New Kid On The Block, And Lost,

I just acquired the collection of my Late, long time Friend and Mentor, The collection has about 3000 world stamps, I have put all stamps into a Binder of Protector Sheet, I do not know anything about the stamps, Most of the stamps are from the mid 1920s to the mid 1960s, I have been looking for what these stamps are worth as well as well as where they are from, I do not know where and what to go to find out,

Any help anyone can give me I'm sure will talk me forther then I have gotten in the last 2 months,

THANK YOU

Worth is probably not a factor...without seeing them, reading your description I would expect them to be common, readily available stamps.

I understand from your description they are "loose" stamps, not in an album of any kind. Collecting stamps, identifying them, and putting them in an appropriate album..... worldwide, country specific, topical, etc. is a great joy and learning experience.

You can buy a new, used or make your own album. Lots of paid and free resources available.

If you are trying to identify stamps, best bet is: http://www.stampworld.com/en/

Hi there. It sounds like you have a lot of researching. To Do You can search around on many of the different topics on here and find a lot of great sight to help you out. Plus there are some real good people on here that can give you a hand with the hard ones.
If you have a scanner that helps out a lot.
Good luck and Nice to meet you. .

I may have misstated my intentions with these stamps.

I'm looking for a venue to find the info and age's of these stamps,

If there are any websites out there with a data base of photos of stamps would be
helpful.

Thank you

mo, I'm a bit concerned about how you are storing the stamps. Might you share of photo of what you mean by protector sheets?

thank you for your responses. this is the type of protectors I have the stamps in for storage.

Thank you

Those look like slide pages which are probably archival but check on the box.

mo, these slide protectors are likely far more expensive--and cumbersome--than a typical stamp album. I personally use Vario pages from Lighthouse, but there are a lot of options available.

As a first step here--if you would like help--I would recommend that you sort the stamps by nationality. Many of us collect particular nations' stamps. Photos, of course, are always a plus and most often necessary.

Hi Mohawk1234,

I do not see that you have received an answer to your initial question... "I have been looking for what these stamps are worth as well as well as where they are from, I do not know where and what to go to find out"

1. Firstly separate your stamps into their various countries. At the completion of this you will also have a group of "Unknowns". Do not worry about this yet.
2. As your collection is from 1920-60s, then an older catalogue can be used. Check-out from your local library the Scott Catalogue of Postage Stamps for the countries that you have. Most libraries have the latest sent in their reference section, and then delagate the older issues for public check-out.
3. Spend some time looking for each stamp in its respective country. As you progress through this phase you will enhance your ability to find each stamp. Place by each stamp in your collection its respective Scott number and catalogue value and catalogue year.

As you progress through these stages you will become more knowledgeable of what you have inherited and also realize what aspect of the hobby you want to pursue. As there are many aspects.

Happy stampin'

- stamporator -

Thank you for all the great info, The only Problem is getting to the public Library is unable to happen with the hours I work,

I found a copy of Scotts Stamp Catalog #5 on the net and ordered it. Does a person need to get all 5 volumes or are there more then 5 Volumes?


Thank you friends.

mo, Volume 1 addresses the United States and other countries that start with A and B. (I'm unsure of the other breakdowns but can provide them if you'd like.) Scott also publishes at least one more catalog with more specific information about specialty stamps.

It will be interesting for you to sort through the stamps and see what your friend's interests were. There are many categories of collectibles, such as revenue stamps, first day covers, and even what they call cinderellas.

EDIT: Here's the breakdown

The contents of each volume (in current editions) are as follows:

Volume 1: United States and Countries A-B
Volume 2: Countries C-F
Volume 3: Countries G-I
Volume 4: Countries J-M
Volume 5: Countries N-Sam
Volume 6: Countries San-Z.

The new volume format was introduced starting with the 2011 edition. Catalogues produced before the 2011 edition featured a different format which is as follows:

Volume 1: United States and Countries A-B
Volume 2: Countries C-F
Volume 3: Countries G-I
Volume 4: Countries J-O
Volume 5: Countries P-Sl
Volume 6: Countries So-Z.

THANK YOU KGB,

It might cost a little bit to get a set but then I con do it when I want to.

Some of the stamps I have no clue on how to find them, When I get my scanner

up and going can I run a post to see if someone knows what a certain stamp might be

on here.

Thank you for the great info,

Mohawk1234

I agree with the assessment of the pages but I'm guessing they were already purchased so you could certainly make do with what you have.

I have hundreds of them laying around and they seemed to be the best type to use in a pinch, as I
did not know what else to use at the time. They are able to be scanned and kept in good condition
until I am more trained on the topic.

mo, at the risk of offending you--and I don't mean to do so--are you using tongs? The ones with flat and rounded ends are best.