Minkus Germany Album Collection

Nice collection , looks like something that has room to grown . You could have the enjoyment to watch it grow .

Thank you! I'm not interested in completing it; I'm interested in learning how best to value it in order to sell it.

Unfortunately, Germany is quite common out there in stamp circles, despite the age. There are definitely fans of the Minkus Country binders though. Does it still have the dust cover?

I would just add up the number of stamps, say the date range the album covers and use those photos to sell it on ebay or check out a local stamp shop. There's at least one or two in Baltimore you can reach out to. I wouldn't catalog each stamp, most of those would sell in the 10 cent apiece range. There might be some Germany experts here that know more. If you have supplies that goes with this include them too.. Old stamp hinges even have some value these days.

I'll be honest and blunt --

1. Germany is one of the most collected countries in stamp collecting, so there are tens of thousands of Germany collections in collectors hands with many for sale at any time. There is nothing at all unusual about a normal German stamp collection. When I decided recently to put together a Germany collection myself, except for rarities, I had no trouble finding inexpensive collections by the dozens. It was a bit overwhelming to find how many collections like yours were available for little money -- by which I mean "around" a hundred dollars or so, some less than that. I ended up overbuying, in fact, and ended up with about six full collections and only spent a few hundred dollars.

2. Your collection omits virtually all rarer stamps and mostly contains mainly easy-to-get stamps. It's a fairly basic but perfectly nice collection.

3. Condition of stamps matters a lot. Unused or lightly-cancelled stamps you pay more for. The stamps in this collection are mostly "average" condition so no real plus for that.

4. A collection in a real quality album which collectors simply continue to add to in that album rather than transferring all the stamps from a modest album to another better album is preferred. If these were in a Scott album or even better, a Lighthouse album, for example, that would increase the value of the collection a fair amount for many collectors.

The problem with this valuing game is that it's guesswork. What the value of something is is what someone will pay for it and that varies from one person to another and from one day to another. Any dollar amount is therefore guesswork, but this is not an auction-worthy collection. It's possible it would sell on ebay for something around a hundred bucks "give or take" but maybe more if the planets align just right. I don't see anything special or different about it compared to many other Germany collections, I'm afraid. Why not list it there with a modest reserve and see how high it goes?

To give an idea of value in such collections: two lots in the same online auction that ends tonight (I love the AI-generated pidgin). The auction has a strong exposure to Germany, where the money is. Both are pretty extensive Deutsches Reich collections. Since postage would be too high, the relatively strong German market may not even be in reach. Subtract auction fees, and you are not talking much money as suggested above.

https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/10147...-1930-michel
https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/10156...chest-badges

Here is one of much less completion and quality that is attracting very little interest (currently at € 6).

https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/10150...album-leaves

The money is in a few stamps, often colour varieties and some NHM sets. Inflation stamps can be valuable with the correct cancellations. These, however, require certificates as the cancellations, often, are forged.

Thank you everyone, for replying! As I've noted, those are only the empire pages. Then there are all the stamps from 1948 or so through 1979. The reason I was curious about what the value might be is because individually, some stamps appear to have value, like the 5 mark Bayern stamp (dark blue) I posted in one of my first photos - online it seems to have a value of around $50. So naturally I thought, if everything averages out and you might say each stamp comes to $1, then I might have a $2300 album on my hands. It's hard to know what to do with something like this and get the value out of it. It seems to be like gold. It's quite valuable but at the same time can be hard to sell. Strange. I'll take more photos and try the ebay route.

Five cents per stamp would be top of range. As everyone said, you are competing against a flooded market. You need a compelling reason for your collection to stand out and you don't have that.

I have been a large lot processor for decades. I learned early on that even the more desirable souvenir sheets that have healthy catalog values won't realize more than 10%. Just too many available. Same with the 20th century sets to which Scott assigns a large premium for MNH. Good on paper but not so good in reality.

One characteristic of prices offered online is that they are not necessarily prices realised. The reason a stamp is being offered at USD 50 on ebay maybe that no one has wanted to buy it at that price.

Even if that price has been realised, you should take the quality of the stamp into consideration. Sometimes, it might be a variety you cannot discern. Also, what a professional dealer may have sold at USD 50 will be far above what you will make when selling the exact same stamp.

And, in the end, ten USD 50 stamps may only make USD 400 as a lot. Sold individually, they might not sell as quickly, making you sell four at USD 200 and get stuck with the other six.

The 5-Mark Bayern stamp shown in the original post is Michel 131 IIA, catalog value 1.20 euros.

Thank you all! I appreciate the responses.

My final thoughts on your collection ...

As an advanced collector of Germany stamps, my opinion is that the previous comments are spot on.

Don't be discouraged by the lack of value. Your father likely paid more for his stamps than they are worth today - especially if he was collecting in the 1970s and 80s when stamp prices were hyper-inflated. A strange fact about the hobby is that most stamps were valued higher in the catalogs during the 1980s than they are now.

My recommendation is to offer it to a family member to be cherished in memoriam of your father. And don't be afraid to give it to a child - many of us started collecting at a young age! The value in your collection is creating memories, not the stamps themselves.

Brian

Thank you, Brian. Again, I want to reiterate, this album has 2,300 stamps including some German States pages. It's a nice collection. Many were saved from family or sent to him from family overseas so I don't believe he spent much to build it. I'm just really surprised it has little to no value on the marketplace. Thanks for the suggestions; there will be no family member who will want it. Just like selling anything collectible, you hope it has monetary value to someone, and this can be for any number of reasons (in this country, medical care is usually the one). Well... it would certainly make a nice bonfire! I might try ebay before that, although shipping would be expensive at a bit over 8 lbs.

ebay is the way to go for something like this and shipping will be less than $20 for Media Mail shipping. Good luck!

Edit (orial): Old stamps does not necessarily mean rare or valuable. Keep in mind that the post was the only only means of long distance communication for most communities well into the 20th century, so postage stamps are very, very common. There are many US and European stamps dating back to the 1850s that are still practically worthless because they are so common (My previously comment about stamps being printed by the billions was not an exaggeration). Taking your mention of German states as an example - With few exceptions most Bavaria stamps, for instance, are readily available and inexpensive; cool and collectible, but inexpensive.

Cheers!

Brian

As far as I know, you cannot ship this via media mail...

It is a mistake that many sellers on ebay make.

John

I can't say definitively if that is or isn't the case, but I see nothing here disqualifying stamp albums (books) from media mail shipping, and I still receive said items from ebay sellers via Media mail. Perhaps there's an issue with stamp collections not in an album?

From the USPS:

Allowed Items: Books, sound recordings, video recordings (DVDs/CDs), playscripts/manuscripts, printed music, 16mm or narrower film, educational charts, and medical loose-leaf pages.

Prohibited Items: Video games, computer drives (including USBs/hard drives), comic books, and magazines.

Content Restrictions: No advertising matter is allowed, except for incidental announcements of other books.

Inspections: Media Mail packages are not sealed against inspection, meaning USPS staff may open and inspect them to ensure compliance with content rules.

Shipping & Packaging: Must be clearly marked "Media Mail" on the outside.

Exceptions: Personal correspondence or advertising in the package can cause it to be returned or charged a higher rate.

Maximum Weight: 70 pounds.

Maximum Size: Up to 108 inches in combined length and girth.

Commonly Shipped Items Books, sheet music, film, and recordings. Educational, medical, and scientific materials.

If a package is found to contain non-qualified items, the sender (or recipient) will have to pay higher postage rates.