STAMPS HUGE COLLECTION

[reibne0]

Hi, Recently I won an auction of abandoned unit storage, and I found a huge collection of stamps, 

I tried to do research about them but it was hard for me, I decided to count them, I am talking about more than 1M Stamps from all over the world!

my question is it a good idea of making an auction for 1M stamp at once? or just list them one by one?

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

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@reibne0 wrote:

forgive my ignorance i am new to the community 

the stamps are in albums and some in envlopes , we are talking about nearly 15 Heavy boxes

everything in your mind could be in that collection , i am familiar with uk stamps because i lived there for a while , today i find a 1Penny black of queen victoria 1840 

also countries and dates very orgnized 

i am sure that collection belongs to a collector 

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If its in albums and wax envelopes clearly was a collectors and I'd do the work finding values.  The 1840 black depending on condition values at $100+ to near $400.  But you DO need to understand Stamps as condition means a ton and there are variations, often many.  Some stamps look the exact same yet have different perforation counts, different watermarks and more.  I am 110% certain there is a website someplace explaining all the nuances and you can buy perforation gauges and watermark detection kit on eBay to be sure.

[1786davycrockett]

 "I am 110% certain there is a website someplace explaining all the nuances and you can buy perforation gauges and watermark detection kit on eBay to be sure."

An excellent source of worthwhile and respected information regarding stamp collecting is the Linn's Stamp News site -- they can provide loads of information that you may not find elsewhere.

Check your own local community (or a nearby large town) for local philately (stamp collecting) clubs -- you may be able to immediately unload the entire collection amongst some of these members -- but don't expect them to give you any bargain prices on your collection!

Your public library may have several volumes of Scott's Stamp Catalