India 1855 Green Half Anna

Scott 1855-64 17 A7 4a green
This is where I get myself totally lost - How do you think this beauty would grade guys,,in 2002 Scotts she's valued at 500.00 new 27.50 used..I know she isnt new but is in dam near perfect mint shape so in your experience and opinion,where the heck would I appox value stamps like this at then,,still ta $27.50 or much higher than that or what..I would say atleast 1/2 way to $500 and value at $250.00


Thanks so much for your patience with me everyone,I can say I have learned alot from all of you already and I just want to let you all know I truly do appreciate it every bit of it

You have to check the illustrations carefully. This is 1882, Scott #36, half anna (not four anna), used value is catalogue minimum, which is actually much higher than its actual value. Five to ten cents would be a nice price to get.

Frankly, the cancel is not very pleasing so I think it would be hard to find a buyer. Most potential buyers would already have one.

As for grading, the centering is off a little high and left. There appears to be some discoloration along the right side of the stamp. Could just be the scan.

lol I think I have looked at much too many the last few days hahahah..once you dig in its soo hard to dig out and put them away for a while Thanks Cj!

You were feeling good there for a while, wern't you?

Interesting how Philately works. Some of the items I have in my collection which I thought would have a significant catalog value are actually not worth all that much but some of the things I thought weren't too interesting or "shiny" enough are worth something. For this reason, I tend not to pay attention to catalog value. I'll never get full value for my collection (nor do I desire to) if it's ever sold. Catalogs are just what one person or a group of people think something is worth. For me, they serve more as a way of identifying and putting my stamps in order.

Catalogs are very useful for pricing. Not sure how you'd go about it without them. A catalog is used as a starting point in the valuation of a Stamp and from there you start taking the condition of the Stamp and adding,deducting etc. from the catalog value.

I suppose a buyer who sticks to kiloware or large lots, and just needs to sort what comes in those lots, can say that a catalogue without pricing would be fine. But for anyone who is hoping to buy sets or, especially, singles, it seems that catalogue values are necessary, at least to provide some indicator of relative pricing. We all know that age and beauty are unreliable indicators of the market price.

Now, if the catalogue says $50, I know that I'd be very happy paying $10 or less, and the closer I get to $20, the more spectacular I expect the item to be.

Unless I've been looking for a very long time, I'm not inclined to pay $50 for a stamp that catalogues at $50. (And yes, exceptions always apply...rules are made to be broken.)

There are apparently plenty of people who are willing to pay full catalogue, as evidenced by the dealers standing behind their tables at shows, hawking their wares at full CV.

Maybe I'm too simplistic in my collecting habits and ideas. I use catalogs mainly as a way to keep my colleciton in order but as Stallzer said, it also gives you an idea of price/value. Still, I collect more for interest and history than I do for any kind of investment purposes.

I agree completely. Two of my favorite catalogues were published in 1915 and 1946.

I didn't make my point very well. I meant that the catalogue value, itself, isn't that interesting to me, but 20% of the catalogue value is a useful rule of thumb for evaluating a potential purchase, so that I know if I should be paying 20% of $1, or 20% of $50.

That still isn't clear...

I usually look at ebay or websites from stamp dealers as well to see what they're charging.

The "Completed listings" feature of ebay is very useful...I'm sure they'll be deleting it soon.

Absolutely clear, and I share your experience with usage.
I simply could not do without catalogue price.
I purchased a stamp last week with a quantity issue
of just 1,200, I had no idea of the price as I had not seen it before
all web searches could give was an old ebay sale
but I had to subscribe to the service with my credit card..no way.

I set my bid at 30% of scott, and won the bid.
Catalogue prices are essential, one just has to get used to
what parameters of catalogue price you wish to entertain.