Families Ephemera And Some Late 1800-S Washingto

Hello,

I have been sorting through three generations of my mother's and grandfathers family possessions, and it seems like they kept every piece of mail they ever received.

Most of the items are from the 1930s through the 1970s and I've been able to find some guidance for value rarity etc on some of the stamps.

However, I have two George Washington postage stamps, that are canceled, and they are from the late 1800s but I'm having trouble identifying them as there seems to be a lot of information out there and as I am new to the world of stamps, I wanted to get some guidance on if they have any value if I should leave them as they are if I should remove them, etc.

I've tried to attach pictures here let me know if you need any other information I'm also including pictures of the front of the envelope as it contains the postmark.

Thanks for any assistance you can offer.

Best

DB Ryan

Hi D. B. Ryan,

Short answer: Do not remove the stamps from anything. Leave everything as complete and original as possible.

Longer answer:
The stamp postmarked at California, PA is a Scott #65. (The "Scott" stamp catalogs are likely available in your local library.) This stamp was the workhorse stamp during the civil war and a few years after. There were hundreds of millions if not a billion or more printed. As a stamp, it has very modest value (i.e., less than $1). As "Antiques Roadshow" would put it, everything is "condition, condition condition" The stamp was mouse nibbles damaging the upper right corner making it worthless as a collectible.

On the plus side, the complete mail piece has more monetary value as a piece of "postal history", being addressed to a civil war soldier in the field. One can search "sold" prices (not the offering prices) on ebay and see that these vary considerably (like $10-$100 and up) depending on the state/regiment, where they served, what battles, whether the addressee was later captured or wounded or killed, is there a letter enclosed (and whether it has good content), etc. In this case, this regiment was at The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Siege of Petersburg, etc., and was sent to the soldier after the Grand Review in Washington, DC, but before the unit was mustered out. The staining, mouse nibbles and rough opening at the left end detract from its market value, BUT the overall value is in the mail piece as an entirety rather than the stamp - being in demand by postal historians, civil war buffs, local historians, etc., many who will overlook the imperfections to value the whole.

The second stamp used from Topeka, IN in 1897 is a similar situation, a common workhorse stamp of the era. Value for the stamp is essentially zero with the tear at the upper left corner. The entire mail piece would have "postal history" value, perhaps in the $1-$3 range, although hard to assess without seeing the entire item.

DB, The true value of your stamps on cover and everything else is the story it tells about your family. Hopefully, you have current and future generations to share this information. We are all only the current stewards of our treasures. Enjoy them today.