Can You Help Please?

Hello there,

Like most new forum members I suppose, I have recently inherited a wonderful collection. I have been getting to know this fascinating subject over the last couple of weeks and found many quite valuable stamps in the collection. So far though, these two examples have stood out beyond the rest and my naivety suggests that they may be worth quite a lot more than £20 or £30 that some of the other stamps are being catalogued for.

Any further clarification from somebody in the know as it were would be most appreciated.




This is unused as you can see but it does have a small mark on it unfortunately. The colour in this picture doesn't look quite as "bluish" as the stamp does. It has never been hinged.



These are unused again, and have been hinged by the top uncoloured paper attached. The stamps themselves are perfect. They look relatively pink and is a good match to the picture.

If there is any other information that anybody needs for further clarification, please just let me know.

Thanks in advance of your time and trying to help.

Mike

The top one appears to be Scott # 88.

The block is beautiful, seems to me sc 100. (pale rose paper). The centering is not the best, but looks otherwise fresh. How is the back? If not hinged the block is of some value, if authentic that is. Stamps of France have been forged, often quite nicely done, but this looks authentic in my non-expert WW collectors eye. Others in here have more expertise on these. Thanks for sharing. I love blocks, so this would absolutely been a keeper if I found it!

Block of four is the French Colonies issue of 1886.

The block is a French issue, not a Colonies issue. The 1881-86 Colonies issues were a different type. The "peace and commerce" type was only issued imperforate for the Colonies.

2c is Yvert 85, red-brown, issued from May 1877 onwards. Not rare.

Block looks like black on pale rose, issued from October 1878 onwards. Yvert 91 and variations. If so, and if genuine, would potentially catalogue at several thousand €, depending upon the efffect of the centring on price - you need to have an expert look at it in the flesh.

GeoffHa

Sorry, I do not have Yvert, but it looks like you're mixing up Yvert 91, which is Scott 93 with Scott 100 Yvert 97. The paper seems to be Pale Rose not Red. Those a huge difference in value from several thousands $ down to few hundred $. Here is the link on ebay, and the asking price is ridiculously high. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Peace-Comme...em27ff79703e

Anyhow, this is great stamps.

Seems like both danko and GeoffHa agrees in my earlier identification then. (geoffas affirmation on pale rose paper leaves sc 100 as the only alternative, at least according to Scott). My somewhat outdated cat say $120 for each single, but obviously there is a premium for a pre-1900 block from France. And if the block is MNH, there is yet another premium. On top another premium for being a corner block... So it's absolutely a keeper of some value IF authentic.

Still I am surprised about the asking price for that equivalent block on ebay, seems like asking price is set same as cataloge value.

danko

You're right, of course! Apologies.

Geoff

Thank you everybody for your help with these. I do not have access to any Scott catalogues, but have since found some interesting information on stampworld.com (Not sure how this website rates amongst the experts!).

The first stamp, I am pretty sure is this one on stampworld based on your feedback so far:-

http://www.stampworld.com/en/stamps...ts/?id=35124

The block, (I have scanned the reverse for your further comments below Blaamand) - I also found on Stampworld.com. I agree, they do look like the rose paper and the colour matches quite well. They were hinged by the top uncoloured part folded over then stuck in. No hinges have been on the stamps themselves.

http://www.stampworld.com/en/stamps...ts/?id=20777


Again, I don't know about the validity of stampworld.com, but their catalogue valuations seem to contradict everybody here's viewpoint. The 2c stamp (unused) is over £3000! (I know that this is not applicable to my example as it has a mark on it). Should I just ignore stampworld.com altogether?

Although I am finding this subject fascinating, it is not something that I think I am going to get very much more involved with. I will be looking to sell at some point, either the collection as a whole, or spend some time breaking it down. I would really appreciate any views on achieving the best possible outcome and how best to proceed.

Many thanks again for all your help so far!

Mike

Honestly, I have no idea how stampworld.com came up with the value for your first stamp. Your first stamp is Scott #88, valued at $3.25 in my 2008 catalog. In your condition it barely has any value at all. Your block of 4 looks very good. It has some gum disturbance, so I assume it was hinged.

mikees

Scott won't do you much good in Europe anyway. Most Uk dealers use Gibbons, with occasional reference to Michel and Yvert, which are German and French catalogues respectively.

If you aren't interested in the stamps, but they're of reasonable quality, your easiest route may be to try an auction house, which, subject to its view on value, may offer to buy them in or place them in a sale. Remember, though, that sale estimates are usually roughly 10% of Gibbons CV, except for better stuff, where the percentage rises. Unless you have time and some knowledge, maximising value via ebay could be a struggle not worth pursuing.

If you go down ths route, you could try Somerset Stamp Auctions or Warwick & Warwick, both of which are reputable firms selling a range of material at regular sales.

Geoff

GeoffHa - Thank you kindly for your advice. I am enjoying going through both albums and looking up anything of interest. It is actually quite therapeutic and exciting at the same time!

I think once I have gone through everything I can make a better informed decision as to the way forward and I really appreciate your recommendation of reputable firms that could handle the albums. Trust is everything!

Mike

Yes the block is yvert #97 (black on pink paper). But a very interesting thing you might not have realized is the 2 stamps up are a bit higher than the 2 below. A quite interesting error. I think this block could be sold at 200 EUR.

Here is another block that one might say is more interesting. The seller is asking 199 euros.