Value Of Mid 20th Century Packaged Stamps???

Hi,
I recently won an auction of well over 900 (yes, 900)glassine envelopes of worldwide stamps. Most are from M.E.Harris, and the rest are from a European firm.

The dates of the stamps range from the 1940s thru early 1970s. The pre-printed prices on the packs range from $0.10 to $2.00 with most in the $0.25 - $0.35 range.

Assuming these packs were put together in the 1960s-70s, I'm wondering how - in general - those "market prices" would compare to today.

Of course this is a big generalization, but I'm wondering if they would sell for those same prices today, or bring more, or less?

Just curious..........

Mobilman44

I assume you're talking about packets such as these, in particular from H.E. Harris & Co., in which case you be assured that the value of most all of these stamp "packets" are at or below what they show on the glassine envelopes. They were inexpensive stamps to begin with and were designed to be sold at five-and-dime stores or through mail order approval services to those entering the stamp hobby, which is where H.E. Harris & Co. made their mark, especially during their heydey from the 1950s to the 1970s.:



There's certainly nothing wrong with collecting these stamps, but as with most typical low value items, don't expect them to appreciate all that much in value.

A really Good Answer wt1.

Hi again,
I bought these as part of a package deal (was really after the accompanying album), and of course these are mostly inexpensive, with many being the "produced for the collector market". I'm just curious as to what they would be marketed for today.

Mobilman, I would guess the easiest way to find out would be a catalog. A very good alternative would be www.stampworld.com On that site you can find all the stamps issued by all countries, and priced!

Peter

Taking the sale price marked on these packets as their value today would in effect be a considerable loss in value because of inflation. In 1960 .25 or $2.00 could buy a lot more than those amounts will buy today. Given that the stamps in these glassines are from the 1940s and 1950s, I'm guessing that their value in dollars and cents today would be somewhat higher than what's marked on the envelopes.

The only way to do more than guess would be to spot check some of the packets against a catalogue. But even if you discover that a .25 packet from back then could be sold for $2.00 today, the difference is not in real money but almost entirely due to inflation.

So in real value, they are not worth more, probably worth less, than back then. But the numbers probably would be higher.

What's stayed the same is that the packet stamps back then were minimal, low end. They still are today, except that time has passed and a lot of new low end material has flooded the market since then. That might raise them just slightly above today's low end. But, again, the only way to know for sure would be spotchecking a few dozen of them.

More than likely most of them are worth a penny to a nickel per stamp. If they're MNH and for popular countries they might be worth a little bit more. But there's no shortage of common CTO, used, or "wallpaper" issues that were churned out by the thousands in the 60's and 70's. Again, you'd really have to spot check them to be sure, but most stamps with a CV of a dollar or less each are basically bargain-bin penny stamps, and stamps and sets valued slightly higher sell at a small fraction of Scott.

I would keep them as they were as they may be valued more as a whole. Glassines of stamps with contents & with advertising is also considered collectable in that respect.

I'd remove them from the glassines and sell them as lots / sets on ebay with a 99 cent opener and free shipping.

Just as an example, the Bulgaria Dogs "short set" CTO scanned previously is currently said to be cataloging for $1 but selling on Bid Start for 25-cents -- and with no bids even at that price, proving that demand is just not there for inexpensive "packet" stamps:

http://stampwants-stamps.bidstart.c...87224/a.html

Hi again,
Like I said, I was after the album and it is a prime Scotts International Part II, with about 700 very nice (and nicely mounted) stamps. The glassines were extra. Actually, I found it hard to believe there were almost 1000 of them - and thus discounted that as part of my winning bid. It turns out there are 993 of them. As I only collect ww thru 1960, I suspect I might only get about 25-50 of the envelopes for my use. I guess I'll offer out the remaining as a package deal on ebay. The good news is they are in perfect shape, and to my knowledge, no duplicates.

Smaller lots (by country or topic, etc) would probably net more total money, but would entail more work. Putting them up as a single package lot is certainly the path of least resistance to getting rid of all of them, though, and it's probably what I would do with them. Money-wise, it probably won't make a huge difference and then you don't run the risk of ending up with certain lots that just plain no one wants.