Scott 1 And 2 Collection From 94 Yr Old

This client came in my office and dropped off stock album for me to look at it. He remembered that I collect US stamps and wanted me to take a look. I think he wants me to offer him $ for it. Curious what you guys/gals think. Thought it was a nice exercise in Scott 1, I just wish color was easier to evaluate on scans

If any particular stamp jumps out at you, please comment

I do believe there is an orange brown in the group, possibly a brown orange, and perhaps, may I dare say a red orange (1c) Most are faulty in some respect (thins/pin holes/creases) and off centered, but I thought it was a totally cool collection










stamp second from left Dot in S, ?grayish brown

I have always struggled with the brown (1) versus dark brown (1a)- any advice on that would be helpful

I am most struck by the #1 pair with blue grid cancel (third row). Is it a sound piece?

I am always happy to see groups of US classics, regardless of condition. It's amazing to me how so many little bits of paper can still be around after 170 years.

Dudley,

I felt the same way when I opened the stock book and saw all these stamps on the first page.
I was quite amazed. This is from a 94 yr old who collected his entire life.
Of course, as I flipped over stamps to assess for soundness, I noticed many many faults.
The pair with the blue cancel was the most striking piece but it does have a small corner crease.
I believe third row down second from right is red orange. Unfortunately it is in poor condition , but rare nonetheless.
There is a double transfer top/bottom (I think) in upper row second from left.

He wants me to give him a value, and probably wants me to offer money for it (daughter may be driving it)
Unfortunately once you look at conditioning, the value goes down to 10-20 percent catalog and I'm sure he will not want to hear that. I may encourage him to put on ebay. I asked him if he had a son or daughter or grandkids to pass it down to but he said no one is interested. I think the Scott 2 is unused no gum but obvious tear with other faults as well.

Wow! No wonder I don't have either of these stamps yet...this fella has them all! haha

Seriously, though...that's a pretty cool collection of so many of those stamps. I hope to have my own copies of those some day. Personally, I don't care too much about the condition. I don't collect in that stratosphere anyway.

Let me suggest that simply putting these out on ebay is NOT the way to go for someone who does not know this material. For maximum dollar yield you need to reach the specialists with this. The people who know this material best, have the primary need for specific items, and can afford it do not regularly frequent ebay when they are out to buy. Nor would I suggest the high end houses who need to net more per lot than these are likely to bring individually.

As a happy medium, let me suggest that some outfit like Michael Aldrich or possibly Kelleher be allowed to lot out the items they could sell individually, with the understanding that the remainder be sold on ebay individually for whatever they may bring.

Just makes me smile when I think of the satisfaction the fun the old gent had in seeing this collection come together through the years. I've been at it since the '50's, but he has 30 years on me probably!

I'm a collector, not seller. I am familiar with auction prices for Scott 1. Due to conditioning I'm not sure auction houses would give this guy time of day. In reality, most of these Scott 1 would sell 50$- 200$ range at auction perhaps the pairs a little higher. I'm not saying kelleher wouldn't put them up at auction, but at 15 percent buyers fee, is it worthwhile??? The guy is 94 yrs old and not going to drive down to Connecticut from where we live. Scott 1 seems to sell at higher values on ebay than at auction houses due to its popularity, especially faulty copies.

I enjoy searching through these for color varieties and double transfers , etc. to me the value is in the beauty of the varieties and color, not any individual piece . I'm worried his family thinks these stamps are worth 10000$ , but they are not. I value the above stamps around $2000-2500$ if sold on ebay or as individual lots . Does that mean an auction house would make about 300$-350$ Off of sale?

Personally, and in the unlikely event that someone - particularly someone I knew - offered something of interest to me, I'd make a rough calculation of what I'd ordinarily be prepared to pay, plus a figure for the material I didn't want, but could sell on ebay. If the seller weren't happy with that, I'd lay out the auction/ebay possibilities along the lines you and others have mentioned. And there remains the option of his testing any offer you made against that of a local dealer.

Geoff,

Thanks for advice . My issue is that I'm a collector and I don't have time to sell the stamps I don't need on ebay. I have a busy career. He may want me to give an offer, but in reality I only want about 4-5 of these stamps to add to my collection. Thus I'm not the kind of guy he is looking for. He is not capable due to his age to sell on ebay but could have someone do it for him (family member). His best bet may be to mail it to auction house to sell off as one entire lot, or individually, but I'm not sure from dollar value standpoint there is going to be much difference .

Ah, I was assuming that you were more interested in the whole lot than you are. And I appreciate that selling properly on ebay takes time and effort - I could never have done it while I was working! As others have said, a low-mid-range auction house is probably the best practical bet. I'd hate to think of my daughter having to describe my houseload of printed ephemera on ebay!

Agree Geoff with all you say.
Regardless, the guy seemed so proud of his collection when he saw the look on my face when I opened the book.
At 94 yrs old hopefully that is worth more to him than a few thousand $$$$

Any damaged Scott US 1 and 2 are likely to get higher than expected prices if auctioned on ebay. Sound copies or better varieties will not do nearly as well relative to value on ebay. One of the major flaws of the ebay marketplace is that so many sellers fail to describe or identify stamps properly that buyers assume the worst and bid accordingly. But some iconic stamps still do well at ebay auction. Groups of otherwise unsaleable stamps also do well. Perhaps ebay buyers are confused when they see groups of high catalog but otherwise worthless stamps.

As a collection with no information but the front scans, 10-20% is probably what you'll get on ebay. Individually, depending on the faults, they could be worth more. That's what I'd tell the owner.

Most #1's and #2's I saw recently on ebay either were mostly with faults and the ones without were overpriced relative to auction houses. It might pay to look at completed sales on ebay and find stamps with similar faults and show the evidence to the owner.

That group of stamps is small enough to come up with a ball-park figure backed by concrete examples from completed sales.

This is a great collection and worth plenty but tough to value. Could the pair with the blue cancel be a brown or even dark brown variety? Always s hard to tell from a digital image. Easily a few thousand worth there. Would be fun to break down and resell which is something I like to do.

The very first 5 cent and the very last 10 cent look very well centered. If sound both should command a nice price.

Rlsny,

Unfortunately that 1st stamp has faint crease and questionable lightened cancel. Therefore, it is not sound, but attractive. The pair with blue cancel is definitely brown . I think it would certify as dark brown (1a) but has small corner crease (left stamp). The 10 cent (last stamp) is well centered but has an inclusion that is visible right side level with eyes. This may be a repair /filled thin. Thus, in my opinion it is not sound.

If there is a particular stamp you would like a better scan of front and back, let me know.

I agree it is a great collection!