Stamps (Leads)

These are a few of my stamps that I was looking to sell. I bought a huge lot months ago unsure of what I was buying, since I had never collected stamps before. I'm unsure of what the worth is and just going by what it says in the booklet they came in. The last stamp doesn't have a catalog number written so I'm not sure where to find it in the 2012 catalog.

Well there are a few nice things there and as long as you didn't out a fortune for them, I'd say you have the start of a good USA collection.

The 1 cent Washington listed on the card as a #544 is not a #544 in my opinion. For one, it looks like it is perf 10 on the top and not perf 11 (#544 is perf 11).

Thank you I love stamps & Hungary. I'm hoping to find out more about these stamps.

The one labeled $10 Marihuana Tax 1937 is really a Stock Transfer stamp RD32 that has a catalog value of $0.25

Although I'm not sure there's much monetary value in it, the first stamp (4-cent US Grant, Scott #303) with the perfin "GIR/ARD" was used by the Girard National Bank of Philadelphia back in the day (1902).

Thank you I love stamps & Hungary. I'm hoping to find out more about these stamps.

And the 4 cent Washington is almost certainly not a #330 (there are 90 known of a possible 100). As the card says at the top, it is likely a #377 or #334. You'll have to learn to measure perforations and look for watermarks to ID the Washington-Franklins.

And in my opinion, it would be better to ID the stamps with certainty before attempting to sell them.

I didn't write any of the information on these cards.. this is how I bought them. Just wanted to make that clear before my name gets ruined for something I didn't do.

I still remember when I first started learning about stamps. I always dreamed of finding that one that will make you rich and famous. Heck I still dream about it. The best way to learn now is to get your Scott, Brookman, Michel or any of the leading books. Go online and go through the offerings and look them up in the book. See what type of varieties there are. The simple fact is 95% of stamps are common. There may be small color changes and sometimes a little color shift. Learning what makes them valuable is to see something that is out of the ordinary. I try to keep my collecting interest to those prior to 1945. That is just a cut off that includes WWII items. Asking lots of questions is another. You will have a hard time learning if you don't ask. To find those rarer items having the right reference books is key. Most beginner collectors will fore go the books and buy more stamps. Some of the books carry a hefty price tag. Everyone starts somewhere. Don't get sidetracked by worrying if you are late to the party. When you have stamps and books there is always a party!

I assumed that was the case. I wasn't criticizing. I just wanted to make sure you weren't expecting a huge windfall, at least without ID'ing them properly.

I understand your situation. I've also purchased collections with misleading information written by prior owner's, though most of the time its a minor mis-identification.

Nothing against them (at the moment) but NY Stamps has misleading catalog evauations notated on their cards in their images. and then there is that Momen....don't even get me started on that one...

-IBFS

I've have bad experiences with both nystamps and momen. You can't trust either of their descriptions of condition.