New Used Inheritance, But Some Appear To Be Valuable.

Hello!

Like many here I just inherited thousands of stamps from my parents. I see all over the place that "Your collection is probably worth pennies", yet I keep seeing certain stamps I have on various websites that are worth a lot of money. I'm not talking about Ebay. One site just shows the world's rarest stamps and what they've sold for and why. The stamps I've shown below are just a few examples. That Norge stamp with the red 10 says on a site one sold for $2700 at auction and there were no defects or anything. So I'm just wondering...are any of these worth anything? I have about 40 of those Deutsches Reich stamps with the red 10. I have thousands of stamps just stuffed in envelopes that are labeled from different countries and they all are from the 1930's or earlier. Thanks so much!

I don't know what online sites you are referencing. Some links might help figure it out. However, I can tell you that the stamps you show are all common with minimal catalog value. Keep in mind that in philately details matter. Different shades, perforation rates, printings, paper, errors and so on can make a massive difference. Also keep in mind that a rarity is just that, rare. Generally, they are not stuffed in envelopes and unless the collector was a high rolling wealthy collector who participated in major auctions you won't find a bunch of "rarities" in one place.

Give us some links and specific reasons why you think you have rarities, and we can help you out.

findyourstampsvalue dot com says the Gustav V 20o Violet stamp to be missing from most collections and is valuable in any condition. That one and the last pictured one with the red 10 are all showing to be selling online for no less than hundreds. Granted some of that is Ebay but some isn't. I'm also showing this on Jay Smith & Associate that they're selling for a nice little chunk of change each.

Your first four Swedish stamps can be Scott 170, catalog value 30 cents or Scott 189A, catalog value $4,750. The difference is that Scott 170 is unwatermarked paper and Scott 189A is watermarked (WMK 181). Have you checked for a watermark?

For the German stamp you have multiple Scott catalog number choices depending upon type, the only one of which is valuable, Scott 83j) (four figures) is a particular color that was discussed recently in another topic. Yours is not that stamp. Not a chance.

The Great Britain stamps are common.

The Norway stamp gives you multiple choices in Scott all of which are of minimal value except for Scott 51d which has a catalog value of $4000. That stamp is imperforate and obviously your stamp has perforations.

That Norge stamp with the red 10 says on a site one sold for $2700 at auction and there were no defects or anything.

That Norge stamp has been printed and reprinted and reprinted ad nauseum over almost 100 years. A short glance on the internet shows all sell in the $1 range.
Yet I have no problem finding an idiot on PickClick that wants 900 Euros for his copy...

Check if your library has a world-wide catalog, or grind through the internet on dealer sites to see what the differences are between the various issues. That you have an envelope ful of the German stamp should instantly tell you how rare that stamp is.
The problem is buying a world-wide catalog likely exceeeds the value of all your stamps.

In general, a reasonably valuable collection comes with stamps mounted on well described album pages, with literature accompanying it. Collections that come in stuffed envelopes are almost invariably masses of cheap stamps.
If you want to find that lonely gem in your envelopes, that will take a lot of time...

The devil is in the details and as Dr. Kohler says you need some basic tools to find out what you have. Catalogs, at least access to them if you don't want to invest in hard copies, a perforation gauge and some watermark fluid (you can use lighter fluid) are a good start. Keep an open mind and start with no assumptions. Ask questions here and listen. There are many world-class experts here on many specific topics and their words and advice can save you a lot of heartache. Learn about watermarks, perforations, paper types, printing methods etc. Details are the key. You have the beginnings of a fun project, and we will help if you wish.

First off, welcome.

Second, a variation on your question is a daily occurrence here. We see a lot of common stamps, so it is easy to make a quick assessment that is almost always right. Superficially, yours appear to be very common stamps. That said...

There are occasionally uncommon or even rare stamps that hide in plain sight because of small differences that go unnoticed by most people.

Unless someone is willing to put in the time to learn about the variations (and invest the money to buy reference material), those varieties just keep circulating around until they get recognized, if they ever do.

So, it is safe to say that they appear to be generally common, though it is possible that one or another of them is not common. Highly unlikely, though.

Keep in mind that condition is extremely important, and age alone is not a marker of value, by itself.

You folks are wonderful thank you. Just finding these potentials which you all have poo-pooed (rightly so, I trust you) has taken hours. I still have about 50 envelopes to go through and I have no desire to do it at this point since I have no idea what I'm looking for. Buying a catalog doesn't scare me, but seeing words without pictures won't do anything for me you know?

Siggh. Oh well, thanks for your help!

Scott catalogs do have images of stamps, watermarks etc. and most importantly a lot of valuable information. You can access the catalogs at most libraries and purchase used copies online. Don't worry about having the latest catalog since the information does not change much.

A used Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 can be purchased online for $20-30, give or take. As long as it is after 2003, it will have a lot of color images. A five- or ten-year old example will still show everything you'd want, and the values are relative guides to scarcity.

Also, the introduction section is a great summary of stamp collecting "rules" and guidelines.

It would be a small investment to make in order to have some interaction with your inheritance. Who knows? You might find that you like these little buggers.

ETA: I should mention that the Classic Specialized 1840-1940 puts all of the world in one volume, but cuts off at the first 100 years (more or less). Note that there is also a U.S. Specialized, so if you want worldwide coverage, make sure you're getting the 1840-1940 worldwide version.

I'd like to add that I always assume I have the least expensive version of a stamp until I prove otherwise. Once you learn more about watermarks and perforation rates, you'll more easily eliminate some options.

Note: Don't get too excited about subtle color variations yet. Just be glad if you can tell a red colored stamp from an orange or yellow one. Stamps, especially used stamps, can get treated very poorly over the years, and small color variations are expected.

And welcome to the forum.

No one po- pooed here, but you do get brutal honesty from collectors and dealers with many years of experience and knowledge, and without compensation for sharing it. As everyone states, knowledge is the key. Welcome to the forum, enjoy the learning experience!

This site you mention, often, pops up. A few people have come here to get confirmed they have one of the rarest Irish stamps, only to find they have one of the commonest. People referencing it, rarely, see the obvious indications it is not the stamp they have.

Take your norwegian 10 ore red "Posthorn." Your stamp has perforations. The expensive one depicted does not.
Your 20 öre Swedish stamp is less obvious, as the site does not explain why it is special. Finding more than one, is a signal something is amiss.
These sites that focus on the very expensive stamps are not doing the hobby much good.

That website, run by a group of Russians (not judging) has a vested interest in giving false hope since they offer paid subscriptions with automatic recurring charges. Besides the usual data mining of course. The site front page is a master class in clickbait with a slew of "testimonials" from happy customers that found slews of "rare" stamps. The internet is still a jungle.

'slews of "rare" stamps' Now there is an oxymoron for you. I think no more shenanigans are in our future.

You're probably right. Is that a win?

Someone who knows nothing about stamps receives a collection from a family member. Someone gets led down a primrose path from people who seem to be dispensing stamp information, and then comes here.

That someone, who freely admits that they didn't know anything about the family stamp hobby before looking for help, shows up here and gets punched in the nose.

Is that a win?

@Shenanigns, if you have any interest in the family hobby, ignore the naysayers and keep digging.