Inherited Stamp Collection Questions (Variety Of Types)

Hello. I am new to this forum (Hi!) and have joined because I am in need of some assistance. When I was younger, I dabbled in stamp collecting; it never got further than me taking the stamps off of several letters my parents received in the mail and pressing them out in books or stuff like that. It was a short-lived childhood interest and as such I never learned much about it, although I have still always enjoyed seeing different stamps.

Recently, my cousin passed away due to cancer and I inherited a stamp collection from her that she had worked on with her father for many years. At this point I'm not looking to sell (perhaps down the line I might sell some, but never all of them, plus I know I am not at enough posts to be able to sell on this site yet and so I wanted to make it clear that isn't what I am trying to do), but am just hoping you might be able to give me some guidance about what the stamps are, when some of them are from (most do not have dates), how to begin identifying them, and, if you can tell enough from the pictures, what they might be worth.

I took some pictures and will include them below. There are a large variety (which is why I am posting in the general forum) including U.S, international, unused, and used stamps and even some that are still on the envelopes they were mailed on. I just chose a random sampling from the collection. Any and all information, tips, advice, etc. would be much appreciated. Thanks!

In case anyone wants to comment on a specific stamp, I'll number the images for ease of discussion.

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There are some nice pieces in that post. a lot of common ones also, but if that is a small sampling, the collection has nice potiential. As for help in identifying, the best I could say is to go to your local library and check out the various scott catalogs in the reference section. For early issues, the specialized or classics catalogs are invaluable. these catalogs are large and heavy, so be prepared to do some heavy lifting if you check out all 6-7 at once(paperback about 2-2 1/2 inches thick each. anyhoo, the library keeps them fairly current and they have been printed in color since 2006, so colors will be easier to decipher as listed. be prepared to use a magnifying glass or loupe for a lot of the early issues for variants and just plain picking out details on faided ink. Other things to consider are watermark fluid/lighter fluid and a black tray for watermark checking, perf gauge, & tongs. A pencil is best used and not a pen if a mark is to be made on the back of the stamp such as "type II" or "perf 12" or the scott number. Also try and find a local club and like minded people to possibly coach you. We'll do what we can here also.

As far as worth, just off the top of my head, #9, #11, and #1 are very nice examples. I may be biased as I love the columbians, have a penchant for black jacks and the pictoral series is a nice one to put together. they all seem decent in my eyes. #1 is not too pricey, but it is very nicely centered. and all three seem to be unused also which is nice. #1 used is pocket change, but mint is a bit more by far. Nice selection there.

good luck, and happy collecting

Hi,
As Chewie mentioned, the stamps pictured range from extremely common to very desireable. I would love to get my hands on that collection!

You have a few nice things there. Chewie pretty much nailed it so all I can add is some catalog ID's. Thank you for showing these!

Your #1 is a Scott #230 Columbian issue
Your #4 is a Scott #223 a "small banknote"
Your #7 is a Scott #226 a "small banknote"
Your #9 is a Scott #113 known as a "pictorial" of 1869.
Your #11 looks to have a grill so could be a few things..
Your #27 is a Scott #614 Huguenot Walloon Tercentary
Your #29 is a Scott #371 and a very nice one too!
Your #30 is a Scott #145 Perf 12, White wove paper, No secret mark "Large Banknote"

Don't forget the Scott #1053, $5 Hamilton in the Liberty series.

Welcome to our stamp board!

Also, please be aware that some of the early United States stamps that you scanned (#1, #4, #7, #9, #11, #30) appear to be UNUSED and not USED. If these are not cancelled, and have shiny appearance on the backside (gum for adhering to envelopes), they are unused and have a higher catalog value. The Scott catalogues (and other catalogs like Brookman) list catalog values for unused and used condition. Please note that the prices listed are generally for very fine (VF) centering and fault-free condition (no thin spots, tears, creases, etc.).

You have some very nice US stamps in this collection.

As a note of encouragement, I agree with mobilman44 that these appear to be a great assortment of US stamps.
I'll leave the serious comments/advice to the more knowledgeable collectors!
I too would love to get my hands on these!
I love #23 this Saar stamp is a real beauty!

Don't overlook that cover shown in Scans 40 and 41. This is likely the namesake to whom the cover was addressed, James Earle Hagood of Pickens Court House, SC, and because of the named party, the cover is likely worth quite a bit more than the stamp itself!

Thanks for showing us your stamps and covers! I would like to add that even many of your common stamps are nice examples, e.g. have nice centering and undamaged perfs.

Welcome to SCF!

