Inherited Stamp Collection

Recently my great grandfather has passed away and he gave me his stamp collection with 56 albums with stamps from different countries all around the world, starting with Latvia (home country), USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, USA, China etc. I have no intention to keep these and collect more, because I have no interest in them. I came here to get at least some help with determing the true value of them, because in Latvia there aren't true and honest collectioners, but only fraud re-sellers. What should I do if I have 0% clue how to set the value for them?

I would be happy for any help and if you're interested, I could send some pictures of what is inside of the albums.

Welcome.
Ideally you may want to post some more images of pages which you represent each album. Start a new thread for each album to avoid confusion. The folks here will then have be able to understand the scope of the albums and give input as to the best disposition method.
Don

Thank you Don, for your answer. Should I post pictures of all pages of the specified album or only the first few?

I would start with just some pages you feel represent the album.

Thank you!

You might start with Latvia and, if you have them, Estonia and Lithuania, which may well be of more value than, say, other post-war central and eastern European stamps.

Your collection is too large to evaluate properly long-distance. Go to your local public library and try to find recent stamp catalogs, such as Stanley Gibbons or Scott. Study the catalogs and learn how to read them. And then look for a local stamp club that might be able to help you.

Trying to establish the approximate market value of a large collection such as yours is extremely time consuming and difficult. There is no easy way to do it.

And before we forget, please don't leave them on the floor like that! They should be stored standing up, away from direct sunlight & humidity. (Not in a basement or attic!)

If all you want to do is sell them, you just have to take good pictures of each page. I'd suggest one book at a time, with all the stamps photographed, & then listed on ebay. The collectors are waiting & will not miss good offerings - you'll get the 'market' value...

Rainers. I DO NOT recommend you go to catalogues in an attempt to gain an estimate of value. Stamp catalogues are complicated, hard to learn how to use, and even when you think you are getting competent - you probably aren't. Colour, centering, cancellations, perforations, watermarking, parer - these are all important factors. And above all this, there is something you must remember: stamp catalogue prices are almost always at the upper limit - and are usually not what you can realistically expect to get on a sale. And while stamp values depend to a large extent on rarity and condition, they are like any other merchandise - they need a buyer. Your entire collection may be worth 1000 Euros - but if nobody is interested - what is it really worth? As someone suggested, go to a stamp club meeting and speak to a member of the club executive. Ask for advice. That's the only way to go.

No catalogues no ebay. You require one on one professional assistance.

http://www.latphil.se/start/me-and-...ely-10343169

http://www.hungarianstamps.com/

http://www.hungarianstamps.com/sellstamps.php?home

http://www.filatelija.lv/noderigi

Thank you all for your advice. It seems that it is really time consuming to valuate each album. The problem in Latvia is, that there aren't much of real collectioners who would tell you the truth, because our country is small and interest in collecting stamps have died out. And I got told that I should sell the whole collection together instead of one by one, because someone could buy the most valuable out of that collection and then I could throw the rest in the bin, because there might not be any value in them.

I'll stick to the original recommendation, post some representative images of each album and the knowledgeable folks here will then be in a better position to give you advice. Right now, no one understands the scope of the collection so it is hard to tell you what direction to go.
Don

Okay, understood. Thanks!

Post a few pics of the beginning of the US album - say 1847-1880 or so. I think by what's in there, we'll be able to see how deep your grandfather went in his collecting of a country outside of his own. If there's good stuff there, there's probably good stuff throughout.

I agree. Show some scans of the early years of several albums. U.S. first.

Scroll down to the second place mentioned at the School.

http://balticstamps.com/stamp-colle...g-to-latvia/