To Expertise Or Not To Expertise That Is My Question

Hey team

I've recently been trawling through ebay pages etc and have noted that some stamps are worth several hundred (us) now I have those stamps and im not sure what to do? what is your best advice. If the difference of value is expertising? or is there something special about his stamp to mine ha! just curious?


here is one example and follows with mine. yes I know my scanning is terrrible.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MOMEN-US-S...100005.m1851
hope that works!
and mine

Anyone can list any stamp for any price they'd like, doesn't mean the stamp is worth the asking price. The stamp you link to is graded 100 which means basically a a perfectly centered stamp with no faults of any kind. Yours is not a grade 100 so big difference in price.

Ah thank you stallzer, well then I need a lesson in grading perhaps so that I dont waste money expertising something that is less than adequate!

More time I guess. Im only a new collector but if anyone has precious insights into the grading process, could they please share!

Graded 100 or not, you'd have to have "Sucker" embossed on your head to pay $500 for that one!

You definitely need to be careful when using ebay prices of things for sale, to determine value. Checking prices on ebay for things that actually sold, is a better method.

Sellers on ebay ask all kinds of dollar amounts for things. That doesn't mean that they actually sell them.

Also, you stumbled right into the whole Grading arena here. 100 is the highest number grade a stamp can get. It gets further complicated (and diluted) here in that this is a very common stamp issue.

Take your time, there's no rush. Grading stamps like the one you posted a link to is a topic of many debates here. If you use the "search" function near the top of the page and enter "Grading" you'll get a sense of opinion here. Grading basically took the terms of fine / very fine / etc and made it more granular with a numerical system with a grade of 100 being the perfect stamp. It's based on centering, overall condition, and other minute aspects.

http://psestamp.com/grading.chtml

Some collectors can become overly concerned, or obsessed with specific attributes of stamps, while others (myself included) see them as less important. It could be gum, perforation length, print centering, or something else which is not an actual flaw.

Frankly, when I looked at the link, I had to laugh.

There are several points to be made.
First, simply because a common stamp (C25 has 25-cent CV in used VF condition) is in absolutely perfect condition does not mean that it is suddenly worth hundreds of dollars. I like really well-centered stamps as much as the next collector, but common sense needs to be invoked when grading gets involved.
Second, as the grade of a stamp increases, the SMQ (akin to CV) skyrockets. A grade 80 is considered VF (Very Fine) … while not perfectly centered, the stamp is well-centered. The SMQ for a VF used C25 is 25-cents. As you increase the grade, the value goes up … 85 is $2, 90 is $5, 95 is $30 & 98 is $90. My Scott catalogue doesn't list grade 100 stamps & the PSE web site doesn't list graded used stamps for Scott C25. So the seller is free to place whatever value on the stamp that he thinks he can get. Moreover, I doubt that I could discern between grade 98 & grade 100 stamps given a week to do so. For me grade 90 or 95 is by far good enough … and even then I question whether striving for that extra bit of perfection is worth the extra dollars. Sometimes I'll say yes, but far more often I'll say no. Especially for common stamps that were printed in the billions. For such stamps, if you search long enough, you'll likely find a copy that would grade at 90 or better and yet sell for the VF price. Which is why you normally don't see graded common stamps.
Third, your C25 is far from VF. Even without the pulled perf along the botton, yours is at best F (fine) … let's say grade 70 to be generous. The CV is still 25-cents. That's because 25-cents is the rock bottom CV given to any stamp. Be forewarned that, for many such stamps, you can have a bucketload of them and the total CV of the bucket may still be only 25-cents.
Fourth, the CV (Catalogue Value) of a stamp provides a guide line as to the worth of a particular stamp. But it's not necessarily a good guide. Most stamps can be purchased at discounts from their CV, sometimes at steep discounts. And should you ever purchase a stamp at or near CV, expect to sell it at a loss.

The process of grading common items to increase the value is really no different then framing a newspaper and saying it's worth more because it's in the frame. The stamp issued is the type most serious collectors have in bulk and wouldn't even give a second glance to when sorting through troves of stamps. Even with a grading of 100, that is an absurd asking price.

I am not a sport card collector anymore but as I was weaning out of the hobby, I noticed a similar trend. People would have their somewhat "common" cards graded to increase the value. In card collecting, this did stick somewhat but I feel it has devalued the hobby from collecting rare cards to basically just collecting certificates.

To each their own - but definitely not for me. The dangerous part is it misleads newer or more novice collectors. As stated, click the "sold listings" button but even then, be weary that the most minute difference could make a common stamp seem more valuable - a difference that, statistically, is unlikely to be on your version.

I might add that Momen is pulling the value out of his proverbial butt. The SMQ for a Grade 100 MNH C25 is $550. PSE has not published a value for a used C25 in any grade. You will see a lot of these floating around for a while because a huge quantity of Grade 98 and 100 stamps that really have no market other than on ebay were sold in a recent Siegel sale. I am talking boxes of them. These were scooped up by internet dealers.

Note: The 2019 Scott catalog grading supplement does assign a value to a used grade 98 C25 of $90. There is no published value for a grade 100.

Knowledge is power. Skepticism is healthy. Always research.

$90.. sheesh I find that just bananas. I feel the investment value in that (not that stamps are often the best investment anyway lol) is quite poor. I'd rather spend $90 on something inherently more rare that is in decent shape than a dime-a-dozen issue that is subjectively in perfect shape. Give me the mediocre steakhouse sirloin over the best McDonald's burger please and thank you ;) rogdcam, the stuff you pick up at auctions is a good example. I think that stuff is amazing and will hold value and cause awe in other collections well beyond a perfect c25.

Anywho, that's just my opinion. I just feel these values seriously inhibit the success, purchase power, and experience for newer collectors. The cert companies are the true winners here.

Stamps - I collect cigarette cards. Grading and slabbing is not practised here, but some find their way onto ebay uk. This is a cracker. A cheap card graded VG (which it isn't) by PSA, with an asking price of £40

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Charlie-...AOSwNkxdOr7N

and a penny trade card for £65

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Charlie-...AOSwsIpdOr-5

Whatever your opinion on grading, collecting 100 grade common stamps is a small niche, and most just buy them. VERY few collectors look for new ones to grade, at least successfully. It is a grind of going through many thousands of stamps and sorting them, examining them, and measuring them. Unless this appeals to you, forget about sending cheap stamps for expertization. There is zero question as to the identity or authenticity of these stamps. These stamps only sell by the pound. Maybe $15/pound. There is zero value individually.

There is a very high probability that he will die with that stamp; I can't imagine anyone paying any kind of real premium for a C25. Total issued C25: 4,746,527,700.

As you get into this, you'll develop an understanding of how different ebay sellers do business. In the case of this particular seller, he is known for his high prices. I cringe to think how many buyers might actually accept them.