Advice On An Inherited Collection

Well, I inherited this collection of stamps and I have absolutely no idea what to do with it really. I found this site by searching and making my way through a couple of link sites - this seems like the best place to start.

I took photos of all the pages in the books and what else there were. Unfortunately the quality is pretty bad, but maybe someone can find something interesting in there. As I'm not much of a collector, it's my intention to sell it or pass it on to those who appriciate these sometimes very beautifully made stamps!

You can see the photo album on this page: http://attw.imgur.com/stamps. In total it's 180-something photos.

I've thought about making my way to a store not too far away that specializes in stamps. Wanted to check in with enthusiasts before doing any selling or giving away though.

"Stamped"

Looks like someone had some fun putting together this collection. I encourage you to learn about the stamps and the contries they come from. If you end up with questions about particular stamps we will be very happy to help.

Welcome , Definatly a great effort in the collection. Just taking a quick look there doesn't appear to be a ton of value although there are a few nice france in the mix. From a value standpoint not alot but if you are not interested in furthering the collection might I recomend a young family member of yours that may enjoy continuing the efforts and learning a great deal along the way. This would be an excellent starter for someone looking for a hobby that is fun educational and generally not expensive to enjoy (until you get really hooked of course). Thanks for sharing .

welcome stamped, you definitely want to find a world collector. great to have you here!

First off ... welcome!

Secondly, this is a lovely collection with lots of variety. It would be a perfect starter collection for someone just getting started. As far as value, most of the items are fairly common postage but a few items are of particular interest. The souvenir sheets from Romania & Russia are nice and the page of late 19th to early 20th century Sweden need closer examination.


Are you able to post better pix of the following page?



Cheers!

Brian

Posted some time ago,
but worth a read, from a stamp dealer...........

Hello Dan,
As a long time collector and stamp fair dealer, let me answer your question by relating
an experience I've had repeated many times over the years.

A middle-aged lady, or gentleman, or couple, comes up to my tables with what look
like dollar signs in their eyes, and clutching an album or box. They've got a bit of
wariness about them as they think of handing over this family treasure to a stranger
who might try to cheat them.
This is grandpa's, or dad's or uncle's stamp collection, they say. We'd like to sell it and
wonder what you'd give for it.

And so I look through page after full page of mint and CTO propaganda laced stamps,
all from Romania, or Bulgaria, or Hungary, or others of the Soviet sphere of influence,
and typically all issued in that 40 year period, 1948-1988 . From experience I know
that just about all of these will have Scott values of 20¢.

And so I say to these people. Grandpa had a lot of fun putting all this together. What
we have here is the product of his time and effort. The best you can do for grandpa is
to have someone carry on with this collection, or, at least, put it in a place of honour,
where you can, from time to time, admire it. Surely that's better than receiving a few
dollars for it and having it pass out of your lives?

A word about the 20¢ valuation in Scott. Somewhere in the foreward is written words
to the effect that the 20¢ does not represents an actual value, the stamps so designated
being too common to have a value. The 20¢ represents the dealers' handling fee.

Well Dan, I'm sure this is not the answer you were looking for. But it is honest, and it
is straight forward. Take it for what it's worth.
Allan stamperschoice

That's a great story Rod and so true.

Thanks for posting it.

Thanks for all the answers so far! I kind of realized from the beginning that the monetary value in this collection isn't much (if anything at all), but if there is any, I would like to know since I'm getting rid of it anyhow. It takes up space in my mind, and it's a hobby I myself wouldn't want to pursue.

Saving it for someone else to keep collecting is a good idea, but in that case I might have to reorganize the whole collection; thanks mild OCD! What I really want is for someone else to enjoy these stamps as much as I enjoy my own hobbies.

Here's the better quality picture that Rileysan, or Brian, requested: http://attw.imgur.com/magnifications. In the bottom right corner is the link to download the picture in full resolution.

Stamped, I suspect there is a stamp collector lurking within you.... Don't fight it.....

...and if there isn't, try to find a young Collector near you who is just setting out on a great adventure. They would be happy with such a donation. And you would feel great.
A win-win situation.

I liked the Boxing labels, looked like a full set too.

Londonbus1

Years ago an Aunt died and her son sent me her stamp album for an estimate of value. She had saved all the stamps of her 8 sons who travelled the world during the 50's - 70's. She enjoyed her travels with them through their letters to her. She created her own album and glued the stamps to the page. Not in any order or country even. I had to explain to her son that her album had no monetary value and shipped it back to him. I didn't handle that part of the conversation very well and in the process upset him. So, careful on how you relate some information to others, especially family.