Advice Arranging Stamps

Roughly in 1997 as a child I took up stamp collecting needless to say I had no clue what I was doing. I bought up a collection by a man in his 90's nothing however was cataloged and so I purchased an album to get to work. I found my interest in stamps soon disappeared however kept them all in an ice cream tub. Probably a bad choice but saw someone said that pre-1950's stamps could be less common and worth something, this got me thinking.

I would like to get them values at some point but think I may have a go at properly cataloging them into the album can anyone offer me some advice where to start. I heard Scott mentioned a lot but would rather get some professional advice instead of wasting time.

If you're in the UK, there's no point in using Scott, which is principally used by American collectors If you have a local library, see if it has Stanley Gibbons's catalogues, either to borrow or to look at in a reference section. But bear in mind that the average stamp is worth a penny or two! If there are any potentially interesting things - eg early GB - you could try scanning and posting them here.

Good advice. Also, write or call for a Mystic catalog. They are free. It'll have pictures, prices, and Scott numbers. Don't believe the pricing, though. For that, go to ebay and look up prices paid by Scott number.

Jack Kelley

The Mystic catalog is also available online at Mystic's web site.

You can also look at Brookman's site and has more varieties but also optimistic pricing.

Thank you for the replies I will have a look at the Stanley Gibbon's one then as I am in the UK good job I asked you lot :D once I start arranging them I will come back with some photos to get opinion on if any are rare :D I do have lots and lots of foreign ones too

Welcome and good luck.
The process of identifying your stamps can be quite enjoyable; it offers the opportunity to learn about all kinds of things and can generate many great family moments. But do understand that many stamps were printed in the millions including those which might be 100 years of more older. Additionally, many stamps may have subtle differences (perforations or watermarks) which can be quite meaningful.
But keep in mind that rare stamps are just that, rare. It is best to work from the assumption that you have the common varieties and rely upon the process of elimination. By all means post images of stamps in which you have any questions and the kind folks here will offer their opinions.
One last note about a difficult area of stamp collecting; colors. Sometimes the same stamp design might be known in several colors. Stamp colors, especially in used stamps, can be very tricky to understand. If the only delta between a rare stamp and a common stamp is color, be particularly cautious in making the identification.
Don