How do I find the value of old stamps?

How do I find the value of old stamps?

How to Determine Stamp Values

1. Identify the stamp.
2. Find out when was the stamp issued.
3. Know the stamp’s age and material used.
4. Determine the centering of the design.
5. Check the stamp’s gum.
6. Determine the condition of the perforations.
7. See if the stamp has been cancelled or not.
8. Find out the rarity of the stamp.

How do I know if my stamps are valuable?

Stamps are worth more if their colors have not faded due to sunlight, indoor lighting, dirt, pollution and human contact. The value is higher if a stamp’s design is centered inside its perforations. A hinge is a small, gummed paper rectangle that attaches the back-side of a stamp to an album page.

How do you appraise a stamp collection?

Look for an appraiser through authoritative sources like official stamp collection societies. The American Philatelic Society notes you may pay anywhere from $75 to $250 an hour to have the stamps/collection appraised. Some local groups, like the Northern Philatelic Society, may offer free appraisal services.

What stamps are collectors looking for?

The 10 Most Valuable U.S. Stamps

• The Inverted Jenny. (Courtesy of Siegel Auction Gallery)
• 1847 Issue Block of 16 of Ben Franklin.
• Almanac Stamp of 1765 or 1766.
• ‘Blue Boy’ Alexandria Postmaster’s Provisional.
• 1869 Pictorials—Inverted Center Errors.
• Two-Cent Blue Hawaiian Missionary.
• 1860 Stolen Pony Cover.
• Pan American Inverts.

Why is stamp collecting dying?

The overall effect of all this is that stamp prices have declined due to numerous part time and one-time sellers willing to undercut the market in order to liquidate their collections. Since many of these sellers are retired, they put a very low value on the time and effort needed to conduct their business.

What is the point of stamp collecting?

Stamp collecting helps instruct the collector in geography, biography, history, culture and art. Stamps are miniature gateways to the world. Stamp collecting has very few rules.

Are collecting stamps worth it?

You might find that the stamps in your collection of significant catalog value are worth much less than you believed. “Buy the best you can afford,” isn’t just a casually tossed-off phrase, but words to live by in stamp collecting. Inferior quality stamps are, in fact, nearly worthless.

Why are old stamps worth money?

It contains a rare error: When a mistake has been made on a stamp design, such as a missing colour or feature because of a printing or production error, these stamps becomes highly collectible and are often worth significantly more than a ‘normal’ issue.

What are the most valuable stamps to collect?

Most Valuable Stamps in the World

• 1904 6d Pale Dull Purple I.R. Official. Value: $535,204.
• 1897 Red Revenue One Dollar Small. Value: $889,765.
• 1868 George Washington B-Grill. Value: $1.035 million.
• 1918 Inverted Jenny. Value: $1.593 million.
• 1859 Sicilian Error of Color. Value: $2.6 million.

Are any old stamps valuable?

Stamps may also have value if they were issued no later than about 1960, though this doesn’t mean the older the stamp, the more valuable they are. Interestingly, stamps with genuine errors of production (for example missing colours) are often worth considerably more than ‘normal’ issues.

What is a 1 cent Benjamin Franklin stamp worth?

Most 1¢ green Benjamin Franklin stamps are common and valued at less than $1, but two rotary press varieties that look almost the same as common flat-plate issues are scarce and worth thousands.

Which Franklin stamp is valuable?

1c Benjamin Franklin Z Grill, 1868 The former Postmaster general of the United States is a popular figure to feature on many US postage stamps. The most valuable of all Benjamin Franklin stamps is the 1c Benjamin Franklin Z Grill, sometimes just referred to as the Z Grill.