I Think I May Have Some Value Here...

Hey all!

New to the forums as I just inherited my grandpa's massive stamp (and coin) collection. He has tons of Canadian stamps amongst others and I am slowly sifting through them. I am hoping I could get some experienced opinions potential values on some interesting finds. I am not actually intending to sell them off but it is more for interest sales as well as wondering to what level I should be protecting these. Anyhow, here is the first of many I hope to post!

Hab,
welcome to the forum. First look shows that this is a quality collection, as the values of the Quebec tricentenary, jubilees and scroll issues in mint condition are sought after by intermediate to advanced collectors. My first advice would be to get a Unitrade catalogue to help you classify and assess what are the key stamps in the collection. Members on the forum here can provide additional advice. With such a great start for a canadian collection, you will find hours/days of enjoyment and fun at stamp collecting. Keep posting those pages as you go through them.

Why did you start two threads on the same topic? You should keep everything in one place, if at all possible. You can always start another one with a different country, or a different question, of course.

If this topic is solely on Canada, then, I agree that Unitrade is the way to go for current value and selection.

I found these envelopes with cancelled stamps mailed by air from Fort Resolution Great Bear Lake in NWT from what looks like 1932 to be really cool!

to the community. That is a fairly good looking collection of Canadian stamps in fine to very fine condition. Special deliveries, 200 years New Bruinswick block of 6. Nice looking complete set of 1908 Tercentenery of Quebec, and a short set of Jubiliee issues. Looks like all mint, later sets probably some hinged, with gum I assume. They have pretty good value. But it should not be all about the value or lack thereof. Enjoy them as your grandfather did.

Now you need to get a specialized unitrade catalogue of Canadian stamps for identification and varieties and catalogue values. Or a scott catalogue for basic numbers and values. And note I mention catalogue value and not selling values. Totally different. And probably there was some catalogues in with other material, yet to find and if not you can always check your local library as they usually carry the newer issues which you could borrow.

Anyway it appears to be a nice collection to build on and add too. You will learn a lot of history from the different stamps and learn many new things while collecting. And check out Stamp Smarter for more info on inheriting a collection of stamps or other forums on this site.

Mike

Hab, those two are first flight covers, first time mail was flown on those routes. Quite common for those in 1932, although some of the NWT flights are a bit scarcer than other provincial flight issues.

Hi Partime,

I figured sticking to Canada for Canadian content might be more effective as I find I other forums I participate in for other unrelated things generally have people with particular interests who do not necessarily look into all the sub-forums... I hope that is not a faux pas!

No problems. Thanks for posting those excellent examples. Keep them coming.

I notice that there are what appear to be current catalog values penciled in next to many of the stamps. They are optimistic. I cannot judge the back on the ones that are hinged nor can regumming and reperfing be determined. If we assume that neither is an issue the first thing to note is that the centering on most of the stamps leaves something to be desired. They mostly tend towards Fine or Fine to Very Fine.

To give you an some examples of how the centering affects the value and using a 2016 Unitrade catalog (best for Canadian stamps) the following are prices for some of the stamps shown as Fine vs Very Fine:

Scott 99: $45 vs $150
Scott 100: $80 vs $250
Scott 101: $100 vs $300
Scott 102: $120 vs $350
Scott 103: $150 vs $400

For Scott 50-59 the Catalog value for Fine runs around 50% or less of the Very Fine value for the most part.

Do not get me wrong, the stamp collection is nice but your expectations need to be tempered if you think that the bare unadjusted catalog values are realistic. You already may be aware of this but I try and be honest with fellow collectors.

Lastly I will note that you can expect to realize only a percentage of the catalog value. On ebay however sellers will just list everything at the VF catalog value and price from that. So they will list the 103 as having a CV of $400 when in reality it is $150. People might bite at a $200 "bargain" but in reality they have overpaid substantially. You need to take that into account if using ebay sales data to establish market value.

I am not trying to be negative but rather you need to know the truth. Again, I love the stamps. Nice collection.

Value in most countries is dependent on hinging and centering. A degree of freshness is also expected.

We don't know what the backs look like here so anything about hinging is moot at this point.

The 1c Quebec has large/jumbo margins so would merit some kind of premium.

The 1c and 8c Jubilees are well centered, but the 2c and 6c Jubilees are very well centered, even exceptional for the issue.

You need to visit your local library for Scott catalogs, the most recent in the reference section and older ones possibly available for checkout. Reading the first section in any volume carefully will help collecting and how to use the catalogs. It will give you a very rough guide of how centering and hinging affects pricing, with their valuations being full retail in ideal condition. If you get really involved with Canada, there is a Unitrade Canada catalog, with recent older catalogs available cheaply.

Rogdcam- No worries what-so-ever! I value honest advice and opinion. It is crucial to proper evaluation and that is what I want. I honestly have no intention on sales either way. I am a collector of many things and my grandpa just started me happily down another road! That doesn't mean I don't want to know value however, so here I am! Lol

I did notice what appeared to be evaluations beside some of them, but as my grandpa passed away 10 years back, and this collection has sat buried in my parents closet ever since, I just assumed he did this quite a long time ago and I am very aware that prices do fluctuate in the market as new finds skew quantities and availability affecting prices regularly as with all collecting. I am not putting a huge amount of stock into those details. That said, I do think they absolutely have some level of significant value overall, even if not at top levels. Added up it is worth considering.

Thanks for all your input!

Hab, when I looked back at your other postings above, I noticed that the 1 and 2c war stamps are mixed in with the other OHMS stamps, they are from the regular war issue set. As well the lumbering stamp does not belong in that OHMS set either, it is a regular issue. The correct OHMS lumbering stamp would be an 09 with considerably more catalogue value.

In regards to hinging... Many are in some kind of plastic and have no hinging to the stamps whatsoever. Others are hinged with what looks to me like a piece of very thin paper in what I could best describe as a small fingernail clipping sized bit with the stamps completely lifting off (and falling off oops!!) The page with just the slightest contact with tweezers. I am not sure how to best proceed or justmleave them as is. He has many other books which are more like slots with them just slid into the spots.