Evaluating A US Stamp Collection, What Is The Best Practice?

When evaluating the primary but not BOB stamps in a collection for their worth is it fair to use the Scott catalog values when a lot of stamps can be bought at face value for a lot less such as 3, 5, 10 cents stamps worth .25 or more? Forever stamps worth double face value? Of course unusual stamps, pairs, etc don't qualify. What is the general practice?

I see 2 kinds of stamps in every collection - those whose value is set by face, and those whose value is based on something other than face (let's call that catalog value). Generally, I estimate or count face value (if it appears to be a significant portion of the collection), and decide what % of face I want to pay (that # can vary from collector to collector) and then I try to tackle the other stuff. Unless I can view the lot in person, I ASSUME that the identification is wrong and that the stamp is the most common variety. Color can be apparent by viewing (is it red, or is it blue. NOT is it a dull red #11/11A vs a PLUM #11/11A - a HUGE diff in value). Sometimes perfs are easily visible in a scan - is it perf 10 or 12? Watermarks are not apparent. Thins creases and other faults may not be apparent -ASSUME the valuable things are faulty. Try to get a 'flavor' of the condition, either visually, or from the description (although understand that the describer is motivated to make it sound as good as possible), and decide whether it is to your liking, overall. Tally up the high values. Note the shear mass of low value stuff. If you see a 90c #72, ask yourself how much you would pay for a faulty #72 (or, do you even WANT a faulty #72???) Kind of just tally up real-world (at least YOUR real-world) #'s. Then I apply some 'factor' (LESS than 1), because I am buying a collection, not a few individual items. Then apply your own can't-be-quantified "secret sauce" - how much are you attracted to the stuff in the collection? How faulty could it be? Do you suspect one or two of the stamps that you assumed were the least valuable variety MIGHT be better than that? How big is your bank account????????? There are a lot of varied things that go into this. In the end, unless you are sitting in front of the collection and can check the backs of the stamps, and dunk a few in watermark fluid, you need to understand that this is, for all intents and purposes, gambling.

In another sense, this is a #'s game. If you only look at (and bid/offer on) one collection, you've got all your stamp collecting eggs in one basket. If you understand that there will be lots of other different (but similar in many respects) collections coming along over the next few weeks/months, then you can bid low with the understanding that you will miss many, but get a few. If there is a collection that you just HAVE TO have, then be prepared for the consequences. Whatever makes it 'HAVE TO' to you probably does the same for someone else, and that's when it can get messy for one of you. If the stuff is truly unique, then you gotta do what you gotta do. Let the best man win.

Start low and slow. You will get the hang of what you want to bid on and how much. You may very well be surprised at how little you can spend on a decent collection, with a little experience. You may also be surprised at how badly you've been taken for a ride. You will have to learn the diff between those two - part of that diff is the seller. Honestly, though, part of that diff is YOU, and you need to learn your own strengths and weaknesses in this endeavor.

How's that for a simple, step-by-step, easy-to-follow explanation????

Well, first of all, are you evaluating the collection to buy, insure, appraise for replacement or sell?

I will provide some thoughts for one of these: Buying. If buying, a lot of what mootermutt987 writes is a good basis for evaluation. It is much different to evaluate in-person vs. on-line. In-person you can check the condition, perf/watermark/paper/design varieties, so most likely a stronger offer/price. On-line often will need to assume commonest variety and condition problems, so much lower offer/price. ALWAYS ASSUME LESS QUALITY OR VARIETY TYPE unless you have the tools to confirm.

Unused modern stamps (1930s to present), low denominations mean lower percent of face (maybe 50% or less!). High denominations may push the % to 100 or higher.

Condition is key for most valuation (any flaws can reduce to 10% or less of catalog value for most mid-value stamps, higher value and demand stamps will be higher %), but some aspects such as fancy/scarce cancel or premium centering will command a premium often multiples of catalog value.

Many other aspects of evaluation include: What is the general condition of the collection? Mostly sound condition? Mostly with small faults? You can more easily assess or estimate the whole if you know the general quality.

Is the collection mounted in an album, or stock pages? Is there descriptions/annotations? What is the level of specification/specialization? What is the duplication? More detailed information evident, or attention to classification and organization helps gauge the valuation. So the evaluation can be much more difficult.

I am trying to estimate the value for insurance purposes and to establish a baseline of worth for those in my family who do not collect. Most of the common stamps that I have in my collection 3 cents and up are in very fine condition or better based on Scott.
I figure its easiest just to use very-fine unless it is some of the older stamps that have a special listing in the US specialty album.

How much would you value some of those 3 cent common stamps worth 25 cents in Scott. Recent Forever stamps? Priority, Express, or Duck stamps?

Take the catalog value and divide by ten.

Jack Kelley

For insurance purposes use full Scott catalog value. Any advise to the contrary is just plain wrong.

I'd either use Scott catalog values or some reasonable fraction of those values. If the value of common commemoratives in Scott is 25c for every stamp, you can use that value for your insurance company. But you'd be able to buy them all again at much lower prices.

For a "real world" value, however, common U.S. commemoratives from the 1940s or 1950s are worth very little. Even today most are often used to mail letters at their face value. So between you and me, a collection valued for insurance purposes at $1000 is very likely to be purchasable by anyone at a very small fraction of that price. Some buyers of collections that I know regularly estimate the value of collections of common modern worldwide stamps they bid on at no more than 10c a stamp. Even that seems higt to me for some collections -- unless they contain early stamps, varieties, or something unusual like the high values in a set, and so on.

The "worth" of stamps ("How much do you think your collection is worth?") is an almost meaningless question. It depends on what someone will pay for it. For insurance purposes, just use the common value Scott uses and multiply it by the number of stamps in the collection. You don't have to add up the value of each common stamp. Then add any valuable stamps to that figure, if there are any, also at their catalogue value.