New Guy With A Question

Hi I'm not a stamp collector, but my Dad was and the collection is now with my Mom. So I hope you forgive me for just being here for some knowledge, but you guys are the experts and seemed the best people place to ask.
So my question is this. Is there reputable appraiser close to Newnan Georgia that she can contact to determine the value of the collection and possibly sell to the appraiser. I really know nothing about the contents of these stamps and am currently living in Maryland.
Again, I apologize for a just being for a question and I do appreciate any help here. Thank you.

Hi Hondolane,

Don't apologize for asking, this question comes up a lot on this forum. I don't know about the availability of an appraiser in your area but perhaps if you were able to provide more detail about what you have the knowledgeable folks on here (not me) could steer you in the right direction.

Are the stamps mounted in an album? If so, what kind? Or are they loose? Organized in a box?

Are they worldwide, or just a particular country (e.g. U.S.)? What time period?

Any photos?

From this someone here might be able to tell you whether or not it is worth going the appraisal route. Or if there's a local stamp club (check on Facebook) you might find someone there to take a look. If the stamps are in an album you might get an idea from ebay what similar collections are going for.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Two organizations offer listings of dealers in your area.

1) American Stamp Dealers Association
https://www.americanstampdealer.com...nessState=GA

2) American Philatelic Society

https://stamps.org/dealers/gclid/cj...cqnsqavd_bwe

The APS shows two dealers in the Atlanta area and the ASDA shows only one dealer for GA, but he is on the APS list.

This not a recommendation for a dealer, but showing options.

Hondnlane,

Enjoy having fun with stamps! That is the name of this game.

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.

My personal bias is a used stamp loses the story of its journey in the postal service when it is removed from the cover it transported to its destination. Collecting postal history adds a whole new aspect to your journey in our hobby.

Wishing you many enjoyable future days in our hobby. Russ

You don't ever want to do that, it's a terrible conflict of interest. Appraisers should only appraise; the minute they offer to buy, the appraisal is suspect as artificially low.
How large is the collection? You might have better luck having it shipped to you in MD, that gives you MD, VA, DC, and part of PA to search, at a minimum.

Hi,

Without more info or pics it is difficult to provide indications of value. But let's try.

Scenario #1. Your Dad soaked stamps from envelopes in the mail and put them in an album or a box or folder. These will probably be worth less than a penny per stamp and probably will be rejected for an appraisal.

Scenario #2. Your Dad accumulated multiple closets of stamps in boxes, bags, etc. (hoarded?). These will probably be worth less than a penny per stamp and will probably be rejected for an appraisal. However, there are collectors (and some dealers) who will make you a relatively small offer (equivalent to $50-$100 per 20,000-50,000 stamps, give or take) based on weight or volume.

Scenario #3. Your Dad had a strong knowledge of which stamps were valuable (or inherited a quality collection from his Mom or Dad), and spent a fair to substantial sum of money putting together a good looking collection. An appraisal is warranted and may yield value ($).

Obviously there are other scenarios, but the above three are very common. Hopefully, this synopsis saves you some time and/or money.

Radical Idea #1. You (and/or your Mom) take your Dad's collection and expand on it while having hours of fun, learning and excitement (well, within reason of course) in your new hobby of stamp collecting.

Best of luck,

Greg

I guess that's why people come here for advice: To find a dealer one can use the yellow pages. Only in a place like here, one can get recommendations for honest dealers and appraisers.