How to Grade the Condition of Stamps


Stamp collecting is a fun, educational hobby that always provides pleasure.  And it can, at times, be lucrative.  Serious stamp collecting requires a certain amount of knowledge.  This knowledge will allow the collector to build a strong stamp collection, not overpay and know the value of the collection.  A stamp collector should always determine the grade and condition of the stamps in his or her collection.

Stamp catalogs provide basic guidance on the grade and value of stamps, but all collectors should be aware of stamp varieties (almost always much more valuable than the most common version of a stamp) that in many cases can be detected only through a magnifying glass, watermark detector or perforation gauge.  It is therefore critical that collectors examine their stamps with these stamp collecting tools.  But that's not the only purpose of a close examination:  some stamp faults that seriously detract from the value of stamps can only be seen this way. 

Evaluation of condition and stamp grading involves centering, gum condition and cancellations.  Centering describes how well the stamp design is located:  ideal centering occurs when the design is smack in the middle of the stamp, mid-way between the stamp's perforations on all sides. 

Superb stamps feature centering that is as close to perfection as is possible. The margins between the design and perforations are precisely the same in each direction, all the way around the stamp.  The color of these stamps should be fresh and bright and of course no faults, even microscopic, should exist.

Extremely Fine stamps are close to perfection, with well-centered designs.  The color of these stamps should be fresh and bright and of course no faults, even microscopic, should exist.

Very Fine stamps are slightly less well-centered but still balanced.  This is the stamp grade used by many stamp catalogs, including those by Scott, for their stamp values.  The color of these stamps should be fresh and bright and of course no faults, even microscopic, should exist.

Fine, Good and Poor stamps feature increasingly more off-center stamp designs.  In poorly centered stamps the design there may be no margin on one or more sides, with the design entering into the perforations.  No faults should exist in Fine stamps.  Stamps may be graded "Good" or "Poor" because of centering, blurred or very heavy cancels, or the presence of a variety of faults.

More on Postage Stamp Values (Part II)


Some amount of philatelic knowledge and experience is required before anyone can determine the value of a vintage or modern postage stamp.  Sometimes it's just a matter of looking a stamp up in a stamp catalog, but in many cases stamps that are valuable look almost identical to stamps that have only the minimum value.  They can be so similar that even experienced stamp collectors and stamp dealers must sometimes send a stamp to a stamp expertizing service before they can be sure about the identity and value of a stamp.

There are a few things that anyone who inherits an old stamp collection - or even just a box of loose stamps - should realize. 

Most importantly, know that although there certainly are exceptions, the stamps you inherit probably won't be valuable enough to pay for a new car, put your child through college or buy a new house.  If you start out with this assumption and later find out otherwise, that the stamps do have a great deal of value, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

You should know that no one, whether they're an experienced stamp dealer, stamp collector or anyone else, will be able to tell you the value of your stamps without seeing them.  You should be willing to compensate the person who reviews your stamps, at least in some small way.  They'll spend a lot of time looking at your stamps and paying them something for their time and knowledge is only fair.  A stamp dealer who evaluates your stamps should be looked at in the same way as any other professional who gives informed opinions.

If it turns out that your stamps don't have much value, don't despair.  They just might provide you with a relaxing and challenging new hobby that you can enjoy for years to come.

Postage Stamp Values - Part I


We get several emails every week asking how much a particular stamp is worth.  Sometimes the person doesn't know much about it - not even what country it's from - but others know at least something about the stamp and usually describe it by country, denomination and color.  The person who knows the stamp's specific Scott Catalog number is much more rare.  Many of the people sending these inquiries aren't able to send a scan of the stamp because they don't have a scanner and/or don't know how to send a picture as an email attachment.  Unfortunately, there's just not much we can say about a stamp's value if we don't know which stamp it is and we can't see its condition.  But that's another story.

The value of old postage stamps is a frequent question and will probably never go away.  The question almost always comes up when someone inherits or finds a relative's collection and naturally wants to know if the stamps are worth anything.  The answer, much to many peoples' surprise, is often "probably not a lot."

Valuable vintage stamps are in many peoples' stamp collections, and more of them are found around the world regularly.  But just because a stamp is old doesn't mean it's rare, and it doesn't mean it's valuable.  As a matter of fact, most of the time, it's not. 

If a stamp is quite common, it doesn't matter how old it is - if it's common it won't be rare (obviously) and it won't be valuable.  Not even if it's 150 years old.  In other words, age ALONE is not relevant to the value of a stamp.  The only reason there are more old valuable stamps than modern valuable stamps is because some older stamps are more scarce:  over time stamps can easily be damaged or lost, so fewer of these older stamps are likely to still be around.

Like everything else in the world, the value of any postage stamp is determined by supply and demand.  If a stamp is rare and there is a high demand for it, it will be valuable, whether it is old or not.  But most stamps, even those from more than 100 years ago, were issued in enough numbers that they will never be scarce.  In truth, most valuable stamps are either scarce varieties or stamps that were issued in smaller quantities because of low anticipated demand, such as the high value stamps of many stamp sets.

We'll post more on this important stamp collecting subject tomorrow!

