C. Stephen Anderson

I have to start somewhere: I am looking at 15 FDC albums, all full, from 1940 forward, each album with about 100 envelopes. Attached (Foster1) is a sample of the series (all of which are listed below).

Foster2 is an accompanying envelope. Each of envelope of the series is signed by S. C. Anderson.

Can you tell me the significance and/or value of this series is to Philatelists?

Here's my "Start":

Signed C. Stephen Anderson, First Day of Issue:
Washington Irving
James Fennimore Cooper
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Louisa May Alcott
Samuel Longhorn Clemens
James Russell Lowell
Walt Whitman
James Whitcomb Riley
Horace Mann
Mark Hopkins
Charles W. Eliot
Frances Willard
Booker T. Washington
John James Audubon
Crawford W. Long
Luther Burbank
Walter Reed
Jane Addams
Stephen Collins Foster
John Phillips Sousa
Victor Herbert
Edward A. McDowell
James A. McNeill Whistler
Augustus St. Gaudens
Daniel Chester French
Frederic Remington
Eli Whitney
Samuel F. B. Morse
Cyrus Hall McCormick
Elias Howe
Alexander Graham Bell



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Hello j_h_s........

Welcome to the club.

This group of 1940's Famous Americans, with matching cachets and without any faults, books at $125.00 If the cachets are not matching w/single stamps they're valued at $3.00 each with the 10 centers valued at:
Clemens...$4.00
Riley.....$6.00
Washington...$6.00
Addams....$5.00
Nevin.....$5.00
Remington...$7.00
Bell......$10.00

Values from the 2007 Mellones Catalog.

S. C. Anderson signed a lot of covers in the 40's & 50's......not much additional value except to specialists.....but a matched set all with signatures would have an added value.

Most FDC's sell at a reduced rate because of faults either on the covers or the stamps on them. These sets generally sell for $35.00 - $75.00.....$100.00 or more in really good condition all with signatures.
Very few covers ever sell at book value, except those with higher value stamps and in exceptional condition.

Thank you very much, Tom....the envelopes (presumably "cachet?") have, 1, 2, or 3 stamps on them. I appreciate the information.

Can you tell me which First Day Covers/Issues I should keep my eyes open for in this album, dated April 1940 - December 1945. It includes firsts for Pony Express, Pan American Union, National Defense, US states, Constitutional Amendments, US Airmail, UN, Four Freedoms, Euro and Slovakian Countries, Phillipines, Roosevelt, Wash. D.C., Iwo Jima, Pentagon, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Remagen, Alfred Smith....I'm now out of breath !! Thanks, Jim

Jim

Hi Jim.....

A cachet....is a decoration/design added to a cover. It can be anything from a few words and simple image to an elaborate image that engulfs the whole cover. Generally the more colorful/elaborately detailed ones and those with higher value stamps, multiple stamps or plate number blocks either regular issues or airmail, special delivery or parcel post will have more value.

Condition........just about any flaw will decrease value, bent or soft corners, stains and other such things. Anything more than an 1/8 inch or so corner bend is considered by most a damaged cover......covers with tiny flaws, and I mean really tiny, would still be considered a collectible cover. Perfect/pristine covers are quite scarce. When judging the condition of stamps or covers one must look at things as though you were the buyer......not the seller.

I have seen dealers down grade items when buying from collectors and immediately put them up for sale as pristine items. To me, this makes that seller a thief......and I will avoid them like the plague.

Value.......book values reflect what you can expect to pay if you go to a dealer and ask them to acquire something for you. Just about everything can be found in decent collectible condition for 75% or less than cat val. When two collectors are selling or trading, values tend to average about half or less of Scott cat val. Of course, there are always exceptions......generally higher face value items and those in exceptional condition.

What adds value??......There is a list of more than 250 known cachet makers/designers. Their artistic ability can profoundly effect catalog values. Most multiply value by a factor of 2-4 or less, a fair number range from 5-10, a small number add up to 20 times cat val and there are a few that can multiply value by 50-75 times. Of course condition is 95% of the equation, but even a poor condition cover with a cachet by a few known artists can still have considerable value.

In real estate the saying is.....location, location, location........in philately it's.......condition, condition, condition.

Thanks again, Tom; much appreciated.
Jim