Inherited Collection With No Apparent Direction

Jlovins101,

The greatest value to you and your kids and your future generations may well be the fact that this material was collected by a departed friend of family member.

Collecting for the enjoyment of collecting, whatever that might be, is the name of the game. Don't hesitate to ask questions especially if you need basic information and especially more advanced sources of information for any possible topic. You should be able to find folks on this board a little further along on their collecting journey glad to share experiences. Russ

The Chinese monkey stamp that you write about MAY be worth several $100's - see this topic:

https://goscf.com/t/79513

It is hard to tell about the rest without pictures (as you have already heard), but a local stamp club or dealer (preferably a club - they aren't instantly trying to make a profit) should go through what you have.

Good afternoon, I had to take a crash course last night so hoping it all worked out. This is just a very small sample of what was in a separate smaller container. It appears to me he hadn't gone through these or something he was setting aside. These envelopes have so many mostly US stamps and older mail pieces that I can't possibly show in this format. It would take me a year to take photos, edit down to under 300kb then upload. In many cases there are multiple of the stamps shown. Anyway, thanks for the input and look forward to your comments.

Some really nice items there. I'm sure an expert will post about the monkey, but others look good to me.

To Jlovins101
You may need to very carefully take some time to review what you have received. What you have inherited is not a little boys collection. This is not a run-of-the-mill collection. The person who thought that you could take care of it made that decision very carefully and, I believe, very deliberately. As a collector thinking of giving an inheritance, I have been thinking very seriously about an appropriate recipient.
There are a few very good suggestions you may wish to review from the previous posts.
I also understand that family must come first and this is the juggling act that you will have to perform. One thing is sure. You will have something to fall back on when you decide to retire but don't wait that long to educate yourself about this wonderful hobby.

Wow! You're uncle had great taste and a great eye. You have a bunch of highly desirable and expensive stamps there. You are truly blessed with this collection and how better to celebrate on this Easter than reflecting on your uncle who has continued his legacy through you and hopefully your children. Perhaps having your children help you with your research may be a fun project. They may not be interested at first but if they will each find something they like, and when they see the catalog values of some of the stamps you have shown they may become more interested. As tempting as catalog values are the time spent with family is worth way more. Not to mention stamps from the 1800's aren't getting more prevalent, you have some true rarities and should be the key bearer of such. Allow your uncle to live through you and yours!
Happy Easter!

On a more exciting note, that cover with Mrs. George Patton is extremely enticing. General Patton graduated west Point in 1909, same year as the cancel. I'm not an expert but I would be extremely careful with that. If it is legit it maybe exceptionally rare.

Here is pattons signature from his senior year at west point in the yearbook. Very similar

Wow, I'm grateful for the comments and direction. Thank you, I hope everyone had a great Easter. I'm diving in head first and I believe this forum is the place to ask questions. Thanks again.

Question-where would a person go to authenticate a letter from Patton above? I also have a similar letter from Ted Williams.

Finding this forum has been most beneficial to me and should be for you as well. You likely are very busy with your family duties but when you need some time away from your boys, the collection may be just the right thing. Try to store the material in a way that will maintain its' current condition. Many posts here talk to constant temperature and humidity being important for the stamps and the other material. Good luck and enjoy the beautiful stamps.

J, I would search for a historical documents authenticator nearest to yourself. Perhaps even look for the best of the best and make contact through email. If you have someone in driving distance I would contact them after vetting their qualifications. Be careful who you show your stuff too and I wouldn't bring everything eachtime. Make separate trips and keep things in a safe location, sitting upright so as to not have any stamps getting squashed. It will damage the gum on the back and decrease the value a lot. Be careful with moist areas and extra dry space as well.

Of what you have posted photos of, it appears that you have $1000's here, not $100's. You should get help to determine what you have, exactly. At some point (you are probably there, now) you should have someone with knowledge look at what you have in person. Condition plays a huge role in the value, and the only way to really know the condition is to have it looked at in person.

Again, I would recommend a local stamp club (first) or a stamp dealer. A dealer will have the knowledge, but he may also see this as an opportunity. Another option may be to or take it to a nationally known stamp auction house. If you want to get rid of what you have, this type of material would fit well into an auction - you maintain ownership until it sells, and it is also in their best interest to get the highest price possible. Also, they would take 15-20% of the hammer price for their service. Plus, it would likely take 6 months or more to get your money - there is time before the auction to describe each item, get it into an auction catalog (and get it online, too), and then there is the wait after the auction for the auction house to get paid, etc. On the plus side, going to auction is a little more transparent - you can see how the stamps are described, see what they sell for, etc.

The Patton cover would need to be authenticated before it could be sold for full value. Autographs/handwriting are slightly different fields than stamp collecting, and you should have it looked at by an expert in that field. To a novice (me) the handwriting looks like the signature on the Patton photo shown above.

The 5c red stamps shown on the certificates are worth $500-ish each. The $3 green Columbian looks really really nice, but condition is unknown - it could be the most valuable of the lot. The $1 black Trans-Mississippi (bull in storm) is a perennial favorite among collectors and should be worth another $500 to $1000. The Chinese monkey stamp (if genuine, and no reason to think it isn't) is another $500+. Etc, etc. Again, all about condition - nicer condition than average and the values go up. Hidden faults bring values down.

It LOOKS like these were purchased individually, based on the packaging shown, and therefore have significant value.

It doesn't take an expert for the Year of the Monkey stamp. From this scan it looks genuine; you can examine it yourself. In the genuine, the brown fur and all the lettering including the value is engraved/raised printing. Holding it an angle to the light, the fur, etc. is very shiny. There is usually a little black ink transfer on the back that is normal and does not reduce the value.

I don't know if the Patton letter really needs authentication since there are a number of examples of letters with such covers online, sent to his mother in this time frame. Those match really well with yours. It probably won't be quite as good as World War II correspondence unless the content is really interesting. In any case, the autograph expert to use is John Reznikoff in Connecticut.

Be aware that if/when selling via auction, the better items will probably have buyers demanding certification again, even with an existing certificate only a few years old. That's just the way things are today. So payment will be delayed until that process gets sorted out. In my opinion, the #505 block never needed a certificate for various reasons, just careful examination, but buyers will demand certificates.

The encased postage is in nice shape with intact mica. Be careful handling that. Some back ads/inscriptions are scarcer than others.

I wish there was a way to thank you guys individually. If there is I can't figure it out. Thanks again for the help, I truly appreciate it.
-Jerry