Postage Due Cover Values

Can anyone lead me to values of US postage due on covers, I just bought a new Scott specialized and it has values for other covers but not postage due.

Scott values the Parcel Post Postage Dues 1-10 cent on cover but only a dash for the 25 cent.

As to values of other due covers, good luck with that.

Placing a retail value on postal history is often more of an art than a science. The value will depend on multiple factors not limited to the stamp, postmark, auxiliary markings, rate, route, overall attractiveness and condition, etc., then add on the postage due aspects. If Scott would list a particular postage due at $10 on cover it would be for the most common use, and one could easily expect to find covers at $5 to $100, which are properly priced/valued. This is somewhat evident in the Prexie section where they often list several different on-cover values depending on the specific use. My best advice to to study the market and gradually form you own ideas of what something is worth (and worth to you).

the relative values of different items in a catalogue is quite useful, they give some idea of relative scarcity. The actual values are meaningless in the sense that something is only worth what a person is prepared to pay for it. Then you get catalogues where the 'values' are artificially inflated to underscore the company's investment business. I suggest that you search out some of these items in auction sites and see what others are paying for them. Good advice given in previous post by John Becker.

Morning all,

Any used stamp is much more valuable on the cover, tag, or wrapper it carried an item from the sender to its addressee. The value of a stamp by itself is influenced by its grade. The value of a stamp on its item of usage is influenced by its usage. The grade of a stamp is a subjective number applied by a person with a horse in the race as to its value. The usage of a stamp is an absolute fact.

jim,
Your question potentially spans 100+ years. Now that you have received several general and broad replies, how about a different approach to your question? A shift to specifics. Please try posting a couple of unusual or interesting due covers (including the back if there are any markings there), tell us what you know/think about them and see what the viewers can tell you additionally about them.

"Any used stamp is much more valuable on the cover, tag, or wrapper it carried an item from the sender to its addressee. "

An exaggeration.

" The value of a stamp by itself is influenced by its grade. The value of a stamp on its item of usage is influenced by its usage. The grade of a stamp is a subjective number applied by a person with a horse in the race as to its value."

Ok, you hate stamp grading. What does that have to do with this thread? Furthermore, while it is not be the primary factor, the value of a cover is influenced by the quality of the stamp(s) on the cover. And you are nuts if you don't think covers are described by some in subjective terms.

"The usage of a stamp is an absolute fact."
Sure if a #68 cover is to Switzerland that is an absolute fact, but you will get a wider range of valuations for such a cover than you will for a simple used #68.

Value, like grade, is in the eye of the beholder.

It's impossible to give any universally applicable rules in this matter, but a couple of observations are borne out pretty consistently by the market:

1. Scott stamp valuations for "on cover" stamps are generally too high (even by 100% or more) for average usages, and they can be much too low for the exceptional usages.

2. While it is true that postal-historical characteristics loom larger than stamp characteristics in assessing cover values, don't forget that stamps well placed on cover have been less subject to perf abuse and creasing, as well as reperforation; they won't have hinging thins, and will more readily display anomalies such as cancel bleaching. So a very average cover may carry a comparatively desirable stamp.

3. There is no substitute for thorough acquaintance with the market -- that's ebay for low-end material, and auction houses for middle and high-end material. By the time you have viewed 200 lots in 20 different nationwide auctions you will have a good sense of what prices are being paid for any given stamp on cover -- and the pre-auction estimates provided by the auction firms will be seen to have been similarly informed (notwithstanding occasional big surprises).