What Stamp Authentication Service Do You Use

I prefer to use Bill Weiss. However, I have many items that I have purchased that are not. I choose his service because of speed, cost and his reputation in the stamping community.

Art

I have nothing that would need an expert to identify................

mostly PSE, although for color varieties (for example, the various 3c 1861 issues or shades of 537) I prefer the Philatelic Foundation.

Matt

It depends on the item.

I've mainly used the PF in the past... I have a 24c cover that I plan to send to Bill Weiss (Jack Molesworth called it a blackish violet, two other people whom I trust have said they thought it was a blackish violet, one other said it wasn't.. I'm not holding my breath, APEX said its a grey, it's not a grey) as he absolutely can tell what it is.

Graded stuff? I have a few stamps that I'm curious to send in to PSE for grading to see how good I am at grading...

I agree with Stallzer. I would never use such a service, the last thing I want is to have any of my collectibles sealed in a chunk of plastic. They belong in my album but I could never remove or mount them because the second you remove them from their plastic prison, the certification means nothing. Since I don't care about value, I don't worry about authentication.

Note that 'authentication' and 'grading' are two different things.
don

Nor do all services slab the item in plastic.

Of all the items I've sent to PSE, I've never had one sealed in their plastic slab. I much prefer the paper certificate. They do offer both. To each their own. I like to put my stamps on an album page :).

Matt

I use the Stamp Community forum

I can do my own grading because most of my stamps are common (I doubt I have anything worth more than $25; most are much less than that). Someday I hope to own something good enough that it needs to be expertized, though, having been jobless for more than a year now, it doesn't seem likely.

For Danish material, I use and trust Lasse Nielsen (DK). He is independent, but author of numerous books.

I agree. For the handful or three of US classics, I use Bill Weiss. For modern tagging omitted material (stuff that's not in Scott yet), I use APEX. And since they aren't in Scott, there's only one or two handfuls of these. If I had an item that needed a quick authentication, Bill Weiss would be my choice.

I'm shocked that the Philatelic Foundation wasn't one of the options, as IMO they are the biggest when it comes to market acceptability for U.S. material.

There are different reasons to choose different expertizers for different material.

If I am wanting something expertized for resale purposes or it is a very rare or high-value piece, I usually choose the PF, as they (usually) garner the highest return at auction or retail.

If I am wanting a quick and dirty ID *and* it falls in an area where I feel he is capable, I would not hesitate to send to Bill Weiss. The cost is certainly an attraction there.

Outside of the above, I would choose APEX, as the costs are cheaper than PF, PSAG, or PSE.

I wouldn't touch PSE with a 10-foot pole.

Dan,

I should have listed the PF as an option, don't know why I omitted it. Perhaps I just hadn't had my morning coffee?

I have to agree with you concerning PSE, I think I've mentioned what I think concerning them before.

Art