Catalogue #/Value For These 1932 Washington Bicentennial US Scott 704-715 With Cachet

Hello everyone...!

I don't have a catalogue at the moment and I'm trying to find out the name/cat # for these 1932 Washington Bicentennial's

I received a lot from an estate sale and these were with them with:
SCOTT CV=$218.00

What is the current catalogue value for these is it still $218?

Thank you!

Only way find the current selling price is to look at ebay sold listing for 704-15..

Your's are better looking (from what I can see) than the one set that did sell. First day cover collecting isn't what it used to be! Used to be dozens of folks who made those kind of cover. Different hobby now. Now they save glue.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...045573.m1684

Prices are all over the map but the one thing that is certain is there is little to no relation of actual commercial value to Scott Catalog value. As was mentioned, the number of FDC collectors out there today is a mere shadow of what there once was and so supply typically greatly exceeds demand making it a buyer's market. There are endless sellers of these on ebay who put opening "bids" on theirs in the $125 to $150 range and of course none of those ever actually sell. There is a recent auction where a set of 12 FDCs without cachets sold for $5 and another with a much fancier set of multi-color cachets than the ones yours has that sold for $66 so I might think that on a good day yours might go for somewhere in between those prices. The only way to find out what your are actually worth would be to put them on ebay with a starting bid of $5 and see what the winning bid is. That will be the current commercial value.

Hi littleriverPhil...Hi Kimo!!

Thanks both of you for getting back to me on this and detailed info. on how to sell a FDC these days/find current value. I guess I was hoping it was a special type of cachet (since I haven't found this EXACT one yet) so maybe I'll hold onto it for a little longer. Since as you were saying it's a buyer's market for FDC's maybe Ill kee it for a LONG WHILE.

Is there ever a case where a FDC WITHOUT cachet/just a type address is more valuable than a FDC with graphical cachet?

All things being equal, I think it is safe to say that and FDC with a cachet will attract a higher bid than one without. However, that goes out the window if there is anything wrong with the one with the cachet. A nice clean non-cachet FDC with a plate number block will normally sell for more than most cacheted FDCs with a single stamp. Or a nice clean undamaged FDC without a cachet is likely to sell for more than a cacheted FDC with some damage such as a tear or staining or sun-bleaching or a poor quality example of the stamp or an illegible cancel etc. Also, some uncacheted FDCs may have rare unofficial city cancellations that could have a greater value than a FDC with a common cachet. Overall though, most FDCs do not have the value or collectability that they once did.

The standard source for cachets is the Mellone's Planty Photo Encyclopedia of Cacheted First Day Covers. Your covers will be found in Volume III 1930-1932.

The design depicted is from an unnamed cachet maker and has a Planty cachet number of 704/15-22. The value listed for the cachet is $25.00 per cover, so that would give a CATALOGUE value of $300.00 for the twelve cover set.

That being said, as others have pointed out, the FDC market isn't what it used to be, with the exception being some of the rare photographic covers by Beazel or the hand-painted covers by prominent cachet makers like Dorothy Knapp.

I've been working on the National Parks Series, which was issued a couple of years after the Washington Bicentennial series. While the covers CATALOGUE $15-$60 apiece, I've been picking them up on ebay for $2.99 each - usually. Sometimes, I have to pay more, especially for the more esoteric cachets (not the big name makers of the era like Rice or Ioor).

The big thing, which no one has mentioned, is condition. Most of the envelopes of the period used a glue which, over time, tended to become very dark and would bleed through to the front of the cover. This migration and staining destroys the value of the cover. I will not add any cover to the collection which exhibits that kind of deterioration. One of the ways I keep the covers I have from developing that is to insert a clean glassine inside the cover. This prevents the back of the cover, where the glue was used, from migrating to the front. If your covers are open and clean, it would be a good idea to do this to help preserve them.

Stampman2002:
I prefer to use a filler of 65 lb acid free white paper. In addition to stopping glue migration it also adds some stability to your cover. However, as a possible drawback, it also adds weight. I always store my FDCS perpendicular, pressure, as well as, age, adds to glue migration.
Just a thought.
Respectfully submitted:
jrc531
P.S. I do not own "my" stamps and FDCS, I am just their present caretaker!

jrc531, I understand you're use of the 65 lb paper. I may eventually move in that direction as well, but in the interim, I've found the glassine envelopes work well and don't add the weight you're referring to.

You raised a great point - making sure you keep the covers stored on edge (perpendicular) rather than flat. This does keep the pressure from allowing the glue to further migrate as the two sides are forced into tight contact when stored flat.