Karen

Chewie:

Thank you very much for your information Chewie. Your comments sparked a couple of questions for me. First, what do you mean when you say that #1 is nicely centered?

Second, from your comments I assume unused stamps are worth more than used ones? I had kind of assumed this would be the case, but wasn't sure.

mobilman44:

Thanks. :)

I_Love_Stamps:

That's awesome; thank you. This will help me get my bearings when I can get my hands on some reference materials like Chewie suggested.

stallzer:

Thank you for the identification help as well.

orstampman

Thank you for the kind welcome. When you mention them not being cancelled, how would I tell if they were cancelled stamps and does that tend to lower the value? I would again ask what exactly centering means, if you don't mind explaining it?

Kathey:

Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

wt1:

Wow. Thanks for that information; I probably would have never figured that out on my own. What exactly is a cover? Is it just an envelope?

kehess:

By perfs are you referring to the "perforations" around the edges?

Thanks again everyone!



*Sorry if this is a little confusing to read. I could not figure out how to quote a post, so I just copied and pasted the original posters' text and added generic quotes.

Regarding "canceled" refer to your scans #26, #33-41, which show different types of cancels on the stamps. Some cancels are handstamps and some are pen/manuscript (#34).

Centering refers to how well balanced are the margins all around the stamp design, between the design and perforations or edges of the stamp.

Technically, yes, but it would be one that has gone through the postal system. Rather than having me explain it further, take a look at this Linn's Stamp News article on the very subject:

http://www.linns.com/howto/refreshe...rcourse.aspx

Hello again everybody. First, I want to thank you again for your original help in telling me about this collection. I finally have some free time and would like to sort these stamps and put some of the "loose" (many are in acid-free envelopes) ones into books. This leads to two questions. First, what is the best way to organize the stamps? Should I go by the printed value, try to sort by topics, etc.? I would eventually like to take this collection and get it looked at by a professional, so is there a particular organizational style that would help that person?

Second, what do you suggest for what I put them into or how I store them? Are there certain pages/books that work best? Is there a preferred mounting style on those pages?

Thank you very much for your help.

Rowland, please let me begin by expressing my condolences upon the death of your cousin. She must have been very special to you... and you to her.

The collection you have shown is really lovely. It's an interesting mix of very nice common stamps and others that are more "valuable."

Everyone has their own way of organizing stamps. Many use a standard album, but I think that requires the stamps to be hinged. (I don't really know.) I use Vario stock sheets (from a German firm) and place the stamps in whatever order strikes my fancy. I try not to move the stamps around too much, but I do use tongs. Unfortunately, the cat takes great interest in the stamps once I pull them out. He's given the run of the house, so I have to always keep my eyes peeled for his jumping up on the desk.

I think that most people place their stamps in the same sequence as you would find in the Scott catalogue but I don't pin myself down that hard. At least not for the moment.

Once you get the stamps arrayed in front of you, things will take shape. That Saar stamp, for instance, really stands out. It deserves pride of place. It's history is interesting, though I won't bore you with that unless you ask.

Always feel free to ask questions here. Most are wonderful folks who love the hobby and want to encourage others in their passion.

First, thank you for the kind thoughts and words.

As to the Saar stamp, I know a slight history about it thanks to Google (mainly that it was/is a contested territory between France and Germany). In addition to the one above, there were a few other Saar stamps, so I figured I'd post pictures of them. I would love to hear more about the history of them.

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Also, since there are only a few of them, I figured I would upload pictures of the stamps I have from Aden. If you know much about the history related to them, I would love to hear that as well. If not, just enjoy the pictures.

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Edit: I appear to have done something different in editing these pictures so that they aren't appearing as large. If someone needs larger images, please let me know, and I will re-edit them.

Hahahah! Rowland, wikipedia can be darn handy, can't it?

One of my main interests in stamp collecting is how many nations use/d stamps for political purposes. Sometimes it is quite obvious; other times, not so much.

I focus on the stamps issued during the military dictatorship in Brasil (1964-85 more or less) but I also have a small collection of stamps issued by the Third Reich and a smattering from other nations.

The stamps from the Saar are especially interesting, for me at least, because this territory voted twice in the last century to join with Germany. Hitler's Germany portrayed the return of the Saar as a child running back into her mother's arms. (I'll see if I can post some images.) If I remember correctly, the second vote for the Saar's return to Germany occurred in 1954, the year the Madonna and Child stamp was issued. It was a Marian Year, I know, but the parallel imagery from one time to the other is interesting ... and maybe even accidental.

I could write more, but why bore you?!