Treasure Hunting On Ebay?

Spain said it all.

Fascinating discussion!

The thrill of "scoring a bargain" is part of it, and by no means limited to stamp collectors. Every weekend my wife and I like to make the rounds at several consignment/thrift shops/antique markets (I prefer garage sales myself). Nine times out of ten we find nothing of great value; the other times we usually get something really priced a "steal" but often we really don't need it. Recently we found a gorgeous roll-top desk (vintage, but not quite antique) for $50. My better half couldn't resist it, so now it resides in our rather crowded living room.

Stamp-wise, I am the same way. One of my first "steals" was this four-peseta, 1936 stamp from Spain (Scott 633).


I was only ten years old, and I couldn't afford most stamps I ran across in 1970. It was either pay face value for new issues at the post office, or spend hours looking in dealers' penny stamp boxes. Mowing my neighbor's lawn afforded me the occasional dollar for my hobby. The Spanish stamp cost me two cents. 2017 catalogue value is $52.50 (it's VF lightly hinged). Way back then I knew higher values of definitive sets were usually pricier, and I probably only had fifty different stamps from Spain.

We all remember the good scores and bargains, but I have no doubt I have spent probably hundreds of dollars on thousands of stamps fished from two-cent stamp mixtures. Most were worth about what I paid, and likely I'd get back maybe ten cents for every dollar spent, averaged out. But the satisfaction of having album spaces filled and the enjoyment of examining and researching these elusive bits of paper: priceless.

Undoubtedly I am not the only one who will still "waste" an hour or two looking through a good mix of stamps. Or covers, or postcards. It's relaxing, relatively inexpensive, and it causes me to go through corners of my worldwide collection that may have languished unvisited in months or even years. And of course, the slim chance I might strike pay dirt, well, we all agree....... that's a factor!

--Jim Wentzell
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