Okay, you've come across a cigar box or even a shoebox full of postage stamps, or found a stockbook full of old stamps that might look like a rarity. What should you do? Instead of throwing them away, consider that they could be valuable collectibles. But how do you find out what they are worth and how do you determine if they are valuable in the world of stamp collecting?
Learn how to find the price and value of old postage stamps
Before determining the value of stamps, it should be mentioned that usually the old ones are more expensive than the modern items. Also, the price of a stamp depends on the availability of similar specimens in the world of stamp collecting. In other words, the rarer your old postage stamp is, the more valuable it will be.
How much is an old stamp worth?
Stamp dealers and buyers have a list of criteria that are used to determine the price of philatelic items. These are stamp condition: age, grade, used / not used, hinged / never hinged, varieties and errors, cancellation, secret marks, tears, perforation and so on. Sometimes used stamps are more valuable than mint.
Here are some reliable methods that can be used in determining the value of postage stamps.
There are many online services as well as professional stamp dealers that can define the value of a postage stamp in a short period of time. The best way to find such a specialist is to consult with other collectors who have more experience in this issue. Take into the consideration that there are many unreliable stamp dealers who can cheat on their clients, so be careful and contact only with those professionals that have special documents and licenses.
If you do not want to shell out a sum for a stamp dealer’s fee, you can try to find the value of your newly-acquired postage stamp collection by yourself. So, complete the following steps and you will likely succeed in the process of determining value of you philatelic items.
Identify a stamp
On the first stage you should identify a postage stamp. It is one of the most important steps in the process of determining its cost. For this purpose take a look in a special stamp catalogue.
The most popular catalog that contains only reliable information concerning postage stamps and their value is the Scott Specialized stamp catalog. It is used by American philatelists while the Stanley Gibbons catalogue is preferred in Great Britain. There you will find photographs of stamps, their prices sorted by the date of issue etc. You can also refer to an old stamp price guide that is usually sold at philatelic shops.
Determine the centering of a stamp
To determine the grade of philatelic items it is important to determine their centering. It is made in order to see if a stamp’s design is balanced in relation to its other parts, such as the margin and the vignette. So, centering is the key factor in determining the grade of a stamp.
Unfortunately, there is no special system for determining how balanced a stamp is. It can be done only through eyeballing – a technique in accordance to which an item is turned upside down in order to see if it is centered. If you look at it in an inverted manner, your eyes will focus only on the stamp’s main design so that you will be able to determine the centering easily.
Studying the condition of a stamp
The condition of a postage stamp is one of the key issues in determining the price of an old philatelic item. The values of even the rarest postage item decreases if it misses perforations, its colors are faded; the stamp paper contains some flacks etc.
Pay much attention to the condition of the gum (the glue found on the backside of a stamp). Mint items have perfect gum because they haven't been used yet. Such specimens do not have gum skips or heavy natural gum creases. However, some old items can have perfect gum condition in case they were not used from the moment of their issuing.
To sum up, philatelists classify the gum of old stamps as used, unused, and never hinged.
Pay attention to the degree of cancellation
What is a stamp cancellation? In simple words it is a method of applying a marking on a philatelic item to indicate it has been already used.
There are two kinds of cancellations: lightly and heavily cancelled. The first kind means that the overall design of a stamp is visible under the cancellation that is quiet light.
The other kind is heavy cancellation because of which the picture and inscriptions on a stamp are barely visible. The cancel is dark and lessens the value of old postage stamps compared to the items with light cancel marks.
Condition of the perforation
Stamp perforations are circular holes punched onto a printed stamp to facilitate its separation from other items that the sheet contains. The perforations can be different in size, in its number etc. The valuable stamp in a good condition should have full teeth and clean holes. To measure the stamp perforations you can use perforation gauge.
Determine the rarity of philatelic item
To determine the rarity of a stamp one can check the philatelic market on its availability. If there are no such items for sale, it is likely that this stamp is extremely scarce. For some collectors rarity is the key factor in determining the postage stamp’s value. If an item is quiet old, a philatelist may not pay so much attention to its condition or grade. The stamp auctions are also reliable sources to determine whether this item worth something or not.
Sometimes stamps that have flaws in design are considered to be rarer than old stamps, even in perfect condition. These are so called “error stamps”, whose prices are usually very high. The stamp collectors fight for such issues. So do not be upset if you find a stamp with some flaws in your collection. Perhaps, you have turned your luck around and this may appear to be a rare error stamp that is quiet popular and sought after.
The material and age of a postage stamp
Stamp collectors and dealers like stamps with rich and interesting history as the origin of some items can tell about the period during which they were issued, the place where they were manufactured, as well as the type of material that was used to create this tiny works of art.
Aside from an excellent condition and grade, the value of old postage stamps will greatly increase if their history can be traced through some special philatelic literature. These factors make vintage stamps highly desirable to stamp collectors. That is why there are many philatelists who specialize in sea mail collecting because most of the stamps attached to envelopes have exciting stories to tell.
This article is updated on 11 May 2024
