if they are worth anything20210720_194718~3
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  • 17 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • WJW!!!!! I have not seen any 'Bundleware' for many years.
  • Dan , that does bring back memories doesn't it... but I do not see anything eye-popping ...but its really hard to say
  • In general most of the valuable stamps in philately fall into one of two categories: 1) OLD (really old, pre-1900) or 2) Errors (Also known as EFO, or Errors, Freaks and Oddities). The real reason for that is scarceness of the items. (Like the C3a "Upside down airplane", there are only 100 of them, 98 known, and it has a really interesting story to go with it).

    If your stamp is from 1940 or later, then it's really going to be about something "unusual" -- is it a pair with imperforate between them, is there a color missing, is some part of it printed "inverted" to the rest of them. All the "modern day (post 1940)" stamps of high value (at least in US philatelics) are the result of some error. (Bugs Bunny imperf, "CIA" invert -- the stamp that you show on the cover there, but the candle is inverted to the text). These have high value because there are few and manage to be missed by quality control.

    The other element that CAN make even a modern stamp valuable is the cover. If it is on cover, and it is from someone prominent in some way (think Einstein sends a letter to his son, or Picasso addresses a letter to a gallery) these can be of high value. I handled a Charles Limburg first flight cover that had his and the postmaster's signature on it. A regular C10 on cover is worth about $5, but I sold this one for $5,000 back in 2018.

    If a stamp is REALLY REALLY common, and you have stacks of them (like above), unless there is some error (crack in the image, unusual perforation), then you can expect it to be low value. Some interesting covers might be attractive to certain collectors as well, with from/to destination or "illegal usage" where maybe there is a revenue stamp on the cover that was accepted for postage, these oddities garner higher values.
  • Can anyone help me out with values here
  • edited July 2021 2 LikesVote Down
    Cant buy a Happy Meal at McDonalds for what that’s worth
  • Nor an unhappy one, for that matter.
  • Thanks for all the comments but I still have no idea what I got is worth. Does anyone know what the lot is worth
  • I seen the res cross one in the bottom corner online goin for good money but im.not sure y
  • Greg, here's the skinny. The stacks of envelopes, we call them covers, might be worth a buck or three apiece to those that are interested in postal history. The stacks of stamps, well, if you have twenty or a hundred of the same stamp, its obviously not rare, not scarce, and not worth much at all. Having said that, I'll grant that I really cannot tell much from your photos, maybe you do have something. But I doubt it. I would also observe that with stamp collecting, the only way to get a free appraisal is to do it yourself. Good luck.
  • Gregory,
    It really depends a lot on condition and specific stamp. Condition can only be determined by physical inspection. At the end of the day they are worth what someone else is willing to pay for them. No more or less. The scott catalogue assigns a minimum value for any stamp to be 25 cents. Not necessarily because the stamp has value but to account for the effort the collector will have to go through to resell it, even then you'll be lucky to get 5-10 cents for it.
    Multiple copies of any given stamp (bundles) to me indicates that they are common stamps. I personally have never seen any stamp of value run in packs.
    If you are holding a collection from a family member, you likely have more sentimental value than actual cash value. If you have found some of them on line, great. That is the best indicator available for the value of any given stamp as long as the condition is the same.
  • if you're really concerned about money and value, well , here's a guarantee...you will actually lose money if you drive more than 10 miles roundtrip just to get someone to look at that specific stamp based on gas prices and wear and tear on your vehicle.
  • "OLD" does not connote value when it comes to stamps. I have stamps issued in 2020 that are worth more than each of those stamps.
  • The stamp is a Scott #300 on cover which gives it a value of around 75 cents (according to Scott). That said, it may be of interest to someone who specializes in the 300 to 318. It is interesting that the Pontiac postmark is from 1908, and these stamps were issued from 1902 - 1903. So someone had it laying around for a while before they put it to good use. Not really constituting "late usage" but it's a little out of the ordinary for stamp to sit that long before being used (especially in 1902).
    I think most you could ever hope to fetch for this is a dollar or two to someone with special interest.
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