I've been frequenting flea markets for all my life. When I was 12 I would beg my mother to Jamie's flea market in Amherst, Ohio. There was a stamp dealer there who encouraged my collecting and instead of selling me CTOs like what I could find in the mall Woolworths, he sat me down with a stock book of classic British Commonwealth. He'd sell me them at a percentage of Scott. I can not remember how much, but for a twelve year old to end up with roughly $1000 1976 catalog value was pretty impressive. Unfortunately a few years later I sold them to a dealer for $100 when I needed cash for a new Edelbrock intake manifold for my first car.
Ever since I got back into collecting I've kept my eye out for decent stamps at flea markets. Usually I'll see common FDC's or beginner albums with optimistic (to say the least) asking prices.
Today though I found my first packet of stamps worth buying! There's not really anything all that valuable, but for the price of a cup of coffee I was overjoyed! There is a nice R18c as well as a R40b. Most important, according to the seller he only had at the flea market a tiny portion of the collection he came into. So - keep your eyes open!
I long ago gave-up on finding anything in good condition at a good price at a flea market; of course, this only means that I gave-up hope, but continue to rut for stamps, covers & cards ... found this for two bucks earlier this year ...
Also, I'm completely enamored by that locomotive and especially that "Rotary snow plow"? I've never in all my days seed or heard any mention of one! I wonder if the worked well?
Mike we can only hope! Truthfully, I'd rather spend a couple of hours combing through boxes at a flea market than going to a movie. The thrill of the hunt is enough for me. I have much better luck finding duck decoys and antique fans at flea markets than stamps though. It's just nice when something like this turns up!
And Ikey, love the postcard! I don't collect postcards but maybe someday I'll have time to go through the boxes and boxes of cards I see out at the flea markets. They are usually priced .25 to $1 each. Do you collect postcards with trains, or did that great one just strike your fancy?
I once was cursed by finding a box of covers at a flea market, and have been addicted to cover collecting ever since! I posted a small selection of those cover in this thread.
In this area, flea markets aren't great for finding stamps. The markets are outdoors so weather comes into play. The heat and humidity during the height of summer. Rain during spring and fall.
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Posted 12/14/2014 6:43 pm
