New And Looking For Help

I have a huge love for baseball, and this weekend my father presented me with a stamp that he had kept since he was a kid. it is a 1939 centennial of baseball stamp. after doing some research I found it is an 855?? I assume its a classification number?? so then I started thinking to myself, how many other baseball stamps has the usps issued? there are quite a few from what I found. since I know nothing about stamps I thought I would come here and hopefully get some answers from the experts. I see single stamps, multiple stamps, some labled MNH, FDC and I dont know what is good, or what is not good? I see the fdc are first day cover, and wanted to know are these worth more money than unused stamps? or are they more collectible? I am not really sure what to look for if I want to buy. the local stamp and coin shop that was in my town for as long as I can remember, has apparently closed so I dont know where to go to find some help, and I am hoping you all can help me and point me in the right direction.

thanks for any help you can offer.

Cheers
Greg

also, can you share some ways to safely store these stamps?

Hi ghod1, and welcome. The number you quote is a Scott catalogue number, which I would sugggest you look at at your local library. The catalogue value for this stamp is $1.75 if Mint Never Hinged, and 20c used.

My Scott catalogue lists the following catalogue numbers for baseball-related stamps.

855
1381
2619
3186c
3187c
3187j
3402
3408

However, there are probably many more for players, coaches etc.

Welcome ghod,
you may wish to try
http://www.edstephan.org/webstuff/bbstamps/as.html

To store, in the beginning try a postage stamp "stock book"
that will store around 300-600 stamps before you sort them.
HTH

Welcome ghod

The best answer I can give you is this:

Since it is just a hobby, and a great one at that, the way you want to collect is entirely up to you. My only word of advice to you would be this - don't let 'values' cloud your judgement.Value is important, yes but that should be something you consider if you want to specialize and get the best example possible but, for regular collections, this should not be the case.

A lot of collectors collect stamps on FDCs (First Day Covers). Myself, I don't. That doesn't mean that they are not collectible. To me, they take up a lot of room and they are all covers for philatelists and philatelically inspired. I prefer commercially used covers but that is my personal opinion only.

As far as MNH is concerned, that too is up to you. Most collectors prefer MNH. This is fine, especially for those stamps that are older and command a MNH premium. However, some stamps can be more easily procured MLH for slightly cheaper prices - depending on the issue of course.

Summing up, you should collect the way that gives you personally the most enjoyment and satisfaction.

Cheers

Bujutsu

welcome

In stamp collecting there are many kinds of "value." There is catalogue value (sort of what the thing is worth on the market - but usually over stated); and what the value is to you as an owner / collector. But note the "market value" is very much influenced by condition - the highest value goes to perfect centering, full original gum, no damage etc etc while with - and by rarity - how many were produced and how many are available today.

So the short answer is usually "it all depends.'

Hi Greg.....


Welcome to the club......

MNH means mint never hinged, as issued from the PO. There are no real rules to this hobby.....you can collect anything you like and display it any way that appeals to you. As a topical collection 99% of the material available is quite inexpensive.

FDC's are collectible but most were never in the mail stream, meaning that the cancels are not Postal cancels. Many collectors avoid them for that reason. Other collectors only collect material that has actually been through the mail.....common used covers.

All choices are yours there s no wrong way to collect.

i assume a lot of used stamps are worth far less than unused stamps with the exception of really rare stamps. are there books I should pick up or magazines that will help me with identification and pricing?

Greg.....


There are no "price" guides for stamps. You could check your local Library for the Scott Catalogues to get Scott numbers to help in your search for material and to see what "book values" run, look for the US Specialized for stamps & covers.......condition greatly affect values.....book values reflect what you could expect to pay if you went to a dealer and asked him to find specific items for you.

I dd a quick search on ebay and here's a link to what I found......comparing listings will give you a better idea of what you could expect for costs. Some sellers try to over rate and over value many items.....about a month ago I sold a group of 8 covers with a connection to baseball for $12.00 w/ $1.00 shipping. Many sellers have much higher shipping rates.....it pays to take your time a shop around.
http://desc.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_n...kBtn=&_rdc=1


All the US stamps available with a baseball connection could probably be found for $1.00 or less mint or used 99% of common covers and FDC's will probably be found for $5.00 or less. Signed items will run more but I've never seen any sort of guide for signatures of famous people and for names like Babe Ruth or others similar I would insist on verification. I think the APS could verify signed covers but I'm not sure about others items like uniforms or baseballs.

One word of caution.....don't be sucked-in by sellers that list stamps or covers as "Rare" items.......the majority of items are about as rare as beach sand.

Greg,
Since you are a fan of Baseball you may like the FREE stamp album available for download on the American Philatelic Society's webpage honoring US Baseball stamps. Just go to www.stamps.org and go to the Album pages tab. This will help you begin a wonderful topical collection.
Here is the direct link to the album pages:
www.stamps.org/albums/baseball.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.stamps.org/albums/baseball.pdf

Greg-

Welcome, indeed. You have a leg up on many people starting out, because you have one stamp to start thinking about. If stamps seem interesting to you, you can figure out how you want to expand from here. Baseball is a popular topic for collecting, and baseball stamps have been issued by many countries around the world.

I agree with the stockbook suggestion, which would come from a stamp dealer (bricks and mortar or online). At the same time, I would pick up stamp tongs, which look a lot like tweezers, but aren't. You would want to make it a goal to never touch a stamp with your fingers.

This particular stamp should be widely available individually and in blocks of four stamps, which are probably the two most common ways to collect them. You could almost certainly find full sheets, too, though they wouldn't be as readily available (and they can be a headache to store and display).

It would take a while, but you could look for postmarks on this stamp from every city with a major league team in 1939.

Lots of ways you could go with this, if you discover that it interests you.

Good luck.

Collin

History of Baseball:Cuba

Gawd... where's a fig leaf when you need one!

-Allen

Yemen?

thanks everyone for all the help. is framing the stamps for disply a bad idea? I've seen a few stamps being sold in frames. or is there a way to display them for everyone to see without needing do have a book?