Expertizing Stamps

I'm looking for a book or website that can tell me Scott numbers for stamps that typically could/could not be high value. I haven't found the perfect site yet, but I found this information about cases involving misidentification and perhaps this is the best I can hope for.

http://www.scads.org/index.htm

Brenda, I take it you are talking about Scott numbers for worldwide stamps? There exist some good online resources for Scott numbers for US stamps.

http://1847usa.com/
http://www.theswedishtiger.com/

The All World Stamps Catalog may also be helpful for you in finding values (though it does not sport pictures).

http://www.allworldstamps.com/

Thank you. But just the Scott numbers for those stamps which either could or couldn't be high value.

Then post a picture of the stamp, and I am sure we would happy to oblige.

The SCADS website is for identifying groups/individuals who are purposely misidentifying or altering stamps.



I'm afraid I don't fully understand what you are looking for. Are you asking for a website that lists stamps that have both low value and high value varieties? The list, if it exists, can get pretty involved, depending on how minor of a variety you want to get into.

Yes, I want to flag stamps by number that get easily confused and have similar appearances with both low and high values.

Scott 461 value depends on whether there is a watermark or not and
Scott 578 depends on perfs

Even when 461 was sold by a recognized dealer, the difference in price between the one sold by dealer for $42.21, an off center stamp and the one that sold by an unrecognized party for $355, a centered stamp, is substantial.

Both sellers report a different CV, comparing first to CV of $125 and second to CV of $325.

Wait, isn't there one that depends on whether it is Carmine Lake or Carmine? A substantial difference in value.

Brenda,

There's a whole bunch of them. I collect mainly 1861 US issues (especially the 24c stamps on cover).

Catalog values for the 3 cent stamp can vary, in VF used, from $3 to $5,000 based on color and some of the colors can be tricky to spot.

The 10 cent stamp? I've seen #68s that catalog for around $65 or so faked to resemble the 62b which catalogs $1,600.

Virtually every issue has rare and valuable stamps and its common to see people misidentify or fake stamps to try and fool the unsuspecting. A complete list? That would be an undertaking.

ANY valuable shade or coil or perf variety simply should not be purchased without a Weiss, PF, PSE or APS cert unless you can yourself easily expertise one.

Yes of course for purchasing, but for selling, there is a process of joining a society and applying for a cert for a stamp that could be valuable. Then there is assurance.

I'd like to be able to look at a collection and know how much this process might cost and which particular stamps to include in that estimate.

I take it you have as a goal becoming a "dealer" of sorts then? I think as Bill stated, there is no such standard list. I think you'd need to rely on the standard catalogs and a wealth of personal knowldege and experience to know at a glance which stamps may require expertization.

I believe that Bill Weiss, somewhere on his web site, gives a brief list of the classic US stamps that he thinks should be expertized. There's no way that his list would contain every permutation of low-value & high-value US "look alikes", so I don't think it's what you're looking for. But what you're looking for probably doesn't exist.

"Yes, I want to flag stamps by number that get easily confused and have similar appearances with both low and high values.";

Hi Brenda,

If what you are looking for is a Guide as to which US stamps should be expertized, as was mentioned by John L., I have written an article "Why Have Your Stamps Expertized" which can be found both on ebay on my seller page (wrw1943)by clicking on the "ME" symbol which redirects you to the Guides I've written and on my website (www.stampexpertizing.com).

But if you are looking for some easy way to differentiate a stamp that is genuine from a fake, there is no "easy" way to do that without either expert help or by learning yourself how to recognize fake stamps, and that takes experience and work. I am writing a long article which will be published (God willing!) sometime this summer in which I will list every United States stamp that has been faked, and what raw material is used to make that fake. For example, the stamp you mentioned (#461) is usually faked by adding counterfeit perfs to Scott #409 the Imperf stamp of 1912. A coil (for example) #352 (1c 1909) is faked by 1. cutting off the perfs of #331, 2. cutting off the perfs of #331a, 3. adding perfs to the imperf #343 or 4. adding perfs to the imperf coil #343V or #343H.

So with that information you can find quickly the possibilities for the stamps you are considering buying, but it will not help you to be able to recognize them without training or experience.

Sounds like a fascinating read! Looking forward to it.

Wow. Thank you. I feel like I've struck gold with your website and article.

Just for fun, I thought I'd share something I found in my notes (before throwing it out):

The Top of the Fakes Pages
Another Bogus Scott 519 - New November 2002
The Fake Scott 346 Private Perf - New October 2002
The Most Impressive Fake Scott 62B
The Secret Life of an Altered Scott 72
The Secret Life of a Chemically Altered Scott 78
The Secret Life of an Altered RW5 Duck Stamp
A Fake Scott #320 with Schermack Type III
Perforations
Fake Scott #743a
Detecting a Flat Plate Press Vertical Coil, Fake Scott 441
Fake Reperfed 514a
Fake Reperfed 508c
Fake Reperfed 546
Fake Scott 143 w / Bogus Grill
Fake Scott 137 w / Same Bogus Grill as Fake 143
Fake Scott 139 w / Same Bogus Grill as Fake 137 and 143
Fake Scott 315 - Revised June 2002
Fake Reperfed Scott 519 - Revised June 2002

I'm not even sure what these are. I think they are links from an ebay site, but at least they are a few numbers to contend with. Your article will contain all and that will be wonderful. Thanks so much.

Note: I couldn't get to your guide through the ebay seller "ME". It only took me to your business history. The guides didn't seem to have a stamp category, so it was a dead end.

Those are all from--

http://www.slingshotvenus.com/stamps/fakes.html

I tried to get to the article through your website, but the articles page only had other titles. Which book of titles or link is it?

interesting thread as the mystery continues.
Tom