Question On A Well Centered #599

Sorted through about 200 of #599 and came up with this well centered specimen. Is this something thats worth getting expertised/graded? Or, is it just a fine used specimen of a fairly common stamp? It certainly is pleasing to the eye.

Not worth expertizing. Beautiful stamp worth a buck or two.
Well deservs place in your collection . I had a pair of 599A expertised MNH but they are worth considerably more.
Regards

I am going to take a little bit different stance. If you go to the PSE website (www.psestamp.com) and look up the SMQ value of a used 599, it is fairly significant at high grades ($45 @90, $95 @95, $150 @98, $400 @100). Your stamp, to me, looks like it would likely grade 95. **IF** you can find someone to sell your stamp on the open market, it would likely sell for roughly half (or slightly more) of SMQ at auction.

I have done what you are asking about, for 'fun'. I sent off a bunch of $1-ish stamps that were carefully chosen for centering and condition. Generally, I was pleased with the results. I received back many 98's, a few 100's (THAT really got my blood going!), but also a few 95's (BARELY worth the effort & $$$ for the stamps involved) and a 90 (NOT worth the effort). If you do this, you have to ask yourself, "To what end?" Is it somehow important to have a cert on what would otherwise be a stamp worth a few dollars? There are lots of people on these forums who would answer "No.", and many that would answer with a RESOUNDING fist-pounding, "NO!!!" Many people look down their nose at highly-graded normally low-value stamps.

Another thing to consider is the market. I believe the market for highly-graded low-SCV stamps is fairly thin --- when times are good they sell for significant money, but when things are bad, those people tend to go away. This market is fairly thin and artificial. The bottom could fall out of it tomorrow. It hasn't happened yet, but the potential for this type of thing to implode is NOT zero.

All this ASSUMES this is a fault-free stamp!! If you can easily afford to lose $30-ish, then maybe this is something to do. If there is even a minor perf bend/crease, then a cert would be a 100% waste of money.

If you are considering a NON-graded cert === DON'T. You will have spent $30-ish on a $2 stamp in the end. Or... you could be very happy with a very nicely centered 599 in your album.

ETA: You have a VERY nice looking 599 there!

I suspect that the margins might be a bit tight for a 95. Probably a 90. Nice stamp.

Interesting mooter, it would never occurr to me after value of grade. I see graded stamps and I leave them alone, or my eyes glaze over.
Cheers

GMC - Some SMQ values are surprising. ESPECIALLY on used stamps.. There are many instances where a high-grade used stamp has a higher SMQ than its LH counterpart. Digging through a large pile of used US stamps can be rewarding if you want to play the grading game. One has to use a VERY critical eye. Is it the right thing to do? That debate rages on in many other threads here. Monetarily, it can be.

Forgive my ignorance on used graded stamps...
Is the cancel consider in the the grade? i.e. Is a light cancel considered better than a heavy cancel? If a cancel obscures the design a lot, does this lower the grade? Are color cancels considered a better grade? If you have the exact same stamp, does it grade differently as a used stamp vs a mint stamp?
Don

Hi Don! I don't KNOW, but I am pretty sure there is some 'allowance' for the cancel, and mostly in a negative way. A clean, light, face-free cancel won't get a boost in grade, but a splotchy, obscuring cancel can cause a small downgrade. Especially if the stamp is 'borderline' centering-wise. I think it has to be pretty ugly, though, to have a big effect. In the end, the buyer needs to decide whether the stamp is a 'pretty' or 'not-so-pretty' (or 'ugly') stamp for the grade, and whether it meets his/her criteria for what they want to buy. I believe colored cancels are noted, but won't bump the grade either way. SMQ is for a common cancel, so a better color cancel would sell for more than the typical color cancel for the same stamp and grade. Ditto for 'special' cancels (PAID, WAY, FREE, etc). I wouldn't get a graded cert for a pretty cancelled stamp (if the pretty cancel is its main positive attribute) because of the lack of upside potential - I would send it off to the PF for a regular cert to confirm genuineness instead, even if a graded cert cost the same. Graded certs are more about size/centering than about premium cancels. I DO think many graded-stamp buyers focus more on the 'number' than they probably should, so if I have a nice/premium cancel (where it is the cancel, more than the centering, that 'grabbed' me), I want a buyer to focus on the attribute that 'grabbed' me, rather than a number.

ETA: I recall seeing a post on SCF a few years ago showing the 'rules' of one of the grading organizations and what their 'allowances' are for various attributes - ie, drop one grade for a heavy covering cancel.

From PSE:




http://psestamp.com/pdf/2009_Gradin...e_092009.pdf

Thanks everyone for the insight. Right now its the best 599 I have, so it goes in the collection and will prob stay there. Maybe instead of the certification, I'll use the money and buy and nice mint 599.

The 599 is very well centered but fairly small margins....I think this is my first post on stamp community EVER. Anyway some cheap $1-ish stamps are very difficult to get high grades on because they are condition rarities. An example is the rotary press issue(s) of the 1920's and 30's. I collected graded in the earlier days (early to late 2000's) I collect primarily graded used US now. I started collecting stamps in the late 70's as a kid. I like graded stamps because of the challenge of finding quality stamps on tough issues. I know many collectors hate grading: not me, it's what got me interested again after not collecting for years. If someone wants to collect 10 cent FDC's more power to them: it's whatever you enjoy.