Collecting "Junk Countries" - Or Not

I sold my international collection back in the 1970's and recently decided to start again from scratch. To kick start things I purchased a "lot" of stamps from Subway Stamps, 10,000, and have just started going through them to sort and categorize before I do any mounting of stamps.

It started to come back to my memory that in the 1970's we had started to see tons of junk stamps flood the market from a few countries. The reason I remembered that is I've found some in the lot I purchased from Subway. I'm less than 10% through them all, but I'm wondering if there is a list or general consensus on what is considered "junk"?

There seem to be many small middle east, southern arabian, independencies from the area and the stamps they produce are not all that attractive. At least they used to be attractive to look at, even if there was no real postal value to them. Guyana also seems to manufacture lots of stuff for the "collector's" market. While I realize there is some value in saving and collecting every stamp, I'm just wondering if this has been discussed in this forum and if there is a general consensus.javascript:insertsmilie('')

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

Those 10,000 stamp packets (in general, not necessarily the one from Subway) usually contain a lot of stamps that are either CTO or were never actually sold to the general public at the post offices of the home country. Some of them, were not even valid for postage.

That being said, a lot of collectors really don't care about those factors. They just like those pretty bits of paper!

If anyone is concerned about actual value, 99.99% of stamps are a losing proposition. The stamp will not appreciate in value faster than the rate of inflation. Furthermore, if you try to meet a reasonable rate of return, the percentage gets even more skewed.

This is why I tell everybody, just enjoy your bits of paper. That's where the true value is!

BTW, Mike, I like your idea of starting from scratch! I've actually done that several time over the past few decades! I have about 4-5 different world-wide collections, including the one I had when I was in elementary school. Obviously, I only work on my most recent one, but it is actually rather refreshing to literally start over ever decade or so!

k

You bring up a good question Mike ! Is the stamp created to carry the mail or to be sold to a collector ? If I see a postally used copy of a stamp that gives it some credability to me..i have friends who actually collect "sand dune" countries listed in Stanley-Gibbons..i don't think they care if the stamp has seen a post office !

I tend to stay away from them... Like Khj states. I collect the pieces of paper to enjoy the hobby. I choose what goes into my albums

But then on the other hand... You have the Eastern European counties and Russia who issued junk in the 70's also. These I do collect, but I try to stay away from the CTO'S..[ if possible ]

I disagree in the name "junk countries".....what if a member of this forum is a member of those countries....maybe better to use a more sensitive and politically correct description...just my 2 cents

Don't worry, johnstamp, I know some collectors that are so unhappy with the US stamp program of the past few years that they also readily put the US in that category!

As for me, I like my little bits of junk paper.

k

You are 100 percent correct...we should call these stamps Krapmanistan Stamps..so that no one is offended

Mike,
I am sure there is some list somewhere that lists countries that issue as some would say "wallpaper" stamps. I don't know what direction to point you in, though.

One man's junk is another man's treasure. And personally I'm very attracted to it ;)

I know FIP had a "blacklist" of undesired countries in the 1970's, but it was abandoned for "political correctness".

And Scott's (worldwide catalogs) is being very protective by not listing a lot countries / stamps that are included in other worldwide catalogs (Michel,Yvert, SG).

javascript:insertsmilie('')Sorry if I offended anyone with the term "junk countries". It was not intended to refer to anyone's culture, but used to be an accepted way to describe stamp issues that had little or no "postal value", meaning they were never really intended to be used for postage. A lot like most USA issues today. I do collect them all myself, so there's value in everything that's perforated to me! I used to have every stamp issued by the Soviet Union and Russia from 1935 to 1997. That was a LOT of stamps and not one of them ever saw a post office, but I really didn't care.

Thanks for the comments.

One man's trash. Hang on to those "junk countries" as you can't be certain if or when you'll come across a collector interested in said nations. I wouldn't mind rummaging around your unwanted middle eastern and South Arabia issues.

Mike a couple of guys in my stamp club have Russia just about complete..its not my cup of tea..but you should see the looks I get from dealers at stamp shows when I say GUATEMALA..i belong to a society of Guatemala collectors that just about controls the good stuff of Guatemala..fantastic stuff that the dealers do not have !

I'm one of those who think most recent US fits into the junk category!

IMHO, if it's a CTO it's junk. If it's not, it's collectible.

Much, if not most, of the 70's DDR fits into that category. That's why I never collected it with my German.

Actually I'm quite amazed how no-one here has stated that it is possible to collect REAL USED stamps from these countries / areas. Personally I'd divide the "junk" to three stages:

Some countries (like Soviet Union, DDR, Cuba, Hungary) are actually somewhat easy to collect in real used condition. These are usually nations with large population and developed postal operations.

Some (like Mongolia or North Korea, two of my long time favourites) are notably harder, but still doable. These nations usually have somewhat large population, but "less true need" of postal services.

And finally there's the "almost impossible countries" (Ajman, Manama etc). These are usually nations with very small population and limited postal needs/services.

For me , there are "junk" stamps, but never "junk" countries.

If I get more than 3 copies of one type of stamp, the rest of the copies are "junk" and tradeable

However the smallest countries, those which really have minimum stamps output are the ones I treasure most! simply because they are that much more "rarer"