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Since The Stamp Forum Is Dead...
Banemorth
Posts: 986 ✭✭✭
Is there anyone out there who could be so kind as to identify and price some older stamps a friend gave me? I know nothing about them and can't seem to find anything online. Sorry about going off topic here. Any help is appreciated.
Justin From Jersey
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Comments
<< <i>Use them for postage. >>
That worthless huh? Oh well I'll just put 'em in a book and forget about them for forty years. Might be worth something by then. Thanks
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Wasn't it a thriving hobby at one time?
<< <i>What happened to stamps?
Wasn't it a thriving hobby at one time? >>
They took a licking!
<< <i>What happened to stamps?
Wasn't it a thriving hobby at one time? >>
I thought so but on this forum the main stamp forum hasn't been posted on in a week and there's only two total threads there. The BST for stamps hasn't been posted in since early May...
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<< <i>
<< <i>What happened to stamps?
Wasn't it a thriving hobby at one time? >>
They took a licking!
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<< <i>Wasn't it a thriving hobby at one time? >>
It was, but it got overrun with fakes and doctored stamps which drove the middle market away. Now a few whales compete for the very well known rarities. Hummm, what does that remind you of?
World Collection
British Collection
German States Collection
Cheers!
Kirk
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the face value. Now or 40 years from now. In fact they may be worthless in 40 years.
bob
<< <i>Now a few whales compete for the very well known rarities. Hummm, what does that remind you of? >>
Free Willy?
Could the coin hobby have the same fate? There are plenty of fakes, and
doctored coins.
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BONGO HURTLES ALONG THE RAIN SODDEN HIGHWAY OF LIFE ON UNDERINFLATED BALD RETREAD TIRES
<< <i>Just goes to show ya, if ya want a fast response then post here on the U.S. Coin forum, regardless of subject matter or topic! >>
You can't say people aren't helpful!
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<< <i>Just goes to show ya, if ya want a fast response then post here on the U.S. Coin forum, regardless of subject matter or topic! >>
GREAT! Now everyone is going to be seeking marital advice from me on this forum!
edited to add....MAN, stamps are almost a forgotten thing...it IS dead there!
<< <i>
<< <i>Just goes to show ya, if ya want a fast response then post here on the U.S. Coin forum, regardless of subject matter or topic! >>
GREAT! Now everyone is going to be seeking marital advice from me on this forum!
Something tells me, with your proficiency in collecting EX-wives, they'll ask your advice, then do the opposite!
The classics are still there, but new blood in the hobby is going to be hard to come by.
I sold mine off in the past year. I just couldn't see putting anymore money in it.
The good stuff is costly and the other is, well, postage.
This all being said, the space stamps were always my favorites.
<< <i>I don't think people want to get stuck with a bunch of common stamps any more. Worrying about the future worth of a collection can leave you with a perforated colon. It would all hinge on the quality and rarity of the collection. >>
...and how long did it take you to write this?
...and how long did it take you to write this?
About five minutes. I adhere to a quick wit, when I have it.
<< <i>About five minutes. I adhere to a quick wit, when I have it.
If anything took me five minutes, I might still be married!
<< <i>Stamps started using stickers and other gimmicks to promote sales.......end of times. >>
Just hold on to them Elvis stamps, bubba. They'll be worth sumpin' someday!
You can check the Scott Catalog or the USPS Guide to U.S. Stamps (avilable at many US Post Offices) for approx. values.
In all honesty, use them for postage.
Don't be disillusioned, even in their "Hay-Day"
those stamps were not worth over face. They
have creases and folds - and most of the gum
is disturbed.
You can buy old commem stamps for 80% of face
at many stamp stores.
I collected stamps for a few years in the early 1970's
and if I didn't learn anything, I did learn this:
"buy the best you can afford and buy OG/NH material
in Superb Gem with boardwalk margins."
Needless to say - even my in depth collection isn't
worth all that much any more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
<< <i>Use them for postage. >>
That's what I did. I had sheets, plate blocks, and tons of unused singles. I am slowly using them all on the few letters I send anymore. But what do I do with all those Postage Due stamps?
The hard part was using all the mint United Nations stamps. Luckily, I live near NYC so I did one year's Christmas cards with them. Letters with UN stamps must be mailed at a UN facility, so I carried them all into UN HQ to be mailed.
Ever realize how hard it is to make 44c postage out of all those low value stamps (6c, 8c, 10c, etc)? Or worse still, 98c International rate?
<< <i>What happened to stamps?
Wasn't it a thriving hobby at one time? >>
Stamp collecting became very popular during the time Franklin D. Roosevelt was President. Roosevelt was a very active stamp collector, a fact that was well known to the public. (When Roosevelt's stamp collection was auctioned in 1946 they even bought the used stamp hinges from the collection!)
The people who became active, enthusiastic collectors during the 1930's and 40's have now faded from the scene.
In recent years there have been far too many new issue stamps. Also, the introduction of self-stick stamps was poorly received by stamp collectors.
