Worthless Stamps ?

Looking through Scotts 2009 I noticed that
the vast majority of used and many mint Spain roughly from the early sixties
up to the introduction of the Euro are valued at the catalog minimum 20c.


I've noticed the same for many other European countries like Greece
for instance.

So I guess according to Scott these stamps are basically worthless.

Then again some people out there would be glad to get
even a dime each for them I suppose.

I collect pre 1940 world wide, and there are a lot of .20 valued stamps that are actually hard to find. They are not worth the time for dealers to post.

Jim Jackson

The same comments hold true about post-1960 stamps in the US, as well. No one ever promised us stamp collectors would make a tidy profit, as it's been discussed many times that there are better "investments" one can make than in stamps.

I think we all need to take a closer look at our hobby. Note that the word is "hobby", and the term is "stamp collector". No one has ever applied the label "profit maker" to the hobby so far as I know. I for one enjoy collecting stamps for the relaxation that it gives, the variety of stamps that are out there to collect, the history that I uncover from studying the stamps, and the challenge to acquire the stamps no matter how common or "worthless" they may be (according to any catalog).

In fact, I would reverse the spin on it and say that the less expensive the stamps are, the more likely I am to be able to acquire a very attractive collection at a budget price.

Granted, we all may wish for that special rarity to come to us someday, but the fact remains that stamp collecting can be just as fun and rewarding even if we settle for only the common stamps. No matter what the catalog may say about monetary values, stamps are not worthless when one considers the enjoyment and knowledge you can gain from taking up the hobby.

wt1

This is a positive attraction for me.
The stamps may have little or no financial value but certain, you know where I'm heading here Litho, engraved items are miniature works of art and if they can be picked up at shows or in bulk lots for pennies I'm more than happy to take them home.

Collecting anything purely on financial gain is bad for the soul.
In a similar vein as collecting mint stamps which are just printed pieces of paper that have served no purpose other than be collected.
Used stamps have provided a service, a human interaction and played some part in a long forgotten story.

wt1 said:






You said it all


Cheers

still ---- I can dream!

AnthonyUK said:






I totally respect your opinion, but I must say, definitely, I disagree with you!


Cheers

The question of postally used vs mint- I go fo whatever is less expensive. :-). I notice if one is collecting in the classic era- pre 1940- and the stamp is more expensive used, there are a "lot" of suspect cancels applied. So I don't have problems with a nice cheap mint copy where I particularly can admire the engraving skills of the crafts folks of the classical era.

Jim Jackson

Once in a while I remind my wife that with my stamp collecting I have something to show for it, regardless of whether its' value has gone up or down whereas for years of playing golf, what do I have to show for it (except 200 golf balls with "smilies".

I'm just like the rest of you. I enjoy collecting stamps purely as a hobby and never thought of any profit angle.
What struck me was the fact that so many stamps (mint&used) are listed
in Scott at the minimum value even though as wt1 mentions
some common stamps are very difficult to locate.

How does Scott arrive at a catalog price ?

Although it's nice to find something that's worth $$ occasionally, I agree that the enjoyment of the collecting is what it's about. I often find myself choosing a stamp which has some defect which might devalue it in a dealers eyes, but it shows that the stamps has lived. Marks on the back, interesting cancellation, could be anything.

I had to laugh when I saw this thread title. I just picked up this set of German East Africa stamps overprinted "Werthlos", meaning "worthless".




Needless to say, they're not worthless!

I agree too! It's just that, my hobby! as is my coin collecting too and I doubt..no I know I will never get out of it what I put into it monetarily anyway (Also I wouldn't ever dream of selling m collections!) Also even IF that "big money" stamp fell right into your lap-I say so what!? Unless your going to run right out and sell it, then you still only have what you had. get it? I feel it's bad karma to collect for the sake of monetary return unless you specialize in gold or platinum etc.. I just collect for my enjoyment and satisfaction of standing back and looking at what I've created and all the stories that can be told and especially all the great people that you meet that can help you learn!

Like I asked before "How does Scott arrive at a catalog price ? "

When I scanned this Se-tenant Egyptian pair, I found that Scott 2009
has them at $20 used. Wow twenty bucks for this?

Scott C143a




Why?

Is it because of a low quantity issued ?

Or because they are printed Se-tenant ?

Maybe because of the topic? King Tut is pretty popular so maybe
there is a big demand for his pic on a stamp, right?

Supply & demand ?

Or did Scott just throw this value out there.

Probably with the Egypt issue you would have only the middle vertical rows se-tenant. So yes this would be a quantity issue, less of them.

Scott relies a lot on dealer's supplying current pricing. Maybe dealers are not dealing in these low priced items so the price doesn't change. supply must be adequate.

PP

I occasionally look in at a blog that suggests some stamps that are undervalued.
His primary indicator is number printed but also country, topic etc. Some items mentioned have less than 10000 levels of printing and are worth in some instances fairly low values e.g less than $100 set.
I'm sure there is more to it but I'm fairly certain pricing is more art than science sometimes.