Inherited Stamps And Looking For Help Please

Hello everyone! I tried to take some photos of some of the loose stamps I have just going by colors. I still have some more loose ones and then a bunch more that were already put into an older collectors book but I plan to do those in seperate posts once take photos cause this is alot already for 1 post. I have done a good amount of research, identified mostly all of the scott#s for what I have, and got the years figured out for majority so far but Im still totally lost because prices are so drastic everywhere and most dont know whats rare or not I've noticed. I've checked catalog prices on some but still doesnt help me much beings this is a very complex thing to collect. I guess what want to ask here is are there any you see in photos of ones that might stand out more then others? Ones in book are in alot better shape then some of these but this is easiest way to get a start for me.

I appreciate any help or advice you may have. I know cant judge by photos but if you want any single close up ones of any just let me know and I can help do that. I'm hoping to just maybe figure out a way to sell all I can and just be done with these beings I dont enjoy it anywhere close to how I do with coins. So far I've learned that Im glad my gramps didnt have to get his hopes crushed by finding out his collection he was absolutely certain was a gold mine,really wasn't.

Unfortunately the stamps are all both common and damaged which means little to no value. Not meant to disappoint you but just the truth.

So many of the stamps pictured are so badly damaged they are not even good for a free give away. In my opinion you would be lucky to find a buyer for the remainder which are not damaged. If you are not planning on keeping them, I would trash the badly cut ones, the ripped ones and the cut squares that have been cut to shape and put the ones that have all their perforations intact into an envelope and place them in a library stamp catalogue for someone else to enjoy for a hobby start.

Gramps just like to fun too.

Please do not even use Scott's as a minimum price. These are giveaways at a kid's table at a stamp show---if you are not interested in them I suggest you give them away and make some new young collectors happy. That is not to say that there is not some great stamp hiding somewhere in this old collection. Look for Zeppelin air mail stamps and early US stamps in Scott's and them look through your stuff.

Don't be too discouraged by the honest assessments you're getting on these stamps.

One of the things I've had to learn is to replace the old junky stamps I had as a kid with better versions.

In some cases where I have something that my older brother gave me or got passed down from my grandfather and I want to hang onto it for sentimental reasons I note that and find a place for it.

I don't worry too much about the values of things. A catalog may be helpful in understanding the relative value of things, but in my case the stamps I DON'T have are always the really valuable ones!

I definitely already hit and made it through the dissapointment stage with these lol. And there was a lot more damaged ones in these ones like I had mentioned but they werent stored the best either when I got them. All the foreign ones I have(other then pictured) were in top notch condition but havent had much luck learning about those anywhere online. A few of the ones in book had my heart racing thinking they were valuable but wasnt so sure after getting so lost in dif types and etc lol

I appreciate the honest truth answers cause Im tired of being mislead more times then not the last half year now. I feel stupid alot of the time asking cause I just cant seem to get a good grasp of these but im tired of wondering and worrying if I should keep any or not. Have always love coin collecting since I was a kid so thought id like this too

This is the book I have and just a few photos of the stamps inside. Not all are in as good as condition but isnt very many in here.

Hello. This looks like the typical schoolboy or schoolgirl album of the past, usually sparsely populated once any initial interest ran out. Likely to have next to no financial value, sadly.

@Kacinicole17, don't be discouraged as you try to learn the ropes. It is hard to find good information and a lot of the collectors on this forum are very advanced.

Starting out, I would keep everything until you have your own solid understanding of what you have. In general the damaged stamps with tears and missing corners are worthless and you can throw them out eventually. I had a ton of stuff like that left over from when I first started collecting as a teenager.

One possibility would be to salvage the stamps out of that old album and start your own new one.

You can buy one (you can find lightly-used Harris Liberty albums on Ebay that would be an upgrade to what you have here) or if you're good with computers you can print your own album pages to your liking.

As you do this stamp by stamp you'll start to learn about them and that will give you a base to build on.

Then get a decent catalog like Scott's U.S. Again, you can find used ones on Ebay for a reasonable price. Having a catalog will help you sort out the different types, colors and other variations of the early stamps. You may also be able to find stamp catalogues in your public library if it is a good-sized place.

It's complicated and you have to be patient and be prepared to make mistakes and to learn from those. For example, that 3c purple Washington stamp that is placed in the "Coil" spot, in the photo of your album page isn't a coil stamp.

As for value, even if the catalog is older, you can get a sense for the relative value of stamps from it. I would guess that if something was really valuable in 2010, it will still be that way today (plus or minus). But as I pointed out earlier, I think one has to get over the interest in value if you're working with a basic collection.

Good luck -- it can be A LOT of fun if you give it time and are patient. And don't feel stupid about asking questions. Everybody has to learn.

"This looks like the typical schoolboy or schoolgirl album of the past"

Maybe the album is worth something?

Hi, This is how I started 3 years ago. I have learned so much on this site and now have my own collections that I truly treasure. My first step was sorting and placing all the stamps in a safe place - like a stock book or vario pages. I also bought used catalogues and started slow. It is such an amazing hobby.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265961763574

I def wish I had found this site sooner..it was a tremendous help with my coins and im sure the stamps are just as good. Hard to find people who can actually help otherwise..i did think some of the ones in good shape would have been worth more then nothing beings some are about 80-100 years old. Was hoping to get something out of these so I didnt have to sell as many of my coins. I have a close family member going thru alot health wise and trying to get as much as I can rounded up to help them pay for equipment and expenses but sounds like going to have to go with those lol..i have some foreign ones like mentioned a little before that ill post a picture of and see if maybe those are more worth it then the US ones..i just dont want to put more money and effort into something if its really not worth it..i do have a few dif catalogs so far and that's where I found all the scott numbers..some do give a breif explaination of what to look for on the dif types but its all still difficult for me as a beginner to know the dif in papers,preforations,etc

Time to show the foreign stamps of this starter collection so you can get past the money thoughts .