1852-58 Northern German States Scott's Thurn & Taxis #7.(3-Sgr Blk, Brownish & Yellow):

someone in a seperate post mentioned this stamp as possibly being a "reprint" issue.i scanned front and reverse as to obtain new additional feedback from the stampcommunity.? plus a link added about the subject stamp.
http://www.stamp-collecting-world.c...orthern.html

please help me determine (if this stamp is a reprint,or the actual original).? note-there s a fold in the center of stamp..

Most of the time, we should only be concerned with reprints in the case of expensive mint stamps or stamps that are rare when used having fake cancels. This 1852-58 issue has mostly more expensive mint stamps. The reprints for this issue are all marked ND (neudrucke) in fancy letters on the back.

Catalog prices are for sound copies with full or close to full margins. Faulty German States in any lesser condition are very, very common and are worth a very small fraction of a sound stamp with full margins.

yes hy-brasil ..i was not what you'd consider "treasure hunting",you did it..you offered sound information regarding the stamp.thanks for your opinion! As far as reprints are concerned,you said this only matters in the case of expensive or mint stamps.So I am guessing "used stamps" in this catagory have no substantial value..

It's not as bad as that. I'd gladly pay around the US$20 level for a sound used 3sgr black on yellow with 4 almost-full margins. You'll eventually find really nice ones to be fairly scarce. See:
https://www.stampworld.com/en/stamp...n-and-Taxis/
This provides a good comparison for retail prices of mint vs. used for stamps of top quality, although I wouldn't go by the scans which include copies with less than 4 margins. Note the 1/2sgr that is more money used than mint.

Your stamp is decent looking but faulty, maybe worth US$1-2, so you see how much the price drops for faults in German States and classic stamps in general. There are also ones with (say) no margins that would come in at a couple per cent of top value/catalog value. Those would probably end up being part of a large lot or collection of stamps.

there are alot of forgeries in the early german states and reich.

shades being altered chemically, cancels forged, perfs repaired and so on.

also, i'm told that it was not frowned upon to repair stamps in germany, and may still be. and I know the largest auctionhouse in denmark rarely accept MNH reich stamps without certificates.

in general, german stamps are listed much too high, and rarely go for much more than 5% catalogue value here in denmark.

http://www.qxl.dk/pris/frimaerker/v...an821235008/

that stamp has a catalogue value of 15.000 DKR, around $2300, and such an expensive stamp like that should really end up around 15-20% value, that is IF value is equal to rarity.

i would be supriced if it goes above 10%


Helgoland you should really just avoid completely.

Why are German stamps then not being offered in nearby Germany? That's where the market is. I know there must be charges for exchange from euros to krone, but the cost wouldn't be that bad. The price attained would more than make up the difference, I would think. And auction for many things is a wholesale market, not retail.


That catalog price is not retail; it's a reference price. Michel is the same way. Scott is retail, at least as close as it can be be by being up to a year or more out of date. This stamp would bring about $400-500 in a typical US auction if it was sound. But it's not. The view here is obscured by the foil on the display card so bidders will often suspect it's hiding a fault and will not bid. There is no certificate or Bundesprufer mark. Is this typical for this auction site? If so, it's no wonder prices are so poor.

yes I know catalogprice is not retail, retail goes up and down depending on supply and demand, no catalog not even scott can adjust often enough to reflect any truth.

AFA catalogue that the seller refers to doesn't really adjust prices much, and haven't for decades. so collectors here adjust the % of catalogue value to make up for it... a stamp like that (IF legit) would sell for the same as on an US auction i'd imagine.

the picture does not matter on this seller... notice he has 120.000 deals behind him, and that's only those who cared to leave a feedback.
if you're more than just a collector, then you'd know who's behind the name. and this person is an outlet for many of the biggest stamp dealers in germany.
he gets material that would be difficult to sell in germany.

it does appear like it has a shortened perf in the lower right corner, however in my experience that's not anything americans would fuss about.
the gum, which there is no picture off is the pitfall on this - german stamps have a gum that if handled could absorb a fingerprint or similar quickly and the stamp is then ruined (for german standards).
but for this exact seller, it might very well be genuine.

the other thing you bring up. german collectors in denmark aren't that many, we tend to look towards our scandinavian brothers instead.
so there is a market for german stamps in denmark and the other way, but it's a small one.
there's not much to gain on the currency - but there is a large gain when buying in sweden or norway... which of course means the other way around is poor.

This would be seen as a fault by most any auction buyer for material of this level in the US. ebay might have crazy start prices and reserves for damaged stamps, but that's not the only place where stamps are sold at auction here. It doesn't mean those items always sell, either.



Not on this stamp, though. And a fingerprint would ruin this by US and other countries' standards also as NH/UM.



So that means there is much less competition for German stamps there. Therefore there is more of a limit on how high bids can go. My point exactly for selling in Germany instead.

no, that's exactly the reason why he's an outlet for german dealers, there's even lower prices in germany, and we often see german high end collectors in denmark trying to trade expensive classic german stamps for, more easy to get rid of areas, like danish west indies or asian stamps.

The stamp market for better German Colonies is still in a state of shock after the recent Daniel Kelleher Auction . There was too much nice material hitting the market all at once and prices reflected the mass of material .There also was a lot of regular Germany material that just couldn't get hope for prices and went cheap.
It sounds like German collectors who in the past had high standards for their collections are looking for overseas markets to soften the blow when it comes time to sell .

stamp in the link sold for DKR 560, around 4%