Inherited Tons Of Stamps - Where Do I Begin??

Hello everyone!

When my dad passed way, I was sent a couple of boxes of stamps that my dad had been collecting and buying .. for 40+ years?

He spent a ton of money on collector sets.
As I look at it all, it is nice, but not of any interest.
Now if he would have left me all his wood working tools and machines - I would have been in heaven!!

So, rather than throwing these in storage and not dumb enough to throw them away, I'm sure some folks would be estatic to buy these. Of course, I suppose I could use them to "wallpaper" my craft room. Well, maybe not.

Any suggestions you have as to how to start identifying them, sorting them and valuing them and where to sell them would be greatly appreciated.

Best to you all,
Ladybug
...aka - Mom, wife, opera singer, piano player, painter, computer programmer, computer geek, health care analyst, teacher of alternative medical methods and now full time mom of an adorable little puppy. See why I don't have time for stamps?

Oh.. and I am poking around on the forums as well and getting acquainted. But HOW does one know the true value of a stamp?
I see where people have listed what they are collecting and I definitely have them - but how / where do I find an 'honest' price? Is there like a "Stamp Bible" somewhere?

Thanks again.

Evaluate them with a scott catalogue, but remember that stamps usually go for about a third to half of the scott catalogue value unless the stamp is very rare or desirable. If you don't know where to start you can also just take them to a stamp dealer to have them appraised. Hope this helps.

Thank you. Scott catalog - I'm off to find that. If you think of anything else please feel free to share.

Oh.. and let me ask you this.. Should I mount these loose stamps on something? If so, what?

Well, to the stamp collector it's a bit of in the heart, in the brain and in the wallet. Combinations of all three.

Seriously.

Welcome, by the way.

There are catalogues that, if you know what you have already (or want to know what you might have) give you prices a dealer would use as a guide (we all use them as rough guides to relative worth) when selling and gives a percentage of that price when he or she is buying.

Three things make a difference when stamp collecting or I should say buying and selling. Condition and condition and condition. Oh, the heart factor does get in there at times too, and the curiosity and accumulating and brainy factor too. But condition is a cover-all word for eye appeal or how the stamp(s) appeal to you.

So, Scott catalogue is used in North America mostly for numbering and pricing. If you get 25% of catalogue you are doing well and if the stamp(s)'s condition is really great you can get more than catalogue. Selling in a large collection or group the percentage goes down usually, of what you will get when selling.

There are some major auction houses (I don't know them) that others here can recommend, depending on where you would like to send the collection to, distance and weight wise that is, if that is a factor.

And don't ignore the value to you of the collection(s) as a memento of your father. Priceless. When it's gone, it's gone, however valuable in monetary terms it might be.

Oh, and don't be reading too much on Stamp Community, fair warning. You'll get hooked on stamps soon enough and we'll never get rid of you.

Ladybug,
I always suggest that people in your position seek out a club or visit a stamp show to connect with other collectors You will find that most collectors will be willing to give you an honest assessment of what you have. Don't expect them to value them for you, but they will direct you as to what you should look for. I hope you decide to take up your dad's collection, but if you don't I would suggest that you use an auctioneer who specializes in philatelic material to help you sell your collection for the maximum value.

Good luck and I hope to hear more about the treasures to be discovered in the boxes you have inherited.

Tim

LOL. Puzzler!

Thanks for that input as well.

What do you suggest I do with these hundreds of stamps (that ARE cool looking) that have been loose in a candy box for years. They are all in good-great shape.
Mount them? How?

LOL about never getting rid of me. Could be! (grin)

You could use stackbooks of various sorts, available at a stamp store or online, or loose stack pages, plastic Vario or Hagner are two well know brands, or glassine (pressed paper that mint stamps don't stick to too much (I think and hope)) envelopes to just sort them in or store them in.

You can sort by country and then denomination or era or colour or subject matter or how much you like them or not. Up to you.

For selling on it's probably best to get them in something that they can be easily seen in, depending on how many of the actually pricey stamps you might have.

Welcome to our forum. You've already made a good start.
I also suggest attending a local stamp club meeting as a visitor and asking for help.
Scott catalogues may be available at your local library.
Even older Scotts issues will give you similar values to a more recent issue as most values don't change that much within a few years.
You haven't mentioned if they are US, Canada, or world-wide stamps.

Vario Pages (double sided) and also available in Plus pages which are stiffer and nicer (don't have, wish I did).



If you click on Reply To Topic you get access to smileys and photo optimizer and editing stuff if you wish to.

I like (too much) eBay for searching for stamps and supplies but some of the sellers there (and not) there also have online stores that can be helpful and good to shop at.

There are other auction sites , BidStart and Delcampe and Wensy and Stamps2Go to name a few that are also used.

If you don't have stamp tongs (tweezers made for use with stamps, rounded off, etc) them get them first, if you are going to play with the stamps to any degree. Avoids damage from finger prints and stuff on your fingers transferring to the stamps.

If you have a scanner we would love to give you our opinions of individual stamps, groups, mishmashes, etc you have questions about.

contemplating a ton of stamps....
1500 per ounce
20000 per pound
40 million per ton!

Unless you have feelings for the stamps....i would say unload them..everyone in the world is not cut out for the life !!

Thank you so much! You guys and gals are awesome!

Most of the stamps are foreign. Some are collector ones and still in the original packing with whole set.
I even see Vietnam. They are all in good shape. Most have postmarks.

I have a scanner.