Have You Ever Found Treasure In Kiloware?

I've found stamps that fill holes in my book but nothing surprising and nothing rare.
Tom

I have been buying mixtures,lots,and kiloware for years and have never found anything that I would consider a great find.

I buy a lot of mixtures and I really need to start taking a closer look at some of them. Typically when I get a mixture in, I sort them by country and put them in glassine envelopes. I rarely look at some countries and those stamps can build up.

Anyway, I was organizing my China stamps to put together a lot on eBay and I found 4 stamps from People's Republic of China from the 1st Anniversary of the PRC set, total CV almost $400. At this point, after having gone through probably over 100 mixtures in the past year, I have no idea which seller I got them from. And they almost certainly came from a mixture that cost me between 2 and 10 cents apiece. No, these are not true rarities, but anytime I can get stamps like this for a few cents, it amounts to treasure to me. A couple of them have minor faults, so I won't get anywhere near full catalog for them, but I'll still get enough to fill some holes in my albums.

Back in college in 1969 I bought 50 pounds! of US mixture. It came in a big burlap sack that the postal carrier probably didn't like as I lived in a 3rd floor apartment (no elevator). I honestly think I haven't looked through all of them yet. The majority were the '38 presidential series and also lots of liberty 3¢ stamps. It did have lots of commemoratives, airs, and special deliveries. By the way, the mixture cost only $16.

ajuchum 50 POUNDS! Well, I guess if I was stranded on a desert island....maybe. O/W not a chance.

I found lots of treasures!
If you buy a big lot sort the whole lot.
For example you have 1000 of the same stamps then watch every stamp very carefully.
Is there one stamp decentred you keep an eye on decentred stamps.
Are there plate errors known then you can search for that too.
Look at the color. Are the stamps all the same color?
You might find a color error.

So its easier to find treasures if you have many duplicates.
I often found decentred stamps in cheap bulk lots.
A collector that had watched the lot before I did often thought it was a stamp that was damaged, incomplete.
Some types of printing has more errors than others.
But most of all my advise is look very carefully at stamps.
Check the damaged stamps twice.
Belief that they can be there!
As soon as I am able to place images here ( I am a new member) I will show some unique errors here.

Yes! I've found treasure in Kiloware! Last week I found a postally used copy of the Ireland 60c Captain Jack stamp that was withdrawn from sale. I still can't believe it!

I once found not one, but two pastry brushes! (True!)

Someone recently did!

http://linns.com/news/breaking-stam...-in-kiloware

LOL Umm that's me - I just posted right above your message. :) My lucky day!

Let's see. Kiloware:

-I have filled plenty of holes.
-I found a $5 bill once. That was kinda nice.

The most valuable stamp I found (to my knowledge) and I recognized it simply because I collect newspaper stamps, was a PR81. At the time, the Scott value, used, was, if memory serves, about $95. This one was a bit banged up however, so the value would be reduced a good bit. Still, it sits in that spot in my album to this day. It was a very pleasant surprise.

The interesting thing about kiloware is that you can find "gems" years after you bought the stuff. This has happened to me so many times. When you buy mixtures, much of the material is new, so neither you nor the seller knows to look for plate flaws, tagging varieties, perf varieties, and so forth...because they haven't been catalogued yet. Five years later when you go through that glassine of common stuff, lo and behold, you've found a few really nice items!

I recently bought a large batch of Canada off paper I'm still going through it. It had a lot of commemoratives and lots of definitives. I've since bought a used unitrade catalogue (up to 2002). I've had so much fun going through this lot. I haven't found any stamp that I could say is "valuable". However, I'm largely ignorant of varieties etc. The best part, however, is learning about Canadian stamps, and as a consequence, Canadian History. I've looked up some of the events and people identified on stamps and have found that part to be a "treasure". I now know about Pierre Laporte, Louis Riels and the Metis rebellion and other stories. The Confederation of Canada was a lot more complex than I ever envisioned.
Stephen

I am now liking cancels, postmarks and other postal markings. Before I wanted nice stamp, and learned about other things and enjoyed what I did then.

Now, I still do, but with that practiced up, I add in other interesting things and ideas to watch out for.

I don't understand all you posters here ........what is a good mixture lot ? Are you talking about finding a stamp or ten that catalog over a dollar in a $5.00 mixture or are you talking about finding $25.00 stamp in a $100.00 lot you purchase . Please explain . Do you count a lot if it has complete sets include . What is a average lot what makes it a very good lot ? if your paying a penny a stamp what do you expect .