Stamp And Letter Collection I Rescued From Going To The Landfill

There is a large house just up the street from mine that has stood vacant for as long as I can remember. Recently, a new roof was installed, and afterward, the contents of the house were placed at the side of the road. I noticed empty boxes from silverware sets and some crystal glassware, which I began gathering to take home. When I opened a large bag, stamps came pouring out. They appeared old, and there were a great many of them, so I grabbed the entire bag along with the crystal glassware and headed home.

Along with what I have discovered to be an overwhelming number of stamps, I also found a substantial amount of mail, including letters. I began researching exactly what I have, and I am essentially back where I started—clueless. What I have learned so far is that the house was owned by the Forest family, a very prominent family in the early days of Daytona Beach. They immigrated from Greece and helped establish the Daytona Beach Boardwalk and the rides that once operated there. They also helped establish the Greek Orthodox Church located just a few houses down from the house where I found the stamps.

The letters are mostly from family back in Greece. Many are airmail and date from a significant period just after World War II. A large number bear overprints or surcharges due to hyperinflation during the occupation and following the liberation of Greece. There are also some censored letters, as well as letters from the family's son, who served in the U.S. Army. Most of the letters are still in their original envelopes and are written in Greek.

There are also quite a few postcards—some written on and stamped, others never used. Additionally, there are many unused stamps in glassine envelopes. There are numerous used U.S. and Greek stamps, as well as stamps from when the son was in the Army and stationed in various parts of the world. There are also a good number from Canada.

I have been trying to sort through them, separating them by location and setting aside the ones I have multiple of, but as I mentioned, it is an overwhelming number of stamps, and I still have not completed this task. I have also learned that there are all kinds of factors that affect the value of stamps and envelopes—some have perfins, fiscal or revenue marks, censor marks, precancels, and various postmarks.

I have become interested in stamp collecting during my time going through them all, and I will most likely keep the ones I like or that may be rare. However, my ultimate goal is to sell them all, ideally as a bulk collection. I am posting this with some photos of what I have, in hopes of gaining a better understanding of exactly what I have and perhaps an estimated value.

Welcome! What a haul! Not sure about the crystal glassware though

The U.S. stamps are all very common. They're great for a starter collection, but they have little to no monetary value.

I'm not as familiar with the foreign material, but it looks pretty common to me as well. This type of material generally sells well in large lots, often by the pound.

Organization is the key with this kind of material. Boxes of unsorted stamps can be good if there's enough bulk to give someone some fun sorting through them and adding to their collection. Most of the value for common stamps is in well-organized collections.