A Little Regret

Went to a Stamp Show today with my 11 year old son. While I was at another table my son was looking intently at some covers nearby. I went over to where he was at and he had a cover in his hand. He said, "dad look at what I found". The first thing that crossed my mind was the price on the cover was $40.00 so I said thats great but you cant afford it. And since I'm not a "serious" cover collector, $40 was out of my range as well.

It could have ended there but he said, "but dad look who it is addressed to". I looked and low and behold it was addressed to my great great uncle on my mothers side, Alexander Hamilton Stephens. My son said, "that's pretty cool huh?". I agreed and said but thats still a lot to pay and I had no idea what it was worth. So we passed on it.

Now I am back home and I am having some regret for not picking it up. I may head back out tomorrow to see if I can get it but I will sleep on it.

Is $40 too much for a basic cover with a relative on it that just happened to also be the Vice President of the Confederacy? I don't know....

It's hard to say without seeing the cover, but you refer to the Confederacy, so you're talking a Civil War cover, which would have a high demand in the marketplace to begin with.

Does the cover bear a Confederate stamp or interesting postmark? Is the cover is decent condition? If it's addressed to someone who was the Vice President of the Confederacy, then that certainly puts a premium value on it. As a family heirloom, that would certainly put a further premium on it based solely on your family's interest in the item. All of that must be taken into consideration in order to properly assess if an appropriate value is placed on the cover.

Besides, just because the cover is marked $40, doesn't mean the dealer might not settle for less. It's always worthwhile to attempt to bargain the price down a bit. Cash is king when it comes to these sort of things, so if you make a reasonable counter offer you may be able to obtain the piece for less than the asking price...sometimes far less.

In my opinion, the family connection would make the cover priceless to you or your family, so that would be the primary consideration I would give as to whether you should purchase the item or not.

Go back, Buy it, Give it to you son for his next birthday/ Christmas/ or just give to to him! Priceless!

Being deep into genealogy as another interest, I am always on the lookout for covers which may bear on my lineage. Personally, unless I had scads of covers addressed to that individual, I would have purchased it. Did you make an offer? Explaining the situation, the dealer possibly would make a deal.
Were you at the stamp show at the Charlotte senior center? If so, it goes from 12-4 tomorrow (same time as the Charlotte philetelic club meeting!). The cover may still be there!

Good luck tomorrow. Hopefully the cover will still be there and your son will be thrilled.
A suggestion. I may be paranoid (doesn't mean they're not out to get me!) but I wouldn't mention your relationship to the addressee or who he was. This may alert the seller to the premium and make it more difficult to haggle the price down. Better safe than sorry.

Hi to all
Yes I agree, buy it.
The regrets of life last forever as a song says.
I one spent $60.00 on a book when I could not afford it, only because it was written by my Great Grandfather's Brother and it was written in 1833. I did the same thing, I did not buy it, and tossed and turned all night and was lucky it was still there the next day.
Buy, or you will be forever saying, I should have bought that.
Horaramkhet

I agree with the rest.

I'd try negotiating it down, but if that doesn't work, then either a) remind him your son wanted it today and see if he caves, or b) tell him about the family connection.

And if nothing works, I'd still buy it. How often is this ever going to happen? And my husband and I have virtually no family heirlooms, which makes me a bit sentimental on the subject -- not to mention jealous of people who do have / can acquire. Like you!

go for it Big Texx - you will only regret it if you dont - what a great family heirloom it will be

Big Texx
Definitely, go back and buy. Finding a historical cover with a family connection is well worth the asking price, so that it can be where it belongs, rather than in a stranger's cover album.
DavidR

I always make a counter-offer at stamp shows, my perspective being that I already know what I can get it for. If I can't get it lowered then as a last resort I explain my interest. I have had some dealers give me a break. Regardless, in a situation such as this, the personal relationship to the cocver justifies the cost.

Big Texx,
If you decide to get it, please scan it and show it to us. And show us a picture of your great great uncle too!
Karen

Unfortunately we had some family business that kept me from getting back out to the show on Sunday. The good news is that this dealer is frequently at the shows in NC so I should be able to pick it up at the next show. I will keep my fingers crossed that it is still available.

I would personally NEVER walk away from a philatelic family heirloom.

I post a find of mine a couple of years ago:

http://goscf.com/t/7311#7311

Big Texx, you might want to call the dealer or write him a letter asking about the cover. I have had dealers send me things in the mail before and they were very happy to do so.

Good luck!

Aimee