How Much Is Lost ???

I don't know if anyone could give the answer to how much philatelic material is lost..dumped at a collectors demise ? Sorry to dwell on such somber subjects..one of my friends knows a coin dealer who says "sooner or later everything comes around" But how about the thoughtless relative...the children who might want the homes and property but thinks of Dad's collection as clutter..perhaps they try to sell his specialized philatelic books at a yard sale for a dollar apiece and then scrap them...i have been in a stamp club for over 30 years and its amazing..when a collector passes...no one seems to know what happened to his stamps ! Hush hush !!

The numbers of stamps "lost" by other means must also be enormous. Those stamps misplaced, lost in the post, burnt in fires, stolen, accidentally torn, etc. I am convinced that my scanner has swallowed 100+ stamps.

The numbers lost every year to damp from improper storage I am certain would be mind-boggling.

Warfare has definitely caused many philatelic losses in addition to the tragic loss of life.

We always read about the "finds' and discoveries - but we rarely hear of the losses. In the philatelic literature there are too many references to significant covers and stamps that have been "lost" for over 50 years. Only a few ever seem to re-surface.

With regard to the estates of stamp collectors - it is really up to the philatelist to make arrangements prior to their passing away to ensure that their collection is disposed of appropriately. I have made provision for my collection in my will, and made the trustees quite aware of how it should be disposed of.

I have read (quite some time ago)
of a formula some philatelists use for expected
survival rates of classic stamps,
I think it based on numbers released and geoographic location etc.
It was quite fascinating and I often rue the decision not
to keep the commentary.
It was early on in my collecting history.

Phil I sometimes wonder about this too.

Personally I've spent a few thousand on my stamps over
the years. Probable worth now perhaps only hundreds,
depends I guess on how they will be disposed of.

My wife and grown children are under no illusions that
hubby/daddy has a million dollar collection.
They know that it's worth "something".
They also know that it's my hobby which I enjoy and
money doesn't really enter the picture.

Over the winter the wife & I have been going to just
about weekly estate auctions usually held in community halls
in our area and I'm very surprised at the low prices realized.
Porcelain, Glass ware, crystal, paintings, prints, furniture, etc
etc. all going for way less than I believe it would have lets say 30 years ago.

And I think it's the same with stamps.

I'm hoping that when I'm gone they will either sell my stuff at
one of these estate sales or even a garage sale instead of dumping
it.
But who knows...and who cares when you aint here no more.

Plateflaw you are correct...a responsible collector should inform his heirs...for whatever reason I have rarely seen that to be the case....husbands who did not want their wives to know what they spent ? Sounds crazy...or just collectors who planned to do it one day but never received the chance...yes I should put the good classic Guatemala covers and black and white postcards in separate cover albums with notations...some day !!

I just hope my collection will end up with someone who will cherish them like I do.

Hello to all.
I just cant pass this story of lost stamps without making a comment.
I am 74 next month so be patient.
How many stars in the heavens?
How many collections of stamps plus were lost in QUEENSLAND FLOODS plus rest of Australian flooded areas??
Why, then can you tell me how long a piece of string is?
Ulcers are a pain you don't need.
ozfrank.

Phil

I too have thought about this.

My wife knows the approximate value of my collection and can get access to some auction houses. She also collects too and that helps.

I have to admit though that some of my early Canadian MNH (several hundred) were bought at face value because a wife of a collector who was recently deceased at the time sold his collection at face. We were told it was not the bulk of the collection either. We were students at the time and had only so many $$ to spare as it was but we were happy. (A friend and myself went at the same time)

To give you some examples, I was lucky enough to get Canada #153a (MLH actually), for 30 cents, #C1 MNH corner block for 20 cents, #C2 MNH corner block with jumbo margins, for 20 cents and a number of earlier commemoratives etc all at face value. Mind you, this has only happened once for me with an intact collection to go through.

Sometimes I hit it lucky <G>

Chimo

Bujutsu

Here is a brief item from Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, 31 May 1906, detailing just a few of the philatelic losses resulting from the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 18 April 1906.

Bujutsu, didn't you feel the slightest bit guilty taking advantage of a poor old widow.

Actually I wanted to add the envious smile but it appears to be no longer available

I believe there is a supreme law and justice..i would not TOTALLY rob the poor widow...perhaps she has other means ! Bujutsu as far as auction houses I have seen two versions...in one..a friend sent a whole load of boxes down to the auction house and they probably box lotted them out as received...another fellow I know had two guys fly in from H.R. Harmer in California for 3 days going over his collections..they offered him a flat sum...which I thought was generous...he opted to go to auction and made out much better...his collection was such that they charged him no commission or shipping charges....i do not want to say too much as some people here probably know who I am talking about...the moral of my story is that people are treated differently depending on the situation !!

I can't count the number of times I have been to estate sales and asked if they have any boxes of old letters still in the envelopes and gotten the reply, "Oh! I just took X-number of garbage bags stuffed with old letters to the dump."

No telling what's been thrown out by kids who are fed up with dealing with their parent's belongings.

I have been toying with the idea of placing my meagher collection into a time capsule, to be opened when my grandchildren reach maturity...havne't solved the problem of where to store it yet ... backyard?

Any interesting suggestions?

:)

Hi All

Bare in mind, this lady had boxes of the stuff and she couldn't get rid of it fast enough in her opinion because stamps to her were a nuisance, which we were pleased to help her out with.

She also quoted the prices, we didn't. As students, we too thought that her husband would have taken a fit, but, who are we to argue?

Chimo

Bujutsu

Regarding Phil's latest posting here, very true.

Auction houses do indeed vary and it pays to shop around when looking for the best method, and profit at times <G>, for your collection.

Our philatelic world is indeed intriguing to say the least.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Two caskets..one for me and one for the stamp books..or else the kids are out of the will

I cant imagine the number of collections which may have been destroyed by natural disasters..The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami which wiped out Indonesia, and most currently the Japan Tsunami.

I am sure that many collections were lost with the earthquakes that hit Central America, many years ago, The Australian Forrest fires.

Wow it goes on..