Would You Buy This USA #1?

The only thing going for this stamp is its XF centering. Now, I don't say it is worthless, just that is worth little. I find it incredible that it sold for $201.51 on ebay. By the way, I find no fault with the seller who started the bid at 99 cents nor with ebay. IMHO,the selling price is a good example of what uninformed buyers will pay for a classic US #1 stamp.

It sure looks like a child got his/her hands on a great stamp and did what any kid would do with paper and a red crayon. Note the other damage as well.

I'm interested in hearing from our experts, what they would have paid for it.

quigngt......


I don't think a child did this.......I think a seller that doesn't care how he makes a buck did it.....the crayon marks are obviously there to try to hide damage.........I would never bid on this sad Benjamin.

I have to agree with Tom. Not even a good space filler.




Butch

Their are ways to remove the crayon. But, overall condition (except for centering) looks to poor to try. I would also pass.

That isn't just a cancel in red?

Sharkfan......

That bright red is not a cancel from 1847.....it is much newer.....and did you notice that it is all right where the worst damage is ? I really doubt that it's a coincidence.

notrare,

Yes, I believe you are correct. It does appear to have red crayon, or whatever it is, directly over major damage spots. If it is deliberate, then I retract my statement of not finding fault with the seller.

What I am hearing is what I expected, you would all pass on this one. I would have bid $5, just to have it as a curiosity.

quigngt.....

I suppose it's possible that this seller didn't put the crayon marks on this stamp.....I'd be curious to see how they described it.

What's the auction number ?

ebay item #390165073824

Description was:

"U.S. #1, XF GEM App - FRESH LOOKING STAMP 99¢ AUCTION" and further down on the listing it also said "Re-backed over thin"

"XF GEM App - FRESH LOOKING STAMP".....absolute crap.....if this is "fresh" looking I hate to see what they consider abused !

I could tell by the scan that the stamp has been re-backed. It looks as if the adhesive the "re-backer" used soaked through the paper and has stained the stamp, also. It's not worth the paper it is printed on.

David

a fool and his money are soon parted

I love everyone's comments for this stamp. Personally I thought the screen on my computer was going bad when I read the "fresh looking stamp" description and I was curious what you all would have to say. You guys are great.

marty

In all fairness, I would have paid 99 cents for that stamp.

Sadly, I would not even have paid one cent for this stamp. In my opinion, a computer-generated place-holder would be better than this. I just can't understand why someone pays that kind of money for such a stamp. It can't be "having too much money" because in that case, he would have the money to buy a decent copy of US #1, too. It has to be something like "I must have it now" ...

Weird.

I wouldn't have paid $200+ for it, but I would have paid more than 1c. I don't have a US #1, and I don't have $500 to go spend on a genuine XF Gem. In this thread, I see bids of 99c and $5. I'd be willing to buy it for $5.25. Sure, a replica would look better, but it's still not an original US #1. It's worth $5.25 of pleasure to me to be able to say to myself, I've got a US #1.

The stamp may be beat up, scratched, all marked up, and the back needs support -- but the same could be said about me, and the stamp still looks better!