Newbie Trying To Help Mom Sell Dad's Collection Need Advice

Hello,
My father passed away two years ago and I'm trying to help my mom liquidate my dad's stamp collection. I've been lurking and reading this site and quite a few others for the past couple of days and have learned quite a bit.
I'm tempted to sell on ebay or one of the other stamp auction sites. I do have time, but I'd hate to waste it if it's not going to gain much more than going to a collector/buyer.

The collection includes:
Liberty Book -- almost all stamps from 1922 to 1988.
Almost all airmails from 1926 to 1985.

STS-8 Flight Cover (1983 Space Shuttle) -- 15 in original sealed/unopened envelope.
The Americana Series book -- 1970s stamps.
Birds & Flowers (Singer, 1982) - two postcard sets in books; four full sheets in a book.
Other assortments of books and sheets, mostly from the late 1970s to mid-1980s.

My dad was really into his collection. He took great care of it -- everything is in mounts or in sleeves and well maintained. Everything in the Liberty book and most everything else is unused.

Is there anything that's likely not worth trying to sell?

1. Would it be wise to try to online auction the early items, say up through the 1940s? I'm thinking I would do it by sheet.
2. Is it wise to remove stamps from mounts and photograph the gumming for online auctions?
3. Should I try to auction anything else?
4. Or am I just wasting time to not make much more than just going to a collector?

I'm sorry I have so many questions and nothing to offer, but I really appreciate your help. If anyone has questions about hiring a mobile disc jockey, picking out dance music, or ballroom dancing, I can help you there, lol.

Thank you, thank you! I appreciate any and all advice!

Sean McDonnell
Troy, Mich.

Hi Sean.......

Welcome to the club. Please do not feel bad about asking as many questions as you want......many of the members here are happy to help.

I offer my condolences......it's always sad to hear of a collector passing.


From your description it sounds to me that your dad really took care of his collection and in my opinion it would all be worth selling/auctioning.........and even if the majority of it is common material. Mint never hinged in mounts has value. The 1920's to about 1950 would have the best chance of doing fairly well in auctions......the newer material not so much, but full sets and higher face value items would still be worth selling/auctioning. Early airmails generally hold decent value up to about 1950 or so.....newer items of any type in large groups will attract bidders. Sheets in small to mid-size groups will also attract a decent number of bidders.

Anything with damage can still be used as postage.

For photo's, I would check to make sure that anything you want to post as NH-never hinged is in fact NH. NH items will almost always do well. Also you should note any bent perf, creases, thins and other faults. Photos of front & back will alleviate any bidder fears of your descriptions being incorrect. Combining photos to show both sides in one picture will cut your costs of listing.

Be sure to use a pair of tongs to handle the stamps.......even clean fingers can leave natural oils that can eventually leave a stain or finger print.

Hope this helps......and good luck.

Hi nr-notrare,

Thanks for the great info, I really appreciate it. My dad actually got me and my brothers into stamps briefly, and although I was pretty young at the time, I do remember the importance of not handling the stamps with fingers.

Thanks again,

swingdj