Anyone Up For A Good Cry?

Check out Lot 63:

https://stampauctionnetwork.com/RA/ra4514.cfm#5

Shows the importance of insurance! If these stamps were properly insured the collector would still have the value! Could the seller be an insurance company?

Several years ago I had to catalog a large group of items damaged by a flood, also including many desirable stamps. It was the most depressing time I have ever had with stamps. Truly horrible.

Who would put stamps in underground outdoor safe in a city that is below sea level? They even use above-ground tombs because of the high water table in the soil.
Don

My thoughts exactly.

And for a collection that clearly had a significant monetary investment put into it. I wonder if it was an heir that stored it there and not the collector himself.

Was the safe actually buried in the dirt????? Even if insured, I would bet there would be a fight with the insurance company - they won't payoff for negligence, will they? I guess that begs the question: Is burying a safe in the backyard (in dirt) negligent when trying to keep stamps safe? Or is there some reasonable expectation that the safe would be water-proof? Although I don't technically know the answer to that, my opinion is that it is negligence.

If Lang was still around these stamps would be sold as having gone down on the Andrea Dorea and worthy of a substantial premium.

But yeah, what a shame.

If I lived in New Orleans and water was rising, I would put my stamps in the dish washer; at least it is waterproof. Of course, with my luck my wife would think 'he finally filled the dishwasher' and turn it on!

Don

Precisely. It isn't even a matter of having insurance. When the stamps are destroyed, they're gone forever. All the money in the world can't bring them back.

I would think that an insurance company has an expectation of reasonable care. Water damage because a pipe burst is one thing but storing your stamp collection in the carport is another. A fire started by faulty wiring is one thing, but a fire started because you were cooking meth in the kitchen is another entirely. Too bad the safe was not storing cash. At least condition would not matter much.

I am surprised discussion of this item got quiet so soon. There must be contrarian thinkers out there who see this lot as a buying opportunity, holding many "restorable" stamps that can be sold at good prices, if you will please pardon my mild cynicism.

At first glance it looks like a lot that could possibly have some salvageable better items in it if one picked it up at a really good price and wanted to spend the time working through it.

Then I saw the word "mold".

Hard pass.

I think you are correct that there are probably quite a few potential buyers out there. Nothing a little ERNI A/B mold/stain removal couldn't fix. It'll be worth watching. Advantage to those that can see it in person.

The lot is already being bid up. Look carefully and you will notice that the stamps pre-flood were not exactly premium examples and have generally poor centering. So, my conclusion would be that it was not a first-rate collection to begin with and who is to say that there are not numerous faults as originally acquired? It just seems crazy to absentee bid on this one. As has been said, you must view it. But it is a crazy bidding world now and it will probably go through the roof.

For those that are reading this post in the future, when the lot and its associated photographs are long gone from the internet, here are some of the photos that were included in the lot description.

Jim