Question For Perfin Collectors.

How does anyone evaluate wheather a perfin is scarce or not, and is the value of the basic stamp decreased with a perfin? I have a scott 571 with a perfin that looks like SH&Co.

I can't really answer your questions but thought I would offer this description of a stamp being sold, recently:




When I saw it the other day, it struck me because I had never considered that a perfin might be a fault, yet the way this was written, it was strung in right along with the faults. So I suppose to someone who did not collect perfins it could be viewed that way.

There is a perfins catalog available that has a sort of rarity factor and of course catalog value associated with each perfin. I haven't yet reached 50 posts, so I can't post a link, but search on "perfins club" and you'll find the site where you can get this literature. It's really kind of cool, as the catalog doubles as an album. That's for US perfins... I'm not sure if there's a similar product available for foreign perfins.

Hope this helps,
Allen

There really isn't a simple answer to the question whether perfins add to or subtract from value. You need to research the specific perfin.

This stamp from the Indian state of Cochin



without the perfin would be worth about a cent, on a good day. With the D perfin (D = Dewaswom, the State Hindu Temple administration), maybe 10 cents, because Ds are the most common perfins from Cochin.

On cover like this



and with a nice strike of the (leaf-shaped) 'Too Late' stamp on the back



the whole thing is probably a $10 item.

So check up on your particular perfin. You might get a pleasant surprise.

Sometimes it's in the eye of the beholder. The above 1929 Argentina is worth a couple of bucks at best, however, in summer '08 I saw one like it perfinned M.M. (Mueblería Maple) and offered the lady US $20 for it. It was not that she wanted more money for it, she just wanted to keep it. Last time we spoke she still had it. For all I know another person would refuse to buy it because it was perfinned.

I have never seen another like it. I would love any Argentine stamp of the mid-20s perfinned M.M. not just this particular one.

Thanks for the help everyone. Dean

This is a tuff one. Most collectors & even dealers don't collect and are not well educated in the area of perfins. Perfins like precancels to many are pariahs they deface the original stamp issue. So then most of these stamps are set aside & ignored. Leading to a devaluing of the stamp. Only dealing with collectors who are well versed will the full value be realized.

Hi All

Generally speaking, most collectors consider a 'perfin' stamp to be cheaper than the original w/o a perfin.

Having said this, it is a known fact that perfins overall are gaining in value and overall popularity, which, by itself, in a lot of cases can determine the value of perfins.

With regards to the RF (Rarity Factor) of perfins, this is more difficult to answer. Wherever I may have reference on perfins that will state the company that used any particular perfin pattern, I generally take the lifespan of that pattern into consideration. For example, if a company was in existence for a large number of years and used different patterns from it's worldwide branches, one can safely assume that they will be relatively cheap compared to a company that was in existence for only a short period of time.

Perfins, like any other facit of philately, will have it's value (or catalogue value where available) determined by demand and availability.

Hope this helps.

Chimo

Bujutsu

The Perfin Society does have catalogs that cover the world.

True cgothra

These catalogues are cheaper if you are a Perfins Club member too and a little more if you are not. Either way, they are well worth looking into.

Cheers

Bujutsu

Even if you don't collect them, it's mighty tempting to acquire the catalogs just to satisfy curiosity... I swear, I could spend more on literature than I do on the stamps themselves.

-Allen

Hello abohart & All

What you say about catalogues and reference books in general is quite true.

I am a firm believer though that these reference books / catalogues do pay for themselves in the end though.

Like any particular hobby, if you are going to specialize at all, I guesss you have to be prepared to bite the bullet and pay the prices for those specialised books.

I have my own personal library on different apsects of the hobby, as I am sure other members of this forum do as well. I think they are well worth it.

Cheers

Bujutsu

Two 8' bookshelves and counting! My heirs will have a fun time trying to figure out what to do with that library when I go on to the big stamp club in the sky...

-Allen