Panama Stamp Market (On Ebay)

I am simply amazed at some of the prices being asked for Panamanain stamps and covers. Don't get me wrong, there are some really nice items out there from Panama that are high-catalog items.

And then there are shenanigans such as this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panama-C367...em53ed0230e5



Advertised as an imperf stamp for around $15 Buy It Now.

Yes, the stamp is most certainly imperf, but it is no rarity. It is imperf because it was cut from a minisheet that was issued imperforate. So what you have is not a rarity, but a chunk from a hacked up minisheet.

Here is another one. Different stamp and different seller.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panama-454E...em45fafbee92

There also seems to be a glut of specimens and proofs on the market. All very highly priced.

Don't get me wrong, there are still some nice deals to be had.

This just isn't one of them: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PANAMA-1961...em53ed4a167f

These are my favorite Panama stamps, the map overprints.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110895728258

Hello Smauggie! The imperf stamp you mention on ebay do really exist and it is not cut from a minisheet. Very common in Perf and rare in Imperf. It is from the Series of the Negro Arias.

Please refer to this online exhibition of the Negro Arias Issues for more info:
Please review the rules.

Thank you for your comment Panczhk. I was unaware that imperforate examples existed (aside from imperf souvenir sheets).

At least in the exhibit, the examples are accompanied by generous selvage to show that they were from an imperf sheet rather than cut from a souvenir sheet. Without ample selvage the only proper way to collect these, I would think, would be in pairs.