Recently Aquired Stamps Need Some Help

I will keep you guys posted with what I have. Photographing the foil might be a little dificult. That is one is also at my fathers house with most of the stamps my grandmother sent me. When I get a chance I will have to get over there and get them. It would deff be cool to find out what the perfin initials are. THANKS GUYS!

Heres another pic. Last one for the night.

I lied just one more. I discovered a canada stamp in the lot so this is for you puzzler.

10 cents Inuit and Kayak, 1951, Scott Catalogue (and Unitrade Canada catalogue) #351, Mint Never Hinged value 55 cents.

Hi, I am new here, and not sure how this works.
I also have some stamps that I have recently acquired.
How do I tell if they are valueable or not?
I want to pass my collection onto my son as part of his inheritance once day.

In my opinion this is the definitive work for
newbie stamp collectors, brimming with intelligent and helpful advice.
Hope you enjoy it, and it is useful for you.

http://www.inheritedstampcollection.com/

Permaspooked,
First, welcome to the forum! Second, that sheet of 2c stamps you showed earlier... if that is mounted in one of those sticky photo albums (as it appears to be from the photo), I hate to say this, but they are ruined. It's good that the rest of the stamps are in a box until you can get them into a regular album or stock sheets. Just keep them dry and you should be alright.

-Allen

Thanks for all the info. I was able to locate a couple I thought where cool. Ill post pics up later when I get off of work.

abohart-Yes its photo album sleeve. They are ruined even if they can be removed with out a problem? When those stamps where put in the album sleeves where already extremely old. Lost most of its stickyness.

Permaspooked,
There is some kind of substance in the glue on those pages that gets into the stamps over time... even after the stamps have been removed, at some point they will begin to show lines across them from where they came into contact with that glue. Ask me how I know...

-Allen

Gotcha.

Ooh, I didn't notice at first they were in one of tose pages. Uck.

What happens with those sticky-paged photo albums is that the adhesive really grabs on to the stamps or covers or whatever and after a while the object still retains some page glue wfter you remove it.

You cannot soak in water to remove the glue. Like a stamp with scotch tape on it, that glue is staining and irremovable without having a chemistry degree and even then . . .

I had some covers stored in one of those and they came out but with glue lines on them forever and after a time probably going through them also. (many years)

If it is a non-sticky plastic sleeve (hopefully) you will be generally OK.

If they can come out then get them out now. Perhaps they haven't stuck down too badly as you suggest. Good luck.

By the way, not every stamp collector will know (or care) about these types of pages and may not be worried about the total condition of the stamps and be happy to get them. You could even warn people about the possibly remaining glue lines if you come to. I did sell those covers I mentioned and did warn and show people about the glue lines. Sometimes it doesn't matter too much to people. But, sometimes it does.

I see. Ok good to know. Ill remove it as soon as I get home from work. Are newer used stamps valuable at all? I have a decent amount of those as well. Mostly ripped off of envelopes. I have them from all over too not just U.S.

Hi keerynkade, welcome!

If you wish to, go to the Introduce Yourself Here thread and say HI.

Then Start a New Topic in a section that seems to fit your stamps and question and ask a question and include scans / photos if you can. We all like pictures.

Or just tell us your concern or pondering. I ponder a lot.

Usually someone will be along in a while and answer you, hopefully to your satisfaction!

To 'know' the value of one's stamps is a hard question, you have to be more specific about what stamps, mint, used, on covers, blocks, sheets, booklets, postage stamps, revenue stamps, cinderella stamps, personalized stamps, damaged stamps, stamps attacked by mold or mildew or sunlight or water or loving cared for stamps.

Post away. There are no dumb questions. Be open to learning new stuff and you will and soon you will be answering other people's questions (including mine! woo hoo)

This is not a brush off! No indeedie, this is a request for more details, more information, more data! (How did Johny5 get in there?!)

Off to take my meds now . . . who took all the pretty colored one? Shucks.

Hello Permaspooked

The stamps with the 'pin holes' ('punctures' as some call them) are 'perfins'. It is an abbreviation meaning 'perforated initials' and some say 'perforated initials of firms'. Either way you want it, they are collectible and there are societies solely devoted to the study of perfins WW.

There was a time when these stamps were considered nothing more than junk. This has certainly proven to be entirely false. While a perfin will 'usually' lessen a value of a stamp per se, the perfin itself does have a value and a competitive one at that within the perfin realm of collectors who specialize in them.

I guess I am a bit late welcoming you to the group for which I apologize. I am sure that you will learn a lot in here because there are a lot of members with a wealth of knowledge.

If you have a question at all, never hesitate to ask because I am sure there will be someone willing and able to answer

Happy collecting

Bujutsu

Permaspooked, yes some are valuable. To a collector.

Stamps are strange in that their value is not like coins or precious metals but comes from collectors who want the stamps for various and multiple reasons.

I like used stamps myself, I like cancels.

In used stamps the rarity factor and possible errors come into play more. And if it has a nice or wanted cancel on it. All stamps are valuable to a collector somewhere. The trick is to find that collector somehow.

If you want to collect used stamps also then they are easier to take care of than mint in some ways. And usually cheaper to acquire. Depends on how you want your collection to go.