U.S. #500 Sound VF+ Used with Crowe Certificate

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

500

Stamp Type

General Issue

Condition

Used

Centering

VF

Stamp Format

Single

Year of Issue

1917

Item Description

Condition: Used, sound

U.S. #500 sound, used, very fine plus with machine cancel. There are a lot of U.S. stamps I recommend you not purchase without a certificate of authenticity and this is certainly one of them. I've seen 499's, offsets and even a 546 listed as #500. Type Ia is not that difficult to sort out if you know what you're doing, but I've seen so many misidentified that it is my own policy that I will never list a #500 without a certificate of authenticity. This one has been examined by William T. Crowe and declared genuine in all respects with no faults.

For anyone who may be "on the fence" about the importance of expertization, I have taken the liberty of reproducing an article from the September 2021 American Philatelist (photos 4-7) about one APS member's experiences with buying stamps at auction and then having them certified. If you take the time to read or even scan it, I think you will be shocked, as was I. Bottom line is: classic US stamps purchased without expert certification have about a 50/50 chance of being altered, misidentified or having some type of flaw or defect. Those odds might be good for Vegas, but not, I suspect, for many philatelists. I should also point out, that the gentleman who wrote this article was buying from many of the big auction houses of the day, prior to the advent and proliferation of on-line auctions. In today's environment, where virtually anyone can be an auction house, the odds are probably less than even that you will get what you pay for when buying uncertified stamps. I've taken all the guesswork out of this one. As you review all the #500's currently available, you'll find that you can spend well over $400 for uncertified copies or $125 for a really nice stamp with a good cert. Seems like a "no-brainer" to me. It also makes reselling the stamp a lot easier when the time comes.

About shipping: I combine shipping. Any other item purchased with this will ship at no additional charge. I’m pretty sure you’ve figured out by now that there’s no such thing as free shipping. Every seller who offers “free shipping” has already baked the shipping fees into the listing price. Which means you get to pay sales tax on everything including the “free shipping.” I price my items very competitively and charge a nominal shipping fee on the first item you purchase. Every additional item really does ship free as my price doesn’t include any kind of shipping or handling charges. In most cases, the catalog value of the stamps I use to ship your item(s) will exceed whatever you have paid for shipping, so in that respect, the shipping is just about a wash.

A Little About Me and My Commitment to You
I’ve been a regular member of the APS for over 40 years (member ID# 130461) and I’m still a collector more than anything. If you check my feedback history, you will find that not only is it pristine, but that I buy far more than I sell. One thing that really troubles me are sellers who just throw a stamp up for sale and don’t even take the time to offer a good description or a compelling reason why I should want to buy their item. As an experienced collector and seller, my commitment to you is that I will always provide a thoughtful and truthful commentary on all the relevant aspects of every stamp that I offer for sale/auction. And I will give you the bad as well as the good, though I try not to sell stamps that have problems. Where applicable, I will also do my best to impart any useful information on the stamp and any pitfalls buyers should be aware of. In the unlikely event that I have misidentified a stamp, I will gladly cover your costs of expertization* provided both the stamp and certificate are returned to me. As far as I know, I am the only seller that makes this guarantee. So bid/buy with confidence that what you will receive is exactly what I have described and if you feel it is not, that I will make the return process as pleasant as possible. You can also expect an interesting assortment of stamps adorning your shipment--no run-of-the-mill forever stamps or postage meter strips! See photo #8 for a sample of what you can expect.
*I recognize the expert opinions of APEX, William Crowe, the PF, PSAG and PSE.

Seller Information

Seller

stephenwgill (235)

Registered Since

03/06/2005

Feedback

100%

Store

Ye Olde Post Office

• Offers
• Sales

Item Location

California, United States

Ships To

United States

Returns Accepted

Yes

Returns Policy

Returns accepted within 14 days on items not as described. Buyer to pay return shipping.