Fast Facts About Stamps:

The 1993 Elvis stamp is the most popular US commemorative stamp ever printed, with an estimated 124.1 million collected. That's more than 124 million!

The same stamp is also the subject of many inquiries from would-be stamp sellers: "I have an Elvis stamp and I want to know how much it's worth...."

Sadly, with more than 124 million of them already in collector's hands, it's not worth much. If you have an unused Elvis stamp, use it on your mail (you'll have to add additional postage) because it will at least be worth its face value then. If you have a used Elvis stamp, it's only worth a penny or two.

US Stamp Values Continuing to Go Up


According to Sacramento Bee newspaper reporter Peter Rexford, "even as the stock market roller coaster continues and gold fluctuates, the value of collectible postage stamps continues to steadily rise."

The 2009 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers lists more than 12,000 value changes over last year's edition, and according to Mr. Rexford, virtually all the changes showed higher values for US stamps.

"For instance, in 2007, the value of a particular 1 cent stamp of 1851 featuring Ben Franklin was an impressive $55,000. This year, the value for that same stamp is $80,000. Even more astonishing is a 5 cent stamp printed in 1858. The value for it last year was $35,000. Today, the price for that same stamp has more than doubled. It, too, is now worth $80,000."

The Scott Specialized Catalogue is available at many public libraries. If you'd prefer to invest $69.99 to buy it, it can be purchased directly from the publisher. Some stamp dealers also have copies available for sale. Mr. Rexford says "it's not cheap, but it could be money well spent if you have been meaning to look through an old stamp collection but just never got around to it."

We completely agree. It's hard to build a stamp collection without ready access to a definitive stamp catalog.

Stamp Condition: Another Attribute Important to the Value of Stamps


Just like a stamp’s grade, the condition of a stamp can vastly affect its value. Although different than the stamp's grade, once again a stamp's condition does not refer to its subject matter, rarity or age: it refers to the physical characteristics of the paper the stamp was printed on.

Stamps in great condition are crisply printed with vibrant colors that appear to be just off the presses. Condition faults detract from the value of a stamp and include any type of alteration, damage or change since the stamp was printed, other than cancellations or other postal marks. Common faults include creases, tears, folds, holes, stains, missing corners or perforations, thins, and dirt or fingerprints on the gum, if the stamp is mint.

When looking at stamp condition, keep in mind that between two otherwise-identical stamps, the stamp in better condition will always be worth more. But also keep in mind that even stamps that are not in perfect condition can be worth a lot of money if they're scarce or if perfect-condition examples are extremely expensive. That's why some stamp dealers, like The Stamp People, offer severely marked-down vintage stamps for sale in addition to their perfect-condition stamps - to let stamp collectors buy stamps that they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford.

How Postmarks Can Affect Stamp Values





Stamp cancellations can significantly affect the value of postmarked stamps. Stamp collectors who don't collect cancels usually prefer lightly cancelled stamps with postmarks on a corner or a small portion of the stamp, so that the stamp design isn't obscured. All other things being equal, lightly cancelled stamps are ordinarily more valuable than stamps with heavy or smeared postmarks.



But the presence of cancellations themselves may increase the value of stamps. Many unused stamps are more valuable than their used counterparts. An example is the British Penny Black, which has an unused value that's almost 20 times higher than the used value. But the opposite is true for some other stamps, such as the Germany hyperinflation stamps - these have a value that's much highe if they're postally used.



Some collectors are far more interested in the cancellations than the stamps. Those stamp collectors prefer bold, clearly struck and highly legible cancellations instead of the light postmarks preferred by other collectors. It's possible to specialize in cancel collecting: you can collect the cancellations of a particular country or city, different cancels on the same stamp issue, or a specific type of cancellations, such as fancy cancels.

Blocks of Stamps - Do They Carry a Premium?

We love to see a nice block of stamps, especially when they've been postally used. But what is the value of a block compared to the single stamps that make it up? In other words, are blocks of stamps worth more by their very nature - being still attached to other stamps - or not? Is a block of 4 stamps worth more than 4 times what the singles of the same stamps are worth?

Usually, like everything else, it depends on the stamps. Although there are exceptions, modern blocks are generally not worth much, if any, premium. But many earlier multiples can be worth huge premiums over singles, and in a number of cases, the premium remains unknown until the block actually comes onto the market.

The lovely block of 4 "Baby Zeppelin" stamps that's pictured (US Scott #C18) commands a nice premium over the single stamps. But even single C18's are highly desired by many collectors and fetch a very nice price when sold.

We stumbled onto this article the other day, and even though it's from this summer, we thought it might interest more than a few of our readers.

Investors turn to stamps as a way to lick credit crunch

By David Prosser, Deputy Business Editor, The Independent (UK)

Investors spooked by falling stock markets, plunging house prices and concerns about the security of their cash savings have found a new safe haven in postage stamps, Stanley Gibbons, the world's largest philatelic dealer, claimed yesterday.

