Rare Stamp Unknown Country And Value Please

I have a stamp that dated 1814. I don't know the value or where it's from please help. Thanks

That says Republique d'Haiti.

Overprint
Look for Scott 187/188 (1914).

Why should it be rare if you do not know what it is?

1) if you don't know where it's from, how can you possibly call it rare?
2) the issuing country is plain to see along the top edge.
3) since the first postage stamp is regarded to be the British Penny Black of 1840, this can't be from 1814, now can it?

May we at least, have a decent image, so we can see the underprint in magenta.
"PIASTRES"

That makes the stamp circa 1919

Scott #304 1919 A26 5c de p on 10c de p CV 75c (which is cheap for a rare stamp)

I agree with Rod that there is another overprint in magenta that reads "PIASTRE".
I doubt it is an underprint as in 1919 the black overprint must have been there already. The magenta must have been added later.

The condition of OP's stamp leaves to be desired. That catalogue value may not even be in the same galaxy.

The person posting this is a brand new collector who is probably very unfamiliar with facts such as the first stamp was issued in 1840, what constitutes a rare stamp, etc. They appear to be trying to learn by asking questions, yes?

The decline of philately and the dearth of new collectors are certainly not helped if a beginner's questions and mistakes in using philatelic jargon are taken to task. Let's try to sound more supportive and encouraging.

Rubbish!

We have answered to a fault, the OP's question, given images and spent time and expertise.
We have asked where he/she got the adjective "rare" from, it could not have been plucked out of thin air.

The quicker collectors refrain from that over used term, the better
both for the newbie and the ne'er do well.
Fortune hunters will continue to use.
Perhaps this thread will then warn the OP to be aware when reading
the popular phrase on ebay listings.

Sugar coating helps nobody.

Please show where we have been disrespectful.




Please quote this factual evidence, for us all to read, or is it
part of your own "philatelic Jargon" you wish to perpetuate.

In general, I agree that we should try to show consideration to everyone regardless of what or how they collect, but like any random group of humans the levels of patience, consideration, and kindness will vary. And given the anonymous nature of the internet, I think that we sometimes see behaviors that we might not see if we were standing in front of others.

The original poster mentioned in another thread that she had "purchase a book of stamps for 80.00". And since that first post, she has asked about several other 'rarities'. It seems fairly obvious that she is hoping to find a treasure among her purchase. Helping her understand that the odds of this happening are near zero while nurturing her interest in our hobby is a challenge that not everyone here excels in.
Don

Nice stamp ,that stamp you show above is more rare than the price reflects in the catalog . Don't be so fast to give it away , it is hard to get , plus it is missing in my collection .

As rod222 pointed out, we asked OP why she named this a rare stamp if she does not know what stamp it is. Rare is not philatelic jargon but a commercial term.
I also agree with Don's analysis. OP did not ask about the stamp, but about the issuing country that was readable even from the terrible picture and the value.

To new readers and collectors , as I just said above ,yes it is rare and not found in regular worldwide collections . A stamp like this trips up the Catalog Queen crowd because all they do is parrot what the catalog has written . It is a nice stamp to have .

Ahhh, your post, Don, explains much of the tone of the responses. It sounds like there is a bit of exasperation with multiple posts from the same person hoping to hit the "jackpot". That's a common reaction when a new collector is given a book of stamps - hoping to find a treasure is something all of us can relate to and enjoy doing ourselves. It's fun and exciting! Good luck with the hunt, jujstamp.

As to my remark about philately's decline, I base that on the reduced numbers of membership in societies like the American Philatelic Society and fewer subscribers to publications like Linns, and the general lack of interest by youth who now much prefer computer games, social media and other activities more than the traditional hobbies and the reduction in snail mail which means fewer stamps arriving daily into mailboxes to catch the eye. I would be absolutely delighted to be shown data that shows stability in the number of collectors, but the traditional metrics that we've used in the past seem to belie that hope.

As to "sugar coating", well every time we post on a stamp forum, we are showing the world what philatelists are like. Using a polite, civil, friendly tone reflects well upon our hobby and costs us nothing.

I'm not sure that the condition of that stamp is all that bad. Sure, a clearer picture would be nice; that can come with time, as a new member learns why it's useful and how to accomplish it.

Jujustamps, it was a bit of a bumpy ride, but you did get your i.d., which will usually be the case here. Don't focus on value, and go easy on the adjectives, and you'll be fine. If you show something that might legitimately be uncommon (as opposed to just being interesting), someone will probably point it out.

Look for all of the hints that a stamp gives you, including postmarks. Admittedly, this postmark is heavily inked, but you'll see "Haiti" was in the bottom arc of the postmark, too. The top of the "T" is hard to make out, so it wasn't a great clue. Magnification often helps. Practice helps, too.

When I first started up collecting again and first joined this forum to try and figure out the state of the art, I would sometimes be a little surprised by the sharpness of some of the responses to queries looking for a valuation of this or that "rare" find. But over time you see this enough that I guess it gets a little wearying.

TMC ran the old movie Charade this afternoon with Gary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. I'd never seen it and it was a fun watch. Rare stamps feature prominently. So this got me wondering, what created the idea in the average person's thinking that a lucky stamp find is their sure ticket to a house in the hills?

Is this something that happens with other collectibles? Did we all start out thinking this way?

To paraphrase Francis Bacon...
The root of all 'treasure hunting' is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses.

And there are some philatelic websites which generate traffic by promoting rarities but not educating readers on the odds of finding them. Works the same as some of the 'click bait' you might see "this penny will allow you to retire today".

People also tend to do lookups on eBay sorted by 'highest first' and do not consider that asking silly prices is means little when trying to understand actual market values.
Don

Not just the OP, but as you point out, many others. This is a fine example of the adage, "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." An individual sees a stamp, thinks that because (to their admittedly unknowing eye) it looks like one they found online that sells for hundreds, thousands, or millions, they must have the same thing. Or they take the seller's word as gospel. In this case, OP was very confident that their specimen was "rare," but hadn't taken two minutes to actually look at it and read the country of issue.
I almost feel as if there's a single individual out there creating accounts and trolling the membership here to see the forum's reaction to what they post.



You may indeed be correct, but to be fair, I've been in the hobby for four decades, and have never subscribed to Linn's, or been an APS member; never saw the value in doing so. And these days, even less so... post after post on this forum bemoans the mess both editorially and logistically that Linn's has become. What's attractive about a subscription to a periodical with little content of value? The APS and Linn's once did at cost what the internet now does for free: communicate info about shows, research, new issues, sales. And for many reasons, one certainly can't blame children for not being interested in philately, any more than one can't blame most adults for not being able to drive cars with manual transmissions; that's just change (while I learned on a "modern" stick, my dad learned to drive on a truck with a non-synchronous transmission, and my own children will probably never drive a manual, ever). It is what it is.