19th Century Collection Review

Based on the recommendation, I am moving my collection discussion to this forum.

The album I have is very old and 99% of all stamps are fixed onto the original album with old hinges or are fused due to the 100 plus years that they have been in that position.






Any comments on the condition and/or value?

Rich

It appears to be a US #1, red brown, with pen cancelation. 2010 scott catalogue value of $275.

That being said, something doesn't seem quite right. The stain around the bottom half of the portrait looks like a smudge from wet ink and the paper is reflecting the light ... esp on the right margin.

Can you take a photo or scan of the back of the stamp? It would also be helpful to have a higher resolution picture of the front.

Brian

I agree with Brian, It appears to be a nice four margin "ace" with pen cancel. I also see what looks like a crease in the U/L corner. Also the red marking on the stamp could be possibly be toning. I have seen this before but not to this extent. If it does not look like ink there is a method that can be used to remove toning. I have never tried it, but I believe it involves bleach fume process. Maybe others here know of it and would be a more reliable source. Still a nice find.
Ron

kosmet,

Is it a stain or a faint red cancel? I can barely see and make out a circular red bar cancel on the face. Its a great looking 4 margin stamp. I suggest having it looked at by someone and get a certificate for it. If it comes back positive and you have others like this one I think you have a wonderful collection.

Art

Nice stamp kosmet, but I would definitely go for a certification. Does anyone else see that from the back the border line at the top of the stamp appears blue? Or is it just my eyes?

Thanks for all the input on this stamp. I have several 1c imperfs and perfs that I have attempted to catagorize. I'll post in a new topic soon.

BTW, is PSE a good certification group, or do you recommend others.

Rich

I prefer the Philatelic Foundation (PF). http://philatelicfoundation.org/

Kosmet,

After your updated photos, I believe you have an authentic US #1. I also agree you should get this certified.

However, you might find the cost of certifying this and others a bit prohibitive if you use PSE or PF. They charge a minimum fee and then raise the cost of certification based on the value of your stamp. I would recommend using Bill Weiss. (http://www.stampexpertizing.com/). He doesn't charge based on catalogue value and his turnaround is excellent.

If you intend to sell this collection, a certificate will assure you will recieve the best possible price for your stamps.

Brian

If you want a quick turn around and less expensive. Usually less than a week and $25.00. I highly recommend Bill Weiss, also he is usually willing to share information. If anyone could identify the red on this stamp, he's the one I would talk to. here is a link to his ebay site.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...RK:MESELX:IT

Ron

I have a $2.00 Trans Mississippi (Scott 293) that was certified and slabbed by PSE. I don't like slabbed stamps and at the time was not comfortable with the cert from PSE. I took the stamp out of the slab and the stamp missed a couple of important faults! It had a small tear that I couldn't see through the slab and it had a thin that could only be seen with watermark fluid. The dealer wouldn't take the stamp back because I took it out of the slab and I can accept that. Bottom line is that I spent too much for the stamp.

I will not accept a PSE cert for any stamp. The only certification that I do accept is from PF or Bill Weiss. Others may be OK but if I'm going to spend the money, I'll do it right.