Revenue Quiz Time!

Tell me what you can about the item below. This image is the only piece of information you have. If you saw this on ebay, how would you proceed?


(I'm going to ask Bart to please not chime in, since we already have had a discussion about it).

I think this is a documentary stamp tax stamped in a stock certificate of a railway company

Is the revenue R112b (sewing machine perf)?

I was about to add, on the perfs, can't tell if it's perf or imperf.

I know the stock alone without the stamp is going to set you back over $100 without the Stamp.

Copied from some gallery

tomiseksj wins the kewpie doll.

There was enough fuzziness around the edges of the stamp that it bothered me. Although the odds were very much against it, I thought it was worth checking out. R112b is obscenely scarce on document. I asked the seller if he could send me a closeup of the stamp in order to check the cancel (didn't want to give anything away). I prepared myself for the disappointment of a munged R112, but sure enough, it was what I thought it might be.

I laid in the weeds, set a nuclear snipe, and ended up being the only bidder.

Moral of the story: Always pay close attention to pictures and don't be afraid to ask questions if you think something is "off" (although be careful in what/how you ask )

It seems there are two cancels on the stamp: June 18 and Sep 30.

Is this the 1872 equivalent of glue stick postage?

Not sure. The better centered handstamp matches the date of the certificate and ties to the document, but there does indeed appear to be a June 18 handstamp which does not tie to the document.

How does one determine value of this revenue stamp on a document?

My 2004 Scott Specialized catalogue values this stamp at $110.00. Assuming I knew the value of this stock certificate (using Stallzer's $100 estimate), I could make an informed bid based on the two separate items, but not the combination.

Do you disregard document type and rarity when bidding on something as uncommon as this stamp, or do you take into consideration the document type?

I know it sounds like a simple question, but I think it's worth asking. Would you have put this kind of effort into this lot had the fuzzy picture been of some common revenue document as apposed to the railway stock certificate?

Brian

Ahh, the nebulous unscientific area of valuing stamps on document versus the stamp by itself.

There is no formula as there are SOOOOO many different variables that potentially affect the value:

1. The catalog value of the stamp

2. The condition of the stamp

3. The type of document

4. The condition of the document

5. The ornateness (engraving, color, etc.) of the document

6. The location (state, territory, Confederate) of the usage

7. The date of usage

8. The type of transaction on the document, e.g., the document may have multiple taxable transactions on it like an original sale and then transfer of stock.

9. The signatories to the document (famous people)

10. The company in question

11. What your specialty or focus is.

Let's not forget, for the vast majority of stock certificate collectors, this stock certificate is nothing special. The stamp to them is meaningless. Same thing with CDV collectors; they are concerned with what is on the front of the photo and/or which photographer it is, whereas a revenue collector will be concerned with the stamp, cancel, usage date, etc. What is on the front is secondary...

The Scott catalog and catalogs for stock certificates, e.g., Cox, will only get you so far and give you places to start.

This stamp now catalogs $125. I paid $150 for the example I bought at Chicagopex that was on a fragment of a document with an ornate embossed seal. This being a complete document, in my opinion is far more scarce.

When determining how much I'm willing to pay, I will look through ebay, Bidstart, Siegel, Kelleher, Schuyler Rumsyer, etc. and SAN to see how much (and how many) similar examples have sold for.

I had my snipe set for $250 for this document and ended up winning it for $70 including shipping from Germany. I would expect Eric or Richard to price it in the $300-500 range.

You just have to develop a "feel" for how common or scarce a particular document or usage is, and I'll admit that I occasionally whiff on them, misinterpreting the usage or document. Up until recently I haven't focused a whole lot on usages on document versus stamps alone.

You also have to determine for yourself how much you're willing to pay to acquire something for your collection (versus resale purposes; there different rules apply). If it's scarce and you really want it, ignore what the catalogs say.

Different people will view the exact same item differently. One person's trash is another person's gold. We don't all have the same focuses and aesthetics. There is a tendency to value things we regard strongly higher than someone else who only has a passing interest might.

For example, I purchased this piece last fall:

https://goscf.com/t/27606

It was in a batch of scans that I asked a major dealer to send me of illegal revenue usages. It cost me far more than the Scott value of the stamps, but it is about the most unique illegal usage piece you're ever going to see. The asking price, while high, was far below what I expected it to be so I jumped on it. It was cheaper than several other pieces he sent me scans of, but those were boring IMO. I would have expected the price to be double what I paid.

Other collectors who don't focus on illegal usages probably would think I was insane in what I paid, but I think it was a bargain. It all depends on what your specialty is, as to whether an item is fantabulous or meh, and whether the price is a bargain, nothing special, or highway robbery...

There are no hard and fast rules.

Good info Rev. I agree with ignore the catalog if you really want it.