How Much Would You Pay For Such An Item Without Certificate?

Hello,

from time to time some nice items appear at ebay. What is your strategy in such a case? There is no certificate so you don't know if the stamp is genuine. Many people decided to pay quite a lot, I think.

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Brief-mit-S...047675.l2557

Is there a strategy for these stamp auctions without certificate? Do you have a percentage of the CV in your head that you try to bid?

Well ,I would say one has to know the material in question.In your example ;postmark origin ,stamp ect...If it all fit's together why not bid.Of coarse one should not get into the bidding frenzy and pay more
than the auction house price + commissions for certified material.

It is a fake.

In this case, there are a number of beginning factors to look at. The Kingston, PA cancel doesn't seem right for the era. The embossed monogram at the upper left doesn't seem correct for the era also.

I would then look at the 1847 on Cover book from USCCC to see if the cover is listed. The book has a data base of 1000s of 1847 covers. The book would also tell if Kingston had received any 1847 stamps.

That's just looking the cover. Would also need to determine if the stamp was a fake as well.

Glenn:
the 1847 cover census is online (with many additions since the printed version was completed) at the USPCS.org website (under the "Resources" menu choice).

PS - That cover is a fake. VERY wrong postmark.

Thank you all. I also thought that this cover looked strange, and the seller didn't really want to make any detailed information about it. He was right and got a good price.

If an item is fake or looks so, it's clear not to bid on it. I think it's more difficult if you are not so sure if it's genuine, like if the photo is not detailed enough. Here I always ask myself if I should bid or not - I never did. But as I saw all those people bidding in this Kingston cover, I thought that also experienced collectors must have been active there.