Papal Stamps
cladking
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in Stamps Forum
A friend of a friend inherited a "large" collection of stamps. These are mostly of popes and the collectors paid over $30,000 for them. Is there any chance that there's much of value? I haven't seen them and may not be able to provide much more information. I believe most are of the recent Polish pope.
How is the wholesale market for these? We're already expecting the worst. Any guidance appreciated.
I'm hoping to see the collection soon.
Tempus fugit.
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Comments
Expecting the worst may prove to be an understatement.
It is impossible to really make any judgement without actually seeing what it consists of.
Thanks!
I'd offer her fifty bucks or something but I'm afraid she might come to feel "taken". She has nobody to leave them to.
Pope John Paul II was and remains popular with a lot of people, and he was already made a saint in the Catholic Church.
There might be some small market, but I doubt it is even a tenth of the price they paid.
Thank you.
That's far higher than I believed possible.
I was figuring the minimum wholesale at around $50 and the maximum at about $700.
I'll try to get some information and do a little searching so I can ask the best way of liquidating them.
I am guessing your estimate is probably correct, it's just that they might stand a slightly better chance of carrying a premium than others.
Before making any guesses as to value you must actually see what is in the collection. In most such collections a small percentage of the items will have most of the value. If the collection contains early Vatican City issues in VF, never hinged condition there could be some actual value. (I don't follow that market so you will have to do your own valuation research.
@smuglr
The stamps sold at a very good price, I believe, They were sold before I even saw them for about $4,000 so it was probably a good price.
It was assembled before 2005 but we don't know when it was begun.