Advice Needed For Great Britain Stamp Collecting

Hi Family,

For those of you who know me, you know that I am a USA and a KGVI collector. My USA collection 20th/21st Century is primarily MNH. Over 99.8% anyway. The 18th Century is used. All are housed in Mystic's with Showgards. I am just about done with this collection.

The KGVI is all Mint Hinged and is housed in Palo's with Dennison's Hinges. I am about 1/3 the way thru this collection (including India) and it has cost me a fortune so far. Time to slow down (but not stop!).

What to do next you say? Well, I've been thinking about a Great Britain (no Commonwealth - just GB) used collection. And also an Irish collection, maybe.

My main question to you is to ask how I should go about it. I really don't see "lots" or "sets" of used stamps on ebay. I'd like to buy complete sets if possible. Or complete sets by year. Something that requires buying many used stamps at a time with minimal duplication.

Any help will be most appreciated. We'll talk about album selection later.

Thanks,
Jack Kelley

Jack,

I don't know your stamp budget but what I usually do is scout for a reasonably priced collection that appears to have had some care. I did that when I began collecting Ireland and Brazil. For Ireland, I found a nice collection on Minkus pages. The pages had glassine interleaving so it appeared that the collector took some care.

Of course there were no "key" issues. I wasn't looking for a bargain, just a framework to begin the collection.

Next, I re-cataloged the stamps not only to see if there were errors (we all get catalog blindness) but also to familiarize myself with the stamp issues of the country.

Then it was a process of filling in the blanks and upgrading the poorer items.

It takes some patience to find a decent collection but it does eliminate excessive duplication. I also get some satisfaction from taking a previous collector's collection and trying to kick it up a notch.

Just my 2 cents...

Dan


Edit: added text.

Jack
Like Dan, I'd go for single country collections at auction, but, then again, that's just how I like to buy - I really don't get much of a kick out of picking up individual stamps. I don't know what period you have in mind, but some UK dealers do year sets, although mint will pobably show up more often than used. This will obviously be pricier, but would avoid duplication.
Regards.
Geoff

Ireland and Great Britain collections are commonly offered at auction by all of the auction houses. For instance Harmer Schau had some excellent collections in their last sale that went for very reasonable prices. Spinks has a very nice Ireland collection in their December sale with an estimate of $1500. All of the goodies like seahorses included. Hard to go wrong since it is in a Lighthouse hingeless album.

Hi All,

Thank you for your input. It looks as if the auction route is the way to go. I have been doing a lot of research and have found a couple of interesting leads. One in particular is a collection which is housed in a Scott's Specialty album. This auction ends on Thanksgiving so I will report results on Friday. I don't want to spend a lot of money on this project. So we'll see.

Meanwhile, I will be looking at auctions for British "collections" and "lots" (country collections). Also, I may be springing for Davo albums which may end up being the largest part of the initial investment!

That's it for now,
Jack Kelley

Jack

Davo? So-so, to my mind. Do look around for used ones, like this ...

http://www.warwickandwarwick.com/au...logue/172192

I have often considered buying collection to use as a base but always hesitant spending the money and then not getting much. I am willing to pay a fair price.

I buy from a couple of auction houses that have material that fits my budget. Yes, you get the odd poorer lot, but, in general, I've been pleased with what I've acquired, and I enjoy the sorting and the bringing together of material.

Well, I have a couple of auctions to monitor. The first one ends today for a 1990-2001 collection about 1/2 full in a lighthouse album. The bid is up to $50- already plus another $50- for shipping. Any ideas what might be a fair price?

I have decided to go with Davo (I know, Geoff) and ordered Volumes I - III. Forty percent off at Palo in Chicago. I couldn't resist. I also ordered Volumes I and II of Ireland.

I will keep you posted.

Jack Kelley

Jack

Just one thought - as you don't like recent US issues, you might think twice about post-1960s GB and the sheer flood of stuff. The abandonment of our proper currency in 1971 is one good cut-off. Is the 1990-2001 mint or used? If mint, it would be worth around 60% of face here, but obviously less there, as you can't use the stamps. That's not taking account of anything that might be worth more philatically than as postage.

I'd still pick Gibbons, Lighthouse or Schaubek ahead of Davo!

Regards.

Geoff

Hi Geoff,

I envision this as a "used" collection. I am really sorry to hear that the UK has gone the way of the USA. I only collect the USA as a MNH only to keep the collection going. At least my GB (no Commonwealth) will be strictly used. Ironic as the album is a Davo Hingeless! Forty percent off was too good to pass up and maybe some day I will jettison the used stamps for mint.

Personally, the pre-decimal cutoff makes sense to me as well. Besides, that's when I left the UK (1970). We are hoping to visit in 2018. Perhaps we can meet!

Jack Kelley

There's this guy that sells GB stamps with bonus complete sets.
You might find this useful.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/A-COLLECTI...AOSwTmtaFXce

'Collection is at $50.00 and shipping is $50.00" That is a problem ........first shipping cost will reduce the net value of your collection . Second thing that is troubling is your looking at expense albums . You got two strikes working against you starting out . Spend your time looking for nice condition sets and interesting items to build your collection with reasonable shipping cost and a blank page album .
I am surprised it wasn't mention by someone already .