High Value Fish Or Fishing

Are there high value singles or sets with fish on them? Are they available in less expensive forms as well?

www.americantopical.org
As suggested earlier, you ought to check this organization


Peter

Israel issued a very high value stamp shows fish. It was issued in 2020 with value of 16 Shekels (5US$) which is very rare value. Although the stamp shows fish, it subject is color printing:

I may have misstated that. I meant stamps that would cost a lot more to acquire than I am used to paying for my topicals.

And thanks, Petert
I have joined the ATA and I have their fish handbook as well and refer to it frequently.

Some varieties of the 1930s Icelandic cod definitives (different perfs, booklets etc) are pricier.

Samoa Scott # 1167-1178
Qatar 69-85

In terms of scarcity/cat value, the 1952 fish set from Mozambique appears to be a/the key set for the topic.

Edit- the Mozambique set is Scott 332-55, issued actually in 1951

More broadly, almost every topical will have a range of expensive and inexpensive items. Some issues will be available in different formats, etc.

For a topical as broad as "fish", one could spend a lifetime and never approach completion. I would be inclined to worry less about the cost/value and concentrate on the enjoyment.

As to how you collect topicals, the cost can very greatly depending if you look for the topic item as the central theme of image on the stamp or if some flyspeck of a example appears on the stamp. Also if you are not limiting yourself to just postage paying stamps (not fees [Eagles and F1], services [motorcycles and Special Delivery], revenue, permit [Michigan state fishing license permit stamps with beautiful engraved fish], essays and proofs, etc costs rise.

I know you are talking fish but the US 10 Columbian has the first actual (not allegorical) bird and the 50 Trans-Mississippi has the first US doggie. One of the 50 cent to $5 Columbians also hits a early example of some topical subject to which I am not going to spend the time to remind myself which and what.

Again it is you who gets to define your topic and how you collect it. Saltwater, brackish, fresh, anadromous, game, schooling, tropical, cold water, river, lake, ocean, prehistoric and fossil are all ways for example you can limit your topic within the category of "fish."


Edited to add "fish" could include stamps which show the fish constellation, Pisces. In that vane, I'll mention I collect Judo as a topical. My topical collection includes images of one building. It was the building built specifically for the Judo competition at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. All later venues were shared and or not even created for that year's games. Now when I updated the Judo/Martial Art listing for the ATA, I did not include the stamps with the building. Others have updated the listing since my efforts and I do not know if that building is now on the list. It does not matter, for me, it fits in my topic.

2nd edit to add a couple of pricing examples plus a paragraph break.

Sorry, now I understand you meant high catalogue value, not high nominal value. Moderator, please delete my post. Thanks

To be honest, I still do not know what OP is asking.

Does OP normally buy sets from the issuer at nominal value, or does he buy them from stamp dealers at a mark up over face value?
OP's additional remark does not, explicitly, exclude stamps with high face values.

And in either case, is OP used to paying $5 for a set, or does OP regularly by $ 100 sets from dealers?

Also, as Parcelpostguy points out, there are stamps dedicated to fish and there are stamps that show fish.

This could easily be clarified by adding "catalog" in between "high" and "value".

Here is a long "Fish" topical thread on SCF if you have not seen it: https://goscf.com/t/1023&whichpage=1

Thank you for the replies.
I can clarify a bit. I normally pay less than $10 for sets I buy from dealers. I was referring to "catalog value". I now understand the difference, and I know that stamps of "high value" can affect the catalog value of its set.
What prompted the question, however, was that I was at a stamp show, and was offered the Tristan da Cunha/St. Helena overprint set for several hundred dollars. When I asked the question I had not known about their unique history.
I also know now that I can get actually get the design at an affordable price in their original state.
There's still a lot for me to learn.

I would be EXTREMELY careful with that set. There are forgeries around and the set is worth thousands, often sold only at auction. A few hundred absolutely sounds too good to be true.

Here is a set auctioned by Warwick and Warwick in January 2020.

https://www.warwickandwarwick.com/a...hived/232925

I did not look up the final realization, but it was estimated at GBP 2,500 before tip. Catalog value at the time was GBP 8,000.

Yes most fish sets fall within your under $10 pricing but not all do. Had you provided more information such as the photo you did or even the Scott (or Gibbons) numbers, you would have been better understood.

Yes, that is an unusual set, scarce and of high catalog value, plus due to the risk of false overprints, a mint set that needs a good certificate. Of course only three of the four have fish. At least you were not offered the set properly used on cover. Reduces the concern for faked overprints but equally reduces the thickness of your wallet. While a used set is cheaper a less expensive four figures, I am guessing that if one of the 464 sets sold was properly used on any of the 6 days of sale after the first day you would have a real rarity, Understanding only 464 set were sold gives you the reason it is scare and quite pricey. Properly used stamps during the seven day sale period are likely from first day covers.

To put it into car terms (there are some car people here) you asked how much a basic tune up would be and then later show your 1930 Cadillac V-16 tune up quote. At least you did not bring the Marmon Sixteen of which there were only 400 built.