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What to do with stamp collection?
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Posted by: Gary B.---------------------
I'm lookin' for ideas here. My parents passed away recently (explains my absence here at DRN) and and I aquired a box full of stamps from the 20's, 30's, and maybe 40's. I need to set aside a full day at least to do some kind of inventory (ain't happenin' in summer!) I don't have any idea what is in there or what it's worth. Maybe he left me a gold mine, and I don't want to be left with the shaft. Where do I start looking? Who can I trust to give me a fair price? I'm in no hurry here either, as this stuff ain't takin' up much room. :confused:
Posted by: Treejumper---------------------
I'd just lick them all to see what the glue tastes like from different era's! 
Seriously, i dont know but wanted to say i'm sorry to hear about your parents.
Posted by: Gary B.---------------------
Real funny, but if you saw my parent's house you wouldn't be sticking your tongue on anything that came from there. 
Posted by: 70 marlin---------------------
save them!
Posted by: Senior KX Rider---------------------
I agree with pat.....save them. When my dad passed 5 years ago he knew it was coming and he gave me a gold pocket watch that I later found out his dad gave him. It has been appraised at over $5000 and I would not part with it for 10 times that much 
Posted by: Gary B.---------------------
Basically, I'd like to know what this stuff might be worth, and no, there is no great sentimental value here as my father isn't exactly missed in these parts. 
He passed away May 3, and Mom lost her battle with cancer on June 12. 
She's the one I miss.
Anyway...I'm hoping someone out there can at least point me in the right direction.
Posted by: biglou---------------------
I'm sure there are "guides" (catalogs) that have stamp values in them, just like comic books. Probably the hardest part will be knowing what you have since it sounds like this isn't your hobby. I would definitely take inventory and make a list of what is there. Maybe even take a digital picture(s) of everything. You may also find an appraiser to see what the set is worth. If these are valuable, I'd say hang onto them, and definitely store them in a safe deposit box at the bank. Possibly see about insuring the collection as well.
Posted by: gwcrim---------------------
An appraiser will give a 'opinion' of what he thinks they are worth. Take a look on Ebay to find out what they are bringing on the market.
Posted by: Gary B.---------------------
I did do some poking around on e-bay. Looks like this is gonna be a time consuming thing. One thing I don't have right now are large blocks of time to devote to projects like this. I think I'll stash this stuff in a safe place for now and possibly wait 'til winter to tackle this. 
In the mean time, maybe I can find a local source of info. Time to put some feelers out!!!
Posted by: Tennessee Thumper---------------------
Sorry to hear about your loss.
You may look into finding a stamp collecting forum.I bet you could find something using google.
Posted by: Gary B.---------------------
Thanks, TT, I never thought of that route. I'll give it a try.
Posted by: Jon K.---------------------
Gary; did you father actively collect these stamps (read: spend money for them), or did he simply keep what came his way?
The average stamp collection is virtually worthless unless the collector was (a); very very lucky, or (b); did indeed spend some $$ to accumulate some desirable stuff.
I have some (very) little experience with such things, and can say that you probably shouldn't buy that Hummer quite yet.
Posted by: MrLuckey---------------------
Once upon a time I had huge (at least to me) stamp collection. It was a collection that someone put a lot of time and effort into and was mostly stamps that hadn't been used and seemed pretty old from all over the world. I had the same problem as you with no idea where to start. The biggest problem I ran into was that I had literally thousands of stamps and it seemed to me that unlike baseball cards or coins - there wasn't a comprehesive list anywhere (see next statement as to why I think this is). The more I tried to research it, the more it seemed like there must be 50 million different stamps made in just the last 50 years.
After spending lots and lots of time getting next to nowhere, I gave up and let it go for next to nothing.
Good luck and I hope you find some valuables hidden in there.
Posted by: Jon K.---------------------
Mr. Luckey raises a good point. Are these world-wide stamps? Or US stamps? US stamps are much easier to deal with as far a valuation goes.
Posted by: Gary B.---------------------
Happy happy joy joy! They are (if I remember) from all over the world. 
This looks like it's gonna be massive undertaking. :scream:
Posted by: Smitty---------------------
What about "Antiques Road Show"? You know that sunday morning tv show where experts appraise antiques. Maybe they'll be near you soon.
Posted by: AngryCandy---------------------
Gary,
My son just went through a similar ordeal trying to place a value on a large shoebox full of loose stamps from his great-grandfather. He went to a collector and the guy offered $25 for the whole box without looking through them. He also offered to let his expert sort through them one by one to let us know if there was anything valuable in there. This was about a month ago and they still have the stamps. How do you know if the "expert" isn't just going to stick a valuable one in his pocket, I have no idea, but we took our chances anyway.
Posted by: Gary B.---------------------
That's what bothers me. You don't know if the "expert" is trying to screw you or not.
Posted by: toalco-kdx---------------------
yea i wouldnt send anything in to an "expert" and leave them with him. he proabbly screw you big time since u have no idea what there worth. u can probably find some sort of guide on the internet that might have prices of some collectors item stamps.
Posted by: Offroadr---------------------
you would probably have to make a list of what they are before you hand them over to make sure you got them back, or pics with a digi camera
Alot of work for sure!
Posted by: whyzee---------------------
Gary, keeping a stamp collection is a lot of work, categorizing and verifying the stamps is a very tedious chore. I know. I have been avoiding replying to this thread because up until about 8 years ago I spent a lot of time (and money) on my stamps. I was going for mostly un-circulated but had 3 albums and boxes of spares. I also collected full sheets. (this still bothers me to think of it) Well one day my basement flooded, the desk, boxes and everything that I had kept my stamps in was soaked. Full sheets of stamps from the early 1900’s became stacks of glued together mess. We contacted the insurance, bla bla, bla, took what I had to a dealer I knew, It would have been so expensive to process the mess (unglue & dry everything) just so that we could verify everything for the insurance…. We just left it the way it was. My stamp & coin dealer set a value based on what I told him and insurance finally came through. To this day, I have never bought another stamp other than for mail. Keep what you have (in a safe place), give it to your children when they are responsible enough. They may build on what your Dad started.
Good luck
Posted by: Erick82---------------------
Unused are worth face value, used are worthless. Hope this helps.
Posted by: MrLuckey---------------------
Quote:
Originally posted by Erick82
Unused are worth face value, used are worthless. Hope this helps.
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Don't know much about stamps do we?
Posted by: oldguy---------------------
Quote:
Originally posted by Erick82
Unused are worth face value, used are worthless. Hope this helps.
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In this case Gary if you have any with a plane flying upside down I'd love to give you double face value (around 6 cents I tink)
Posted by: Jon K.---------------------
Quote:
Originally posted by oldguy
In this case Gary if you have any with a plane flying upside down I'd love to give you double face value (around 6 cents I tink)
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Gary; you don't happen to live next door to Mr. Wilson eh?
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