Looking For Help

Hello all. I was recently given my great grandfathers stamp collection and I really don't know where to start. I was kind of trying to figure out if it could possibly be worth anything for insurance reasons. 99% of the stamps are used and from 1920 up to 1970. There are approximately 4000-5000 stamps in the collection. I'd say the mix is probably 80% US postage and 20% foreign. Are there any books that anyone can suggest to look for pricing? I was considering taking it to a stamp store to see if they could offer any suggestions as to the value. I would like to insure it if it has any kind of value. I obviously have never kept a stamp before in my life.

While there are a few high priced stamps from the 1920's generally a 4 to 5 thousands stamp collection between those years would be pretty common.

Before I send you to a ton of reading sources how much is MNH ( not used with orginal gum)?

While I certainly would have no idea what value they would be my gut is that is a very low valued collection just based on the years.

Why don't you try posting a few of the older ones and I might be able to give you better advice. Now if you have any airmail stamps with a zeppelin things will change somewhat to the better.

Good luck and I'm looking forward to looking at some of the photo's.

NOTE: You may want to search this site to get some ideas of the market values.

https://www.stampcommunity.org/post...&FORUM_ID=15

PS it make make a great base to start collecting stamps.

Welcome newguy

Yeh Stick around for a spell you just may like it.

Dianne

Welcome the stamp community newguy!



Please post some pictures of your collection if you can!

The standard pricing reference are Scott's Catalogues which can be found at many public libraries.
These come out each year and list values for stamps of the whole world in seven volumes.
Since most of the stamps you have are US, you will find the US Specialized volume most useful.
You can also buy slightly older catalogues on ebay for much lower prices than new ones.

Hello newguy....

We were all the newguy at one point....for some of us it was more than just a fews days ago.

MK is right....there are some in that time period that have decent value but much of it is fairly common. You might get lucky and through your search discover a real interest in the hobby.

newguy




this is probably one of the better options .
But first you must decide what you want to do,
depending on your intentions,The store can tell you how to proceed,
This Site is A good start to decide ,When,Where,How.
As A former Stamp Store owner I have done this many times.
Remember Do Not hesitate to ask ,This is a great site,
Many members are more than willing to help.

DJD

Thanks for all the help guys. A lot of the stamps are loose in a cigar box so I'm in the process of sorting them out and putting them together. I will certainly post pictures once I get things organized. I was thinking I might start adding to it and try to pass it on to my kids.

That would seem to be the best way to get the most out of it.
Even though a collection does not have a high resale value, it still can have high educational value for learning about history and geography.