Next Step For My Scott No. 554d.

Did anyone, besides me, immediately check their stock after reading about IBFS's fantastic find? No such luck for me - all perf 11s. Still his good fortune feeds the hope in all of us of ultimately finding that elusive "diamond in the rough." Great story; thanks for sharing.

Me too. But that's why I didn't go to just any auction house. They are highly respected professionals at Siegel, So I feel comfortable with them. I think Siegel can handle a situation like this better than say..."Grace Ferguson's Airline, Storm Doors and Auction House".

They must make mistakes once in awhile and therefore be able to handle them. And remember, they want this stamp to sell for a value as high as possible just as much as me, because they get a cut of the take.

They say it's nothing to worry about, so I feel OK with that.


-IBFS

Hope you make out well on this IBFS! Keep us updated!

Just out of curiosity, IBFS, I know the financial advantage for a collector to sell a big ticket item and use it for a mass of other material. But were you at any point ever tempted to keep it as the star of your own Washington-Franklin study/workup/display/exhibit/collection/whatever?

For some the whole enterprise is about the thrill of the hunt, or the chase, or the treasure hunt, or whatever. For others its the satisfaction of mastering something, or completing something, or competing for victory, or amassing the most of and so on.

Just curious about what floats your boat on this sort of thing. [Not that it's any of my blessed business.]
But inquiring minds want to know - and I guess I'm just indelicate enough to ask.

I'm curious as well ? Weren't you the least bit tempted to keep it as the centerpiece of your collection?

At some point all of our collections will be sold, either by us or by our heirs. Not sure I'd have rushed to part with it.

Before I get thrown off this forum , the last two posts are "unfair questions" .

IBFS made a "personal choice" that should not be " Monday morning quarterbacked".

It is very nice of him to share his discovery and the steps he has taken thus far.

I can see all of your points, but I don't mind answering, and I will continue to keep everyone updated.

It is an interesting question, one that I myself didn't even know immediately how to explain.

First let me make this more confusing. My decision had to do with a feeling, not a decision from the brain. If I had more money, and collected rarities, I would have kept it. But I really don't collect these types of rarities, and am not wealthy enough to really have a collection of them. So after having it certified, my thoughts were to sell it to at least recover the certification cost. Get this...

The certification cost, grading, my postage, and their postage back to me, all added up to over $550.00! But you have to do it to find out what you've got! I was sort of stuck. Why the expertization cost so much, is primarily because their expertization fee is a percentage of the highest listing of the stamp basically found anywhere. This was Scott's unfortunately highly overinflated price of $10,000.00. (Recent auction results range around one fifth to one third of that).

Now back on topic... On the other hand...I would certify, and keep an Inverted Jenny (although unlikely to be found in a bag of kiloware). And if I were to get enough for the 554d, I would like to make a play for an unused certified set of the three Graf Zeppelins. Tho, with the 554d's faults, I consider this unlikely for I don't think that it will sell for enough to bring that about. But let's see what happens.

Now, to sum it up, of course each of our individual minds work differently. Mine works in a very "orderly" kind of fashion. There are different kinds of rarities. If it is a rare stamp in my arena of collection I would keep it. But not the EFO type of rarities. Those kind add up to an expensive collection. I would have to have that type of deep pocket EFO rarity collection in order to have kept it. I just felt I could potentially get more for the collection I have by selling it. Out of all of us, I think some would keep it and some would sell it, depending on how they collected.

For example, if I could get the Zeps, that would complete my US airmail collection unused. If not, there are other stamps. And from a practical repulsive kind of standpoint, there are a few things that need to be done around the house. So, I hope for the best, and Pray against the worst.

I'm sorry to have been so wordy, and I hope this makes sense.


-IBFS

A set of Zeps really does not need to be certified and you can get a nice set for under $1000.00.

Ok, call me indelicate too. The buyer will pay 15% buyers premium. Are you paying anything on the sellers side for fees? I hope you do well on the stamp. Too bad you have to get soaked by the experts to sell the stamp.

Information on Siegel Auctions :

http://www.siegelauctions.com/sellcoll.php

First, congratulations on the find. It gives the rest of us hope.

Given prior sales, I would guess a final price of 1200-1700.

You might not be able to afford unused NH VF copies of the zeps, but hinged or F-VF maybe doable.

I also find it interesting that the description says that all of the 554d items in their census are used, but does not mention the unused block of 6 Siegel had for sale in 2010.

Good luck at the auction.

Siegel charges a 10% sellers commission off the hammer price, if that's what you're referring to.


-IBFS

I think I would have made the same decision. The first time I had a stamp expertised I was a little deflated after all the time and money that went into it. I kept it but it also did not catalog for $10,000 and it had a limited market appeal as it was a 19th century plate flaw on cover that at the time was not even recognized by Scott's. It is now with a catalog value of $800.00. I was hoping for much more than that. If it had been worth $10,000 I would have done exactly what you are doing. I have had friends sell at the larger auction houses and that would be an experience that I will likely never have.
I think we all spend hours upon hours looking for exactly the type of thing you found. There are lots of little victories along the way, even a few big ones.
Yours is a great story, that it came in kiloware.
I wish you lots of luck in the auction and hope it exceeds your wildest expectations.
Don't forget to show us the Zep's

@IBFS I sympathize on the cost of the cert. Judging from all you say you got, I'm thinking it must have been from the PF. If so, then hang on to your receipt from the auction realization. Sometimes when confronted with alternative info they will make an adjustment due to market realities. I would especially expect something like that if I had them do a grading of the stamp and they found it to have faults. Grade dependent valuing is so widespread in the marketplace, even with published lists, that it is verging on the unethical for an expert group to grade an item and then value it for fee assessment at something above that grade.

I don't know how much you would have to fight for it, but it sounds to me like they may need to refund more than $100 if your item comes in where you are expecting it to. I say, "Fight for it."

All that notwithstanding, I totally got what you were saying about the move to sell. Scott Trepel himself once made the comment in a Siegel Dispatch that the Zeppelins are often viewed as a kind of benchmark in the advancement of a collector of general US material. It is not at all surprising to me that you would find greater satisfaction in completing a section of your collection with the kingpins for that area, than in having a lone star shining out of a number of unfilled spaces around it. In my experience it only hurts to let go of a rarity if you intend to pursue more of its kin. Being realistic is part of being reasonable, and it sounds to me like that is how you approached it. Bully for you!

@petricellij Not all inquiry is about Monday morning quarterbacking. Sometimes its just being nosy. Enjoy life and don't forget to smell the flowers along the way.

Good for you. It is yours what ever you do with it is the right thing. I wish you the top selling price.