Scott 852 FDC

Can anyone tell me about this cover and why it might be popular / valuable? How do you value covers like this?

It certainly is unusual. The cancel appears to have been applied diagonally so as not to touch the cachet or obscure the stamps.

What makes you think your cover is particularly valuable? The Scott Catalog lists the FDC at $24 (Scott 852 @ $16, plus 1.5x additional for a cover with a block of stamps = $24) and that value has remained unchanged for the past couple of years. Of course, that is only a list price and value is really determined by what someone will pay for it on the secondary market.

I just checked sold listings on ebay and find that a similar cover (with block of 4 stamps and same cancel, but unaddressed) was sold recently for only $2.53. That comes out to about 10.5% of catalog value which is not at all uncommon for first day covers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DR-JIM-STAM...em5d4a650d11

Some early FDCs are valued higher based on the cachet. In your case, I cannot verify the cachetmaker who applied the cachet used, but if you can find out something about it, that could affect value. In fact, some of these early covers can have a much higher value if they bear a particularly scarce cachet or if it was one of the first of a line of cachets produced by a noted cachetmaker.

I didn't think it was very valuable either, but I listed four of these similar style covers with the similar cachet I acquired in a collection and sold them on ebay for $10 each in less than 8 hours after listing them. I am being asked if I have more. I ask why they're valuable and I don't get a straight answer.
With the same collection I went to a stamp show and met a cover dealer ( I will not name them) and they were so interested they asked if they could go through a box and take them to appraise them. They were reputable so in my error I let them. A few days later I was told that he had sold some and was handed $500. I asked for the collection back and they asked if they could buy a select bundle they had set aside for $250. I declined and left. I have many more boxes than what they were allowed to take. So now I am on a mission to understand what it is I have.
I believe this cachet designer is unique, but I don't know who it is. I do not believe it is listed in any catalog also because the dealer I met said something about that.
If there is a truly trustworthy person I can talk to and is willing to give me honest information that would be great. It seems from my limited experience that dealers do not want to divulge the true value while they steal your collection.

Sorry for the rambling, but I'm looking for information. I hope to use this site to learn more about what I have. I will post more images for all to enjoy and comment.

Given your experience, I would say the cachet is the thing that makes the cover "valuable" to dealers.

If it is "unlisted" or "unknown" in the catalog, that alone could make it quite desirable. I would have to defer to others who may have the Mellone/Planty FDC catalog to determine whether it is a catalog listed cachet variety and if anyone specializing in FDCs may know something about the cachetmaker.

Sorry to hear they sold some of your stuff without permission

The Island The Tower of the Sun is on is Treasure Island that was man made and sits right in the middle (about) of the Oakland Bay Bridge in San Francisco, California. On top of the Tower sits a Phoenix that is supposed to represent San Francisco rising from the ashes after the 1906 earthquake. It was a navy base for a long time, my father was stationed there or around there and I can remember being there as a kid and seeing the tower and the view looking at the city from the island. http://www.sfimages.com/history/GGE.html
If you watch the show myth busters they seem to do many of their stunts there it has a large concrete space and huge hangers (or did at one time).

I have a block of four signed by the designer William A Roach? I see he did design a lot of stamps but I can't find any info about him designing this one. Any help to steer me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated!

I also agree. That was something very odd for a dealer to do when he was just going to take it for appraisal.

Tazzman, you could contact the American First Day Cover Society at http://afdcs.org . You might be able to find out more about these covers.

Peter

If the dealer was unscrupulous enough to sell your covers without permission, then it's a virtual certainty that he received more than the $500 he gave you. I don't think I'd give him a pass on this one by hiding his identity.

tazzman30:
Scott 852 FDC
"Can anyone tell me about this cover..." I can not.
"...and why it might be popular/valuable?" Uncommon?
"How do you value covers like this" Really, difficult, there is no track record on this FDC, it is not listed.

I would be glad to look up any FDC's you have for this issue, just send me an image. Remember, in FDC collecting, it is the cachet (and condition) that are the important factors in determining value, not really the stamp.
Respectfully submitted:
jrc531