Any FReepers here stamp collectors or aficionados?

Dear FRiends, Please use this temporary link to donate by credit card via Authorize.Net:

Or click here to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Hopefully, we'll have our normal CC system up and running again soon. Thank you very much for your loyal support!

You could try eBay. My impression is that amateur collections typically are not going for much. Stamp collecting as a hobby is not what it once was.

This might not apply to you, as I am certainly no expert. But…

I recall reading a story about a guy who tried to buy every stamp issued by the US Post Office, starting when his daughter was born. His idea was to sell the collection to pay for her college education.

It turned out that absent a rarity such as a misprint, the collection was worth little more than face value. So I guess stamps are worth collecting for their beauty only - and some of them really are miniature works of art.

I took my dad’s pristine sorted mounted million stamp collection to a dealer. They wouldn’t take it for free. It went in the dumpster.

There is no demand.

I would suggest taking photos of the contents of sample boxes and sending them to dealers or auction houses and just ask if they’d like to see the collection.

Note: this can be very tricky to value. For example, Scott #610 is the 2 cent Harding stamp. A normal used copy is worth about a penny because it was so common. However, when the flat press plate cracked, they cut out the crack and heated the remaining part of the plate and put it on the drum of a rotary press. Because rotary presses “stretch” the paper as they print, the 613 is 1/4mm taller than its flat press version. Because the rotary version was only in use for a very short time, a used copy of the 613 is valued at about $40,000. Noticing such differences is called “fly specking”. Further details on 613 at:

https://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps-postal-history/hoping-to-hit-the-jackpot-with-the-1923-2-harding-.html

Ebay’s a great idea. I lived in Japan for a few years and collected Japanese stamps just for fun because they were so different. Got back home, decided to weed through my stuff and unload and ebay’ed those stamps. They were nothing special but in decent shape. Certainly not “collectable”. About 250 of them, ended up with $100.

There’s always someone on ebay looking for what you have. If you can get some pocket change for it, good deal!

I’m speaking out of ignorance here, but I find it hard to believe that all stamps that are 75 years or older have zero added value. I’m also making a presumption about their age, but still. If there are other collectors out there trying to add to their collection, then there must be at least some stamps in the collection that people would pay for.

it’s called philatelist.

sounds dirty

I too inherited a stamp collection of highly desirable stamps (my Mom worked at the Post office).

Can't even give them away.

Anyone interested?

They are pretty pieces of paper..............

I’ve been a collector of tramp stamps but I’ve forgotten which is which. /s