Stamp Value Still On Envelope?

As you all probably saw on my previous post I am a a newbie to the stamp collecting world. I will be posting a few more pictures later in the day of some of the single stamps I have found but this post is about stamps that are attached to letters/post cards that have been sent. I am assuming just like with letters with historical significance that if on a post card that the information on it is just as value affecting as the condition of the stamp? For example, I have a post card that I found in one of the "chest-o-stamps" that I have, anyway, it is a post card from 1925 of the U.S. Capitol at Night Washington, D.C. the cancelling stamp says june 16 1925 washington d.c. 830 p.m. The stamp on it is the Norse American Centennial Scott#620. Does this make it anymore valuable or how would I even be about to judge, ball park, what the value of this item would be. I have attached a photo below. I have literally HUNDREDS of letters with stamps still attached. Any advice on these?

If the covers you have are old I would not even think twice about removing the stamps!
Even some of the covers that are coming through the mails are worth keeping; more and more do collectors treasure stamps on cover!

Peter

I don't collect "covers" but lots of people do. I believe the general consensus is that it is more valuable, particularly on an item like this, to leave the stamp on there.

Here's info on covers. Sounds like you're going to run into alot of them.

http://stamps.about.com/od/historyo..._a_cover.htm


-IBFS

That is what I thought. So far I have found maybe a handful from 1900-1919, but I literally have hundreds from the 1920's, 1930's, 1940's.

Something else to keep an eye out for are auxiliary markings, such as "Returned to Sender", "Missent", "Postage Due" and many many others. These will add value to covers. Also registered mail covers are often more desirable.

And, of course, a First Day Cover (FDC), which is a cover posted and cancelled on the first day of issue of the stamp. Newer covers are very easy to tell, as the cancellation is clearly FDC marked. Older ones will have to be researched to determine what was the first day of issue. Good luck ... looks like lots of fun.

The only marking on this is "register or insure valuable mail"

How would I go about finding out what someone might pay for these...i know this would be alot harder to figure out besides checking ebay or mystic =)

Right, that is part of the cancel that includes the Circular Date Stamp (CDS). A cancel that says something is called a "Slogan Cancel". The slogan cancel on that cover is quite common, but the stamp itself is not. The Scott Specialized Catalog of US Stamps and Covers will have values for most older stamps on cover. Otherwise, it depends on the stamp, the cancel, auxiliary markings, corner card and cachet (assuming the cover has any of these).

Normally I would say that covers from the 30's and 40's probably aren't worth a whole lot, but given the quality of other material that seems to be in the collection you have, you just never know. The previous owners may have had an eye for the out of the ordinary or the exceptional. In any case, you want to leave them there on the envelope or postcard.

okay will do!

Please leave the stamps attached. Many people collect covers. A common stamp on cover can be worth 100 times or more what the loose stamp is worth. There are so many factors that collectors look for. It could be cancelled from a short lived post office that closed over a century ago. It could be the route the cover took. It could be the distance or method of travel that a collector is looking for. The cover may have an odd postal rate. Someone may collect it for it's destination. Cover collectors are a lot like stamp collectors. To someone that doesn't collect we all collect the same thing, but to each of us the reasons we collect and what we collect is varied and unique.

Don't give up on those covers from the 30's and 40's too soon. I sell some every week and even up to the 60's. They are typically bought by people trying to accumulate as many different postmarks from a state. I sold one damaged cover front last week to a collector that bought it because the city name was the same as his last name. I for one collect the states Minnesota, Alaska and Hawaii.

I've read reports in Linn's Stamp News of Presidential series covers from the 30s and 40s going for big bucks on ebay, especially if the stamps pay unusual rates or usages.

Robert

I've read reports about the desirability of covers with Presidential series stamps on them, too. The thing about them is that during the period of use in question, virtually all covers with "unusual" rates paid for things like special delivery, registered mail, etc., will almost always have "mute" double-oval cancels on the face and the postmarks were used to "secure" the envelope flap before delivery. Although they are collectible, they are also hard to display that way.

Thanks Everyone!