Info On This Envelope+stamp

Hello there.. I'm totally new at stamps, postcards, letters and such things! So I'm just asking how much an envelope like this could be worth with some stamps and mints on and what everything is called. I have loads of these.. but I don't know how to determine what they're worth.

Thanks for any help! (I hope this is the correct forum.)

They are Scott catalog number 220 Carmine I believe, value on cover $1.70 Stamp released in 1890
They are canceled / used Stamps.

Greetings!
As an entire (enevelope, stamps and postmarks) it's called a "cover" and it's collected and studied as an item of "postal history". The George Washington stamps are fairly common - Scott #220 in the catalog (less than $1 each). There are some varities of this stamps worth a bit more, but most likely they are the regular stamps (I don't see any caps on the 2's). Having said that, the stamps on cover to a foreign destination are worth more. The postmark is easily read and so is the address which is good. The stamps have some faults which do subtract - creased corners and perforation damage at the top edges. The larger postmark (nice color) with the name of the town (people do collect specific towns) and date is called the CDS or circular date stamp. The smaller black cancels on the stamps are called ringed targets. If there's a postmark from Sweden on the back that would be good too and any letter inside would be excellent. While I like the cover and would yank it out of a $1 box in a heartbeat, it's not so easy to determine value. That's determined by market demand at whichever market it's availible at. It's better than the average cover and you can use ebay and Delcampe to find similar items and see what they are selling for to get a rough idea of current market values. You can always post more here too...a lot of us like to see what you've got. :)
Will

Hey!

Thanks for the information and help. I see.. Well I have.. let's say 50, of these "covers" from different countries. I have catalogs to check the worth of the Stamps, but I wish to understand what the worth is when on an envelope in good condition. However I understand that stamps/covers will always be determined by the market demand, as with everything really. I have a lot of normal stamps, missing envelopes and such, but they are "easy" to check in catalogs, however I will probably make some post here when I find something rare or something I can't ID.

Are there CDS or specific towns that are more rare than others a.s.o?

EDIT: I guess what I'm trying to find out is if there's any specific more worth to a cover, compared to a normal stamp. Besides from the local collector who might be interested in a certain CDS/Town. Just in general I mean.

Are there any markings on the back of the cover?
(backstamps)

No sorry, no backstamps on this cover. I do have on some other covers though. There is a letter inside of course, written to my grandparents I think.

It would be interesting to know what the town is on the CDS, I believe it is the State of Washington, not DC which might make it a little more collectible. Late 1800's East coast Postmarks are very common as where The State of Washington was only 10 years old when that letter was mailed.

It's quite hard to see the CDS but I can take a closer look at it and maybe check the letter inside and see if it has any information as well.

Actually there was something at the back of the envelope! I'm sorry, must've checked wrong envelope.




Definately is New York on the backside CDS. On the front it's really hard to see.. New Ka.. lone? lohe? Kamlone? Kamlohe? Looks something like that..

While I'm at it.. Here's another envelope from Washington and Newyork with some more stamps and such.

It's from New Kamilche, Washington. The post office was in operation from 1890 to 1931. It's considered a D.P.O. or discontinued post office which makes it better than from a larger post office. There are postmarks out there that are highly desirable and worth quite a bit more. I've found a few post cards on ebay for sale from the same post office dates a bit later and they wanted just under $5. Depending on the letter inside, it's probably worth more...how much? There's really no absolute way of knowing. If the letter (primary document) chronicles events of immigration and westward expansion then it's valuable (research and education) to historians as well as philatelists. The stamps in of themselves are nothing rare, but the whole package in that context is so much better.
Will

The New York postmarks on the back of the envelopes are transit cancels and helps to establish the route the covers traveled. The second cover has a partial receieved postmark from a town in Sweden. All those marking again add to cover's history. While the covers are not in perfect condition and don't have any rare stamps I notice offhand, but they are better than the average cover.
Will

Okay!

Thanks for EVERYTHING!

Been a lot of help! So if there isn't any stamp of rarity the price won't be that much? It's only the stamp in general that might be of worth? Except for the historians and such as you said. :)

Not necessarily. Many of us can show you covers with stamps that catalog for 20 cents that sell for much, much more. Some really cheap stamps are really hard to find on covers so make sure to research each item. Granted a stamp that catalogs higher can add to a cover, but it's only one factor in trying to determine a value. Ultimately it's market demand that determines price, but it's also the the condition, sender, the receiver, the postmarks, how the stamps are used (in combination with other stamps, rates, etc.), enclosed letters, etc. When I look at a cover, sometimes it's the stamp I really notice last as I'll see the same stamp(s) on thousands of covers, but it's the combinations of all the other elements I might only see once in a lifetime that really makes a cover worthwhile and as stamp/cover collectors, we are historians.
Will

Thanks,
there was off chance it was Professor Julius Nelson
Professor of Biology

Julius Nelson
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 6, 1858, Nelson came to the United States in 1863 with his parents, Christian and Julia (Jörgensen) Nelson, and his brother Thorwald. The family settled on a farm in a Wisconsin community where everyone spoke Danish. Nelson learned English upon attending public school, from which he was graduated in 1876. He was graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1881 and received an M.S. degree from that institution in 1884. He was a Fellow in Biology, 1886-1888, at Johns Hopkins University, from which he received his Ph.D. in 1888. He married Nellie Cynthia Chase (who held B.L. and M.L. degrees from Wisconsin) in Madison, Wisconsin, on August 9, 1888.

That first cover you posted does have very common stamps on it,
however, as a whole it is a very attractive cover with an uncommon
cancel. Even the handwriting is attractive... All of these things
add to the value of the cover. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
when it comes to cover with common stamps. I think this one is
probably worth a bit more than the usual cover with this stamp.

I think it would make a nice addition to any collection of cover.

Good luck!
Looks like you probably have 50 or so very nice covers from what I see.

Forgot to mention:
Don't let anyone talk you into removing the stamps from the cover.
Stamps are almost always devalued when removed from cover.
It's the cover history that makes the stamp so much more than 'just a stamp'.
It may only make a .50 cent stamp worth $1.00, but that's double...