Canada Expert Certificate

Can someone recommend who I can send some CANADIAN stamps to to be expertized?

Pros/cons....
Cost?
Time of certificate??

Thanks....KL

Check the V G Greene foundation

Thanks....
Printed a few submission forms.
Will send some items in.

KL

kevin504,

i agree with Gilles and have used them sporadically. if not VG, make sure the outfit is truly independent and capable (there are some dealers who sell items that they themselves provide a certificate for with different company name but is really just themselves).

its a subjective view on the pros and cons. I generally only invest the cost when I either (1) have a huge itch to know definitely or (2) the value of the stamp is say above $150 or so. (to me the cost benefit is not strong much below this) or (3) where I bought a stamp or cover on the condition that it be authenticated or returned if not.

having said that, I do think for the higher value items, it does increase the cachet and the resell value incrementally. for example, I recently bought an old Newfoundland stamp at a show that looked odd, but it had a certificate from the 1980s, and it helped give me comfort that it wasnt a fake. otherwise, I would not have bought it.

Hi kevin504

The Greene Foundation is the place you want to use for the accreditation of BNA and Canadian stamps and postal history. You will find the submission form and the fee structure online at www.greenefoundation.ca

You asked for pros / cons so here is my (biased) answer. In favour, the expert committee at the VGG Foundation is composed of a number of individuals who really know their stuff. Every submitted item is seen by most of the committee with each viewing member writing an opinion (note the amount of comment space on the submission form). In addition, many items also undergo a forensic examination under the VSC6000 Video Spectral Comparator. Postal history items are thoroughly researched using our extensive research library (10,000++ titles plus archival files and an extensive reference collection). Against - I can't think of anything.

You also asked about the timeline. The committee meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month as a minimum. If the volume of submissions demands more, we add meetings whenever we can gather a significant number of members (several of our members live outside Toronto and must allow 2 hours or more for the commute - each way). Usually, when an item arrives in our hands, it is logged into the system, assigned a tracking number and batched for photography. The office staff sends an acknowledgement of receipt of the item as well. When the photos are returned, they are matched with the file and presented at the next committee meeting. Depending on the day that the submission originally arrives, the time for the pre-examination process could be as much as six weeks or as short as 1 week. Certificates are prepared and generally returned to the submitters within a week of the examination.

At any given time we have something between 75 and 150 items in the processing queue. The committee can generally handle 75 to 100 items at a sitting before mental exhaustion sets in.

From a cost viewpoint, we are trying to keep the price in a range that the average collector can afford. Currently we charge $30 for stamps with a cat. value under $300 and $40 for stamps valued more than $300 (Unitrade FINE). With the cost of registered mail for returning items now exceeding $10, there will be a modest price increase coming in 2015.

The Greene Foundation mandate is not to make a profit from the expertizing process but we must continue to cover our operating expenses. All members of the committee are volunteers as are officers and directors of the Foundation. The only compensation is that the Foundation buys lunch or dinner at a local restaurant at the conclusion of an expertizing session.

I hope this info helps you with your selection as a source for expertizing. If you need more info you can call the Foundation office Monday through Thursday or contact me directly by email through this forum.

GJP

gportch.....I have viewed the website.
YES...I am impressed.

Since the Foundation meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month....
that would be yesterday....I have some time to gather the items for the nexts
month batch.

Again....as ststed in another thread....
Thanks.