Origins Of Kiloware?

I recently soaked a 1/4 pound of Italian commemorative stamps, purchased from a well-regarded kiloware dealer. Most of what I've sorted through so far are common stamps, the majority from the 1960s-1990s, which is pretty much as I expected. But one stamp so far dates from 1930, Scott 254, a 1.25 lira value of a scene from Virgil's Aeneid that has a catalog value of $12.00, reported in italics in Scott designating it as a stamp that is difficult to value accurately (presumably because it's not appeared often enough in the market in recent years). This made me curious about where sellers of kiloware obtain their goods, especially in this case a stamp on paper that is 86 years old. Where had it been for so long? I'm fairly new to buying kiloware and perhaps this is a tired question for this venue, in which case I won't be offended if someone responds by saying that.

Well, as an example, I keep a tin into which I throw current stamps from envelopes to give to my local charity shop, which it will then sell them on, usually for kiloware. But I also throw in anything scruffy that I don't want, hence 19th century stamps will join this week's Machins.

I've found Queen Victoria issues in on-paper kiloware more than once, and I've been curious about this myself. I think Geoff's explanation is the likely one. In many countries, there are charities (church groups and the like) whose members save stamps on mail, aggregate it and sell it to dealers. That's how bulk lots of new issues come into being, for the most part. Older stamps will basically percolate through the system as individuals dispose of them in the manner that Geoff describes.

Also re:


The italics are due to the fact that the stamp is valued higher in used condition than mint. In this case, the italics are a warning to watch out for fake cancels. In the case of that particular stamp, it may even be why it ended up in kiloware - it could have been a fraudulent cover and its owner at some point decided just to basically toss it. It could, of course, be a legitimate use, but there is a possibility it was just tossed for that reason.

Anyone who buys kiloware does not want everything that is in the lot. Perhaps (like me) he's looking for rarities / varieties or just one or two particular stamp issues. Maybe he's searching for postmarks. Whatever the case, the "discards" go into a bag or box - to be then sold or given away as "kiloware." Thus it is re-cycled. You will often see some content in kiloware where the paper is almost furry it's been handled so many times. Just went through a lot like that - a pile of WW II stuff that was common and of no value - probably re-bagged more than a dozen times. A philatelist will only very very rarely toss out a stamp.

A new category! Furry stamps! (Wink.)

I'm sure a lot of kiloware does get recycled, but speaking for myself, I usually buy kiloware by the pound or kilo and I soak off every single stamp whether I want it or not, no matter how many duplicates. The reason for this is simply to save space as stamps on paper take up several times as much space as the same amount of stamps off paper. This is no big deal if you've just got a pound or two, but I probably do a pound a month on average and this could eventually overtake an entire closet if I let that happen. The duplicates go into cheap stamp packets to be sold on ebay, or tied into bundles and put into storage that way. There are some stamps that I've got nearly a thousand of, neatly packaged in bundles of 100. Someday I'll get around to selling them as a lot of bundleware on ebay.

Artfulhingers comment reminds me of when I was about 14 and had all the time in the world at my disposal - and close to no funds. I was patiently working through several pounds of US 1960-70s kiloware. Other collectors had probably already removed whatever of interest was there. So it was basically only the workhorses left, in particular the 13c brown Liberty bell.... I also made bundles of 100s, and became quite an expert - ended up with 76 bundles of the liberty bell alone.... After I took up collecting again aged 30 I have not made one single bundle, afraid I have lost that kind of patience. I have stopped accumulating and rather pass the stuff away in kiloware. Which is what still makes kiloware interesting: other collectors leftovers may hide undetected gold...