Young people send e-mails, pay on-line, make cell phone calls or use text messaging. They seldom even use a stamp. Stamp collecting is out of sight and out of mind.
The part of the stamp market that is still active is the very high end of the market. That market is made up of wealthy dedicated collectors and also "investors."
Leo
The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!
My Jefferson Nickel Collection
<< <i>What happened to stamps?
Wasn't it a thriving hobby at one time? >>
Totally dead hobby.
I attended a stamp show about 3 years ago and the average age of the crowd was about 72.
I'm 52 and one dealer I approached said "what are you looking for today young fella!!"
One good thing about stamp shows is they make you feel young again.
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
"I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
Makes you realize the difference between Scott Catalog value vs. reality is HUGE!
Ill have to try that with the sheets upon sheets of old 6 cent commems that my Grandmother bought.
Last package I sent out was $72 to France....wonder if Id have enough room, of Id have to attach a "flag" to the box containing the rest of the hundreds of stamps.
Stamps are neat if you look at them as a specialist. For instance, if you have a cut off date of maybe 1876, or you collect confederate used or stamped covers.
I collected heavily as a young kid, that was the age of "Approvals" in which a dealer sent you a huge book of stamps, you took out what you wanted, sent it back with the payment.
...........As the postman approached the door, with two large envelopes containing stamps to look at my Mother screamed to the poor mailman "NO MORE APPROVALS"
<< <i>Using them as postage is the best advice. What dealers that are left buying are paying about 80% of face. >>
And then they use them for postage. Don't forget that you can't take them back to the post office and cash them in. Too many people bought several sheets of each new issue as an investment so the market is flooded.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
<< <i>Stamps started using stickers and other gimmicks to promote sales.......end of times. >>
Yeah, and the various govts issued commem stamps over the past 40 yrs to commemorate just about anything, driving the price of all but the rarest stamps down. Sound familiar?
There's probably even a commem stamp to celebrate the cratering of the stamp market. Paper is paper. Fiat, stamps, etc. At least coins got the metal...some precious.
In the late 1960's I was amazed that for $10 or so I could get a pile of African stamps in weird shapes with majestic scenes and animals. The triangles and monster sized stamps were
my favorities....the bigger the better! But it soon became clear who was the dufus on the wrong end of the approval trade.
roadrunner
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
Hmmmmmm?
<< <i>I was totally unaware that the stamp hobby rolled over and died like this. Reading this thread makes me slightly nervous about the coin hobby. What happens to the value of old coins when we go 100% digital?
Hmmmmmm? >>
I should be so lucky to have the prices of coins collapse. My collection would grow considerably and my Trade dollar collection would turn into early American Half dollars overton set with a quickness.
<< <i>
<< <i>Using them as postage is the best advice. What dealers that are left buying are paying about 80% of face. >>
And then they use them for postage. Don't forget that you can't take them back to the post office and cash them in. Too many people bought several sheets of each new issue as an investment so the market is flooded. >>
Yep, The post office used to make money off the sale of stamps, probably helped keep the postal rates down. With everyone bringing out the 40-50 year old blocks of stamps and using them the post office is probably trying to figure out why they are making less now and will have to increase postage rates to make a profit...
<< <i>Yep, The post office used to make money off the sale of stamps, probably helped keep the postal rates down. With everyone bringing out the 40-50 year old blocks of stamps and using them the post office is probably trying to figure out why they are making less now and will have to increase postage rates to make a profit... >>
Quite true. The post office has made money on these stamps years and decades ago and only now has to deliver the services behind those sales. Even if they had invested the money from the sale of those stamps, I doubt they would be able to provide comparable service today with those invested funds. The operational costs at the PO (everything from labor and rent to fuel) have probably increased faster than any investment gains would have.
Of course, we all know that the PO did not invest those funds, but used them for current operations in the years in which the stamps were sold. That plus the growth of e-mail, electronic bill payments, etc. and the general slowdown of business in this economy, with the corresponding slowdown of current revenue is causing major problems in the PO's cost structure.
What I find interesting, however, is that stamp collectors have their own National Postal Museum (part of the Smithsonian) and its even in its own building. Why do coin collectors, whose numbers and annual sales far exceed those of stamp collectors, not have such a museum? Not even a room in the National Museum of American History like we used to have.
<< <i>Does anyone have a reliable source for vintage unused postage stamps from the 1940's,50's and 60's?? I'd like to buy at least a hundred bucks worth, probably more if I had an idea of what the inventory consisted of. >>
Tom, better be more specific than this. As a general rule, you will get a better discount on the lower denomination stamps simply because they are so hard to use. Imagine sending a Priority Mail package today with 8c stamps!
Sorry, can't help you for a reliable source. I use the ASDA Postage Stamp shows that happen a few times per year in NYC. 90% of face is easy to get. Anything less requires negotiation and patience (and possibly luck).
These 1960's or 1970's stamps...yes, they make for postage.
Last show I saw stamps for sale, they were gallon ziplock bags priced 80% of face.
I'm still trying to lick and stick my childhood plate block album.