Announcing first-half profits of £1.9m, an 11 per cent increase on the same period last year, Martin Bralsford, chairman of Stanley Gibbons, said investors were increasingly attracted to stamps and other collectibles. "The benefits of investing in collectibles as an alternative asset have never been clearer," Mr Bralsford said. "The prices of rare stamps show no correlation with the stock market, property prices and other traditional forms of investment, and historically collectibles have increased the most in times of high inflation."
...

There is some evidence to support Mr Bralsford's claims for the appeal of stamps as a safe haven. The GB30 Rarities Stamp Index, an index of the value of 30 of the rarest stamps in the world, has risen 39 per cent over the past 12 months, seemingly oblivious to the global credit crunch.

The index has also performed well over the longer term, with an average annual return of 10.7 per cent over the past 10 years. Indeed, stamp prices have proved remarkably resilient to economic woes, producing positive returns in even the most difficult of financial climates.

The wider SG100 index, which tracks the value of the 100 stamps most commonly traded, has also performed strongly, gaining almost 60 per cent since the turn of the century.

Moreover, stamps have additional attractions not offered by other more traditional safe haven assets. Unlike gold, for example, even a sizeable collection of valuable stamps is easily transported – one reason why several leading Nazis fleeing Germany after the Second World War chose to smuggle wealth in the form of rare stamps. Such collections also need less careful storage than many other assets. Mr Bralsford said demand for stamps had increased around the world.

Postmarks and Stamp Values

The type of postmark that appears on a used stamp often affects its value to stamp collectors. In some cases the postmark is much more valuable than the stamp itself.

Two main factors dictate how the cancellation on a stamp will affect its value:

1. the overall appearance of the stamp and its postmark
2. the scarcity of the postmark

There are some other factors as well, and we'll talk about them in just a bit.

Postmark Appearance:

A nicely struck, well-centered, clearly legible circular datestamp cancel will appeal to the eyes of many collectorsl stamps with these postmarks will often have a higher value than if they'd been canceled in a less-appealing way.

But keep in mind that while some stamp collectors like to see postmarks that are "socked on the nose," other collectors prefer a cancellation that just barely touches the corner of a stamp.

As a general rule (although there are exceptions due to scarcity) a smudgy, blotchy, hard to read or heavy, overly intrusive postmark will detract from the value of a stamp.

Postmark Scarcity:

Cancellations from so-called "dead post offices" that no longer exist, or from railway post offices that were rarely used and only for a very short period of time, will in general increase the value of even a very common stamp.

Other Factors That Affect Stamp Values:

Sometimes the specific date shown on a postmark is (to the collector) of critical importance: the date may be one a collector is specifically seeking, such as a birthday or another date of great personal significance. Or that date may be useful to the philatelist trying to determine which printing a stamp is from. In either case a postmark bearing that specific date will make the stamp more valuable, at least to that person.

Similarly, a stamp collector may be willing to pay more for a stamp that bears a postmark from a specific town. Again, perhaps because it was where he or she was born, or currently lives, etc.

British Empire & Early British Commonwealth Stamps Skyrocket in Value

British Empire stamps and early British Commonwealth stamps are setting a notable positive trend in stamp values. While there are some exceptions, overall the value of these stamps is rising steadily. In some cases, values are steeply increasing.

Take a look at your stamp catalogs (if they're recent editions) and if you have a record of earlier values, you'll see what I mean when you compare them. Increases of 25% to 300% - and even more - over previous values from just a few years ago are not uncommon.

This recent trend in higher stamp values appears to hold true for stamps from all periods, not just those from the Queen Victoria and Kind Edward VII periods. In fact, stamps as recent as those issued during the reigns of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II (in the 1950s) are also rising in value. And it's true for mint (unused) stamps and also postally used stamps.

Moral of the story? Buy now, before prices go up again.

What is a vintage stamp? (the first of several parts of this somewhat-complex discussion)

All stamp collectors want to acquire vintage stamps - well, most of us, anyway. That's where the money is, right? Some people think that all vintage stamps are valuable just because of their age.

Not necessarily.

There is no clearcut definition of what constitutes a "vintage" stamp.

We get emails all the time from people who collected stamps when they were a kid and now want to sell them. And from people who inherited an old stamp collection from a parent or grandparent and want to sell it. And also from people who have a handful of stamps from the 1960s or 1970s. Almost all of them say that they want to sell their "rare and valuable vintage stamps."

They are shocked when we tell them that a stamp produced in 1970 (for example) is not "vintage" and is almost certainly not "valuable." Although it's now 38 years old - and probably older than some of the senders of these emails - a stamp printed in 1970 is actually fairly "young" or "recent" in the stamp world. On top of that, many stamps from the 1950s or so forward have been printed in such huge quantities (billions of the same stamp in many cases) that it's impossible to consider them to be "rare." Don't forget, there are several factors involved in the price of any specific stamp:

• condition,
• condition (yes, I know I repeated it)
• scarcity / rarity
• subject matter (this has much more significance for collectors of topical or thematic stamps than to country collectors)
• condition (again)
  
• age (and by that, I don't mean 20 or 30 years old)

Definitions of "vintage stamp" vary, but we would hesitate to consider any stamp printed later than 1925 or 1930 to be "vintage." Old, yes, but vintage, no.


to be continued ....