Great Grandfather's US Stamp Collection

you should put your plating posts in the US Classics category

When I first made my first posts here, I think I was vague on ownership. Up until this point my grandmother (my great-grandfather's daughter) was the sole owner of the collection after inheriting it from him. I was requested to research the stamps when they visited last May, but through the process I became very interested in the collection to the point that I wanted to keep it.

What we have decided to do is sell the collection to myself for a fair price after receiving advice with multiple dealers and collectors over the past few months since she cannot afford to gift it to me.

Even with the costs incurred, I am perfectly happy with that, and once fully completed, I will be the official owner of this collection. I still do not intend to sell it, and it ensures the stamps will not be sold for other purposes on the chance extra funds were needed by her.

I can happily say I've dived pretty deep into Philately at this point, and there is still a whole bunch more to discover with the collection.

-Ryan

Good for you.
It is so nice to see a new poster who actually is interested in the stamps
and wants to keep the collection he/she has inherited instead of just
wanting to know what it's worth and how they can get some money out of it.

I just wanted to provide an update to all this. I have purchased some stock albums and sheets, and I have removed the first stamps from the original Scotts US Album. I focused on the ones I am fairly confident are misidentified or faked, and I wanted to take those out and keep them together for future reference (or the small chance they aren't fakes). Stuff like the faked 318, 321, 322, 388, etc. The old hinges used were a dream to remove. Just a slight force was all that was necessary to take them off the samp and from the album page. Very minimal remnants on the rear of the stamps.

I also took off loose stamps or stamps whose hinges were coming off. The latter was mostly a set of 5 Transmississippi pairs with the hinges applied to the front of them instead of behind to not disturb the gum, although most of them were hinged in the past (so MLH). The gum otherwise is all in good shape.

There were also some loose stamps sandwiched between a few pages from the later series of definitives (1940's or newer) I stuck in the stock book too.



I also started sorting the Hungary collection my other grandfather had. I am not sure if I have all the material he had, but there is a good foundation for a respectable collection I can make. I haven't even touched the occupation stuff yet but there are some nice examples on the main series.

Hi there,

I inherited a collection also and have been attempting to go through it for years now. My Grandfather was an avid collector and I know he has some good stuff. But I am still having no luck figuring out errors, or the stamps on each stamp I have paid for so many apps. I was a member of the APS for a year. But I am just at a loss because I had way too much. I finally ended up sending a small amount to Everything but the house. And a few of the auctions are up, but they have not had any bids yet, so I'm nervous that I should have held onto them. I think I may try also going to the Rhode Island Philatelic Society soon if I am able to maybe have someone help me there. Or just to chat with some other people who might be willing to take a look at some of the stamps and help me understand what I have. Even reading through books and magazines I find it difficult to figure out. Thanks for reading this :)

Hey there, the next meeting with RIPS will be the 14th December. If you're available I plan to be there if you want to meet up. I'm still learning a lot myself, but I think with all the other people that will be there should be able to at least guide you.

Glad you both connected and could meet to discuss the various issues. That is what is great about this community.

Thanks so much for letting me know. I appreciate that very much.
Is it 1 time a month on the same day each month? I am just wondering for January in case I miss December. I definitely will have to make January though because I've been wanting to attend a place where everybody gets together and talks about stamps. I actually found out how much I love them after he passed away. He was so amazing and his collection is so cool to look through.
It's just way too much! I have boxes and boxes full, and live in a tiny place.
But I plan to keep about half of it.
I get lost going through it, because I think they are so unique and fascinating. I just wish I understood each of them more. And was 1 of those people who could look at 1 and know all the little details about it.
I still plan to learn a lot more though.
Thank you everyone!

Normally they meet the first Saturday of each month, but this next meeting is a little different since it is end of year and there will be a small auction going on during that time.

Meeting time is usually 230pm but since there's an auction, it will begin at 100pm on the 14th. Meetings are held at the Pilgrim Lutheran Church just east of TF Green Airport in Warwick.

I do not know the 2025 schedule yet so I don't know when the next meeting after is.

Hi kevsta55, just wanted to remind you the meeting and auction are tomorrow if you still intend to come over. I will be there with my collection too.

Here's another update on the collection.

The bank note series (National, Continental, and American) were all mixed up together on three pages in the original album. I decided to remove them from that album along with taking off their hinges so they would be more organized and allow myself to identify their true Scott numbers to best extant I could achieve. It's probably not 100% accurate, but I am much more confident in knowing who is who after sorting. None of them appeared to have grills, so the range of Scotts I sorted was from 145-209 circa.

like some of the cancels

He definitely seemed to like cancels.

I've continued unmounting the stamps for an initial sorting. Some items may not be 100% accurate (especially soft/hard paper in the banknotes), but it's a good starting point and it also allowed me to identify candidates for certification. I'd normally share the google drive link but that appears prohibited, but I would like to show the full resolution if possible rather than compressing the images. Maybe I can contact a site moderator. I've gone up to Scott 320 along with some WF coils (348-355 and 390-396).

Among one of the contacts I've made, a copy of the The Expert's Book: A Practical Guide to the Authentication of United States Stamps by Paul W. Schmid was acquired. Hopefully I can learn a good amount of info from it as I go through the WF.

I don't have it yet but I've also purchased a filler 122 for a decent price, which is one of the gaps in the Classics era I had. Pretty excited for it to show up here soon.

Thank you for continuing to update your progress with photos. Definitely some neat cancels on some of the stamps.

Speaking of which I got the 122 just now in the mail! Very excited to have one. It has a tear on the top left side, visible just under the 90, so I could get it for a pretty low price (under 200)