Inherited A Small Collection...many Questions

Hi all
I am being re-introduced to the world of stamp collecting after inheriting my grandad's collection that I spent many hours as a child working on with him.
I am also being newly introduced to the world of forums so a little patience will be appreciated
I have many questions on things, just figuring out how to gauge the perforations and so forth, (color variation distinction I am finding extremely tricky) but two of my biggest ones starting out are as follows and hope someone can help with.
Researching the various stamps...which I'm sure has to be so much easier in these days of the world wide web than it was when my grandfather and great grandfather started this journey...there are many that will take much more research, but the biggest mystery I have is this one. I can't find anything like it in trying to describe it or in doing a picture search. It appears to be some type of seal maybe rather than a stamp? But no idea from where or when...don't know if there is any importance or significance to it or someone along the way just "liked" it...


The second thing is I have a few small books with stamps that the stamps were slid in little pockets and have stuck together and to the book. Can I salvage them?



Thank everyone in advance for your help and I look forward to being a part of this community!

A few more things I have come across...are these a bank note of some sort or just some type of print outs? I can't find anything matching these...The first picture is front, the second back. I have placed quarter there to show size...



Thanks again!

The items in your second post are local emergency money (Notgeld) from Germany and Austria. A nice little collection!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notgeld

One of the most useful resources I have found on the internet, aside from this forum, is the stamp smarter web site:

http://stampsmarter.com/

Your first item: Concilium is an international journal for theology, first published in 1965. This looks like a seal put on the back of an envelope or wrapper that would have enclosed the journal or other correspondence from the publisher. The journal still exists and still has that stylised dove as its logo.

Thanks everyone! Great information! I will definitely check out the links

I have this cigar box full of covers from the 1800's. All with the letters still with it and some of it very interesting. Are they worth anything?



This one looks like it was reused. Sent first from Beumont Texas to Monroe Co Virginia, then taken apart a turned over and reused sending to Fincastle Va









This one looks like it was marked free and signed by postmaster. No envelope, just folded paper with seal





This one just has a number"5" stamped with a Richmond handstamp
Can't quite read letter from the handwriting but seems to be from a Col. of some sort.

Yes, these are very nice pieces of postal history. Do not soak off the stamps. Remove from cigar box, it is acidic and will eventual tone and damage the covers. Each cover must be analyzed for postmark, franking, addressee/sender info, and content info since each of these can impact value.
Don

Thank you! I will remove them from the box right away. And, no I would not dare try to take any stamps off. I figure if my grandfathers left them on there, there must be a reason. Though I have tried not to handle them much, I couldn't resist reading some of the correspondence. Glad most of those letters were kept with envelopes. In some that's the only thing the year date is on.

If you need to identify a postmaster of a town I know that the USPS website even though not a complete list has listings of postmasters of various post offices and the dates they were in office.

You should post a separate photo of the yellow envelope addressed to J Ross, Fincastle, VA. The US Classics experts should be able to tell you more about the three cent Washington, although it doesn't look to be in great shape.

Mary Jane Ross
Fincastle

https://goscf.com/t/69691#614877

Vacuum thanks! I tried this and it's telling me that service is not available at the moment. The only other option I could find was going to D.C. to view micro-fish (not an option). But I did find out the town on envelope of Giles Court House, VA is now Pearisburg, VA.

https://goscf.com/t/69691#614887

Will, thanks! It [i]is[i] in pretty bad shape. It's the one that was turned inside-out and sent through mail again. The stamp is on the inside of the envelope so hard to see real good. Very interesting nonetheless I think! Should I post that picture in under US classics?

https://goscf.com/t/69691#614900

Rod, So cool! Thank you! I hadn't thought to do that. I tried looking up the Colonel's name, (Colonel John George), that is signed on the blue one but couldn't find one in that time era. Found one that was a Virginia colonist, but don't know if there is any relation.
"John George was an early Virginia colonist, landowner, soldier, county court justice and legislative representative. He served at least two terms as a burgess in the Virginia House of Burgesses in the 1640s and 1650s representing Isle of Wight County, Virginia."
That letter was written in 1832.