$5.00 John Bassett Moore.......scan Added....successfully...

Hi everyone,
I am new to this board and wanted to check out this site and ask a few questions about stamps I have had since my childhood. The first is, are the $5.00 John Bassett Moore stamps worth anything more than $5.00 mint? I have a mint block of 4 and want to know if I should just use it as postage.
Thank you,
Bob

Hi bob, do not use as postage, as more people chime in, all the collectors would do backflips to purchase your block at face value, but depending on what kind of shape it is in, or what kind of block will tell you how much you are holding, but a single $5 Bassett catalogs 2009 for $10.

Thanks for the reply. I will see if I can figure out how to post a scan of the block.
Thanks again,
Bob

Welcome, Bob. The 2011 catalog value for an untagged mint never hinged copy of Scott 1295 in Very Fine condition is $10 and a Plate Number Block of 4 in the same condition catalogs at $42.50 -- values for the tagged 1295a (VF NH) are $8.50 and $35.00. The caveat, however, is that these lower value stamps often don't sell at catalog value. If you want to get a sense of what your stamp might be worth, go to the U.S. stamp category on on ebay and search on the Scott number 1295.

Hey good idea. Can't beleive I did not think of checking completed items on ebay myself. I feel stupid...... By the way, what is "tagged" and "untagged"? There is a lot for me to learn about the hobby as I only collected for a few years when I was in my early teens and before.
Thanks again,
Bob

Tagged stamps have a phosphor coating that can be seen under certain wavelengths of ultraviolet light, i.e. a blacklight. Some one else here probably can tell you which kind of light to get. The phosphor coating helped certain machinery at the post offices in the automation process.

If I did this right, here is a scan.
Thanks,
Bob

Here are a few good online resources to help you get started:

http://www.linns.com/
http://arago.si.edu/
http://www.1847usa.com/
http://glossary.usstamps.org/

I've thought about doing the same with my high face stamps that I found. They seem to bring around face on ebay. I have 2 blocks of Bret Harte Great American Stamps and I think 1 of block of 4. They would work well for Priority mail boxes I send lol.

Ok Bob, too bad its not a plate block..but you should do better than 20 dollars with the right customer...in this game TIMING is everything..if you are not in a hurry someone will come along !