Inherited Dad's Stamp Collection - So Many Questions

I'm hoping people in this forum can help me. I have my Dad's collection and don't know how to find out if there is anything of worth in it. (He is in need of $, but has no energy for it).

The stamps to me are all pretty, have artistic value and are interesting, but there is a bit of a hodge-podge. I'd like to keep some of them, but would like to sell anything of real value to help out my dad. I know a dealer will offer cents on the dollar. Is there a better way? Is there a reference I could check out of the library to see if the FDC have any value?


The collection has a variety of items:

1. First Day covers from 1940 through 1981, not complete, but some with silver medallions
2. The 1951 Angola Birds set - mint. These are in little see through envelops
3. The 1951 Mozambique Fish set - mint same as birds
4. A set of CCCP stamps in mint condition loose in collection book.
5. A group of mint plate blocks from the early 1960s (space, Kennedy, etc)
6. Stamps from 1930s in an old book, cancelled with a lot of duplicates
7. A variety of international stamps, mostly cancelled in two large books - not complete
8. A pile of international stamps, cancelled, that were given to him from co-workers (he was an international business man).

I know the Angola birds and Mozambique fish have some value. I suspect the CCCP stamps do too. But how do I find out if there are any rare first day covers? Also, are the plate blocks worth anything?

Finally, from about 1975 to 1995, my dad would buy whole sheets of stamps as they came out. I have a couple of notebooks worth of these.


Any help for this non-collector would be greatly appreciated.

Most of the CCCP stamps are not worth that much, most are worth 20c each due to their wide avaliablity. Sadly you're not going to find that million dollar stamp in there. Either give it to a collector or sell it as a lot on ebay for the max price of $50.

Welcome to the Stamp Collecting Forum!

To begin to answer your questions (based, of course on your descriptions only, with the stamps unseen), I would suggest that a visit to your local public library reference section may be in order. Ask to see the Scott Catalogs of Postage Stamps. There are about 6 volumes of them for worldwide stamps and another specialist volume for US Stamps and First Day Covers. This is the source upon which most values are obtained. Just understand that the values shown in such a catalog reference a dealer's cost to supply a stamp and keep it in inventory, along with the necessary overhead to keep the stamp dealer in business. Very often, in fact in most cases except for the true rarities or for material dating back to the 19th century or early 20th century, the resale price is much less than catalog value, therefore a dealer offering you only cents on the dollar may not be as ridiculous as it may initially sound. Furthermore, you need to consider the condition of the stamps. Are they mint or used? Do they have original gum on the back or have they been hinged and mounted into an album? All of these factors weigh heavily into the true value of any stamp.

Stamps are an enjoyable hobby for many, and there are hours upon hours of satisfaction collecting and mounting the stamps of various countries, however, with only few exceptions the modern material is often not worth more than face value and oftentimes less.

As I am a US Specialist, I'll just go over a couple of items in your list that seem to relate to US stamps. (I'm sure other SCF members will chime in on some of the material you describe from other countries).

First, most US First Day Covers from 1940 through 1981 have a "catalog" value of $1.00 to $1.50 apiece, however on the resale level they are often sold at perhaps 20% to 25% of "catalog" value, thus the resale value is more in line with it being $0.20 to $0.25 apiece...a few select pieces may be worth a bit more. However, if the first day covers do not contain a cachet (printed artwork on the left side of the cover) or for the more modern material (i.e. after 1950) if they bear the recipients name and address, the covers are typically worth much less. The comment about some having "silver medallions" is likely from one of the major mail order houses that sold them by the millions to collectors at astonishingly high prices claiming the medallions were "silver" and the reality is they are only silver plated or contain such a thin layer of silver content the value of them is only fractionally more than the covers without the medallions.

With few exceptions, US stamps from 1975 to 1995 by the sheet are worth less than face value. Of course, you could use them for postage and get full face value from them in that way (should you have enough material to mail) but for collectors they seldom turn a profit. In fact, there are many offers on the internet by bulk mailers willing to "buy" sheets of stamps at a discount rate of perhaps 70%, 80% or 90% of face value and typically the cost to ship them is a burden you must bear, which reduces the value even further.

Although the value of stamps may not be as much as you had anticipated, true to the art of stamp collecting, the original collector must have derived a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction in the hours it took to assemble his collection and to that no pricetag can be applied. Very often when family members hear of these stories as to the real value of the stamps, they may reconsider selling them at all but instead pass them onto a family member or friend who would get enjoyment out of keeping the collection intact.

I'm sorry I can't give you a more favorable outlook on the value of such a collection of stamps, but that's the reality of today's stamp collecting market. Each country produces millions upon millions of stamps and there are so many stamps available that they far exceed collectors demand for them, thus the prices on the secondary market reflect just that. Furthermore, one must consider that in the present economy, all collectibles -- including stamps -- are typically sold for much less than they were even a few years ago.

I really wish people would stop expecting to see the million dollar stamp. They should realize that face value is all they are going to get.

I'll take a chance and offer 20$ for the collection

Don't be discouraged first of all. Likley hood of million dollar stamp is low even in the best of the best collections. I'm sure you dad had many hours of enjoyment collecting what you describe and a few words probably doesn't explain the mass of material your looking at. Bottom line anything US that isn't used is worth face value or close to it. The FDC's are enjoyable to collect but unfortunatly don't hold much value at all. If you decide to get the catalogs from library take your time with things and search for diamonds in the rough. Might be surprised at how addicting it can be . Lastly - bringing the lot to a dealer is throwing $$ out the window in my opinion.

Not necessarily true. There are collections with gems that get handed down quite often. I was the beneficiary of a collection that had some quite valuable pieces.

The gems are far and too few inbetween to be expecting the million dollar stamp.

I think it is worth reminding ourselves that strocksj didn't mention a million dollar stamp at all. Their post is an honest request from a non-collector for advice. As a newbie myself I have no advice to offer, but neither am I learning anything when I read complaints from experienced collectors about questions from those with less experience. It not great encouragement for strocksj to continue posting and join the community.

It is advice to sell assuming that he will get X amount of money because simply the stamps are "old" from "Soviet Russia" or even in his post from Mozambique and Angola. I mean, he even says that he thinks these two have value (Mozambique and Angola) but he states that he doesn't know how much they actually are.

I'm not fighting, arguing or anything, I'm just simply discussing that its better to tell many who expect to sell one stamp and retire that its just a fantasy. If he continues to collect then I'll help all I can but from the look of it, it seem it isn't so.

Unfortunately true.

gilles.. reread the rules. you cannot offer to buy from someone without 50 posts or 2 weeks.

Katchem.. I always look for the million dollar stamp in any new purchase. It's part of the excitement. Without seeing someones collection you never know what is in there.

strocksj.. your best bet is to go to the library and look at reference books. some foreign stamps have value but not all. You will either have to do the homework or find a stamp club in your town and ask them for help.

Thank you to all who responded with real advice. It was very helpful, and confirmed my suspicions. I am not a collector, but certainly see the beauty in all of the stamps. I will take some time to look up a few of them at the Library, and likely, I'll keep some as well. I may donate the rest to a local stamp organization or an interested collector.

However, It is disappointing to see the post from the one who thought I was looking for a "million dollar" stamp. When I said I thought the Angola Birds and Mozambique fish had some value....I meant maybe $100. based on very limited ebay research. My Dad needs money, but I wasn't expecting more than cents on the dollar, as I said. I'm sorry to have bothered the guy who thought I was naive enough to win the lottery. I was just looking for a little knowledgable advice.

strocksj.. don't worry.. katchem is crotchety, but we all love him anyway.

Strocksj- Glad you didn't get scarred away--lol . If you have a scanner we all enjoy pics of just about anything from monkeys to Monroe's and we'll definatly chime in. A few active topics and within a couple weeks you could have 50 post and I can guarantee many here would be interested in buying various items.
For some reason not due to lack of printing or number of stamps issued the Russian space theme has started to climb so those may be one to research a bit. ebay is your best bet of reality in value but having the scotts catalogs really help to do the searches. Good luck and were here to help.

Hmmmm - for 50 years I have been going to stamp shows searching in all the common collections looking for that elusive million dollar stamp which had been overlooked by thousands of more experienced collectors than me! Did I ever find one - nope.
Did I have a lot of fun looking? yep. I even bought some decent stuff!

In all seriousness, there have been major finds by "non-collectors" in the past. Being a non-collector, strocksj is doing the right thing - ASK questions! Maybe he has an error which he would not recognize as such. Without pictures, it is impossible to say. My advice is to take it to a local collector (before taking to a dealer) and have them look at it. Contact a local stamp club - usually they are more than willing to evaluate it for you.