New here.
Hi, new to the site. My father passed away in October. I inherited his collection. He was meticulous, which has been great for me. Everything in Lindner albums, everything catalogued in EZ Stamp. I never collected with him. However, unlike many, I would never get rid of anything my father cared about, especially his stamps. So my research over the last couple weeks has been eye opening to say the least. I have a ton of questions and stories to share, from the perspective of a very green collector. Would any of you be willing to answer some questions for me over the coming few weeks? I am thinking maybe a question every night or few nights. I wish I had sat with my father and these stamps and been able to ask him a lot of these questions. Would really appreciate any help I get. First question below.
Future stamp prices
My father had 10k of the 13k Scott #s shown in the USA file of ez stamp. It shows his buy price vs current value. Most stamps #1-1000 he took a major hit on. He did most of his damage in the late 80s to early 90s. What are prices like currently? Are they high or low today in your opinion? Are they heading up or down?
Bonus question. My father was part of every stamp society known to man. Which stamp society/club is a must and what ones are more just a nice way to support the cause? I joined APS because it felt right. Any others I should seriously consider?
Future stamp prices
My father had 10k of the 13k Scott #s shown in the USA file of ez stamp. It shows his buy price vs current value. Most stamps #1-1000 he took a major hit on. He did most of his damage in the late 80s to early 90s. What are prices like currently? Are they high or low today in your opinion? Are they heading up or down?
Bonus question. My father was part of every stamp society known to man. Which stamp society/club is a must and what ones are more just a nice way to support the cause? I joined APS because it felt right. Any others I should seriously consider?
Comments
Welcome to the forums! You're in the right place.
It is really touching to see an inherited collection bringing you closer to your father after his passing. (So sorry for your loss).
The collection sounds very interesting, and from what you describe has a lot of promise. A couple of things:
I understand the desire to know their value, but keep in mind as well, seek out the things that appeal to you. This will draw you further into the collection and bring to light aspects you may not even be aware of. (So much history in the stamp, and if it's a used stamp, may have even greater intrigue, with various fancy cancels, color cancels, or destinations).
Also, with the type of collection you mention, I can't stress enough getting a US Scott Specialized Catalog. The information regarding current value (though sometimes leading/lagging) gives a frame of reference. You should also familiarize yourself with PSE's handbook on stamp grading, as this will really have the most dramatic affect on the stamp value. You can get a PDF of the book from their website here: http://psestamp.com/pdf/2009_GradingGuide_092009.pdf
This is crucial because the centering and preventability, especially of the early stamps (600 and below, though I've also seen some crazy prices for perfect centering (100) and large margin (100J) J = Jumbo, go for multiple over the "catalog value". To that point, PSE also provide a tool called SMQ (which stands for Stamp Market Quarterly), where they offer suggested prices based on auction sales, and are the only source for US stamp valuing in grades of J. It can be found at:
https://gradingmatters.com/us.html
Just enter the Scott # and it will show you the range of values based on grade (if they exist).
It also has a population census and you can see how many known (expertized) copies of the various stamps exist.
It will be interesting as well to know if your father collected the varieties, and if not specifically, some of your stamps could still be a varietal which may be worth more (or less) than the major variety. Examples of these minor varieties might be the 573a, the popular 573 $5 stamp in carmine lake and dark blue, versus carmine and blue. These types of color variations have premiums (almost all Lake stamps in this era bring greater value).
Would love to see some scans/photos of your early pages. They sound great.
Lastly, consider condition of the stamp very carefully when determining value. Even the tiniest of fault will mean that the value of the stamp versus catalogue value (which considers VF centering about 98% of the time) with no other faults (including tiny crease or tiny tear, any alterations, reperforations, etc.) These are all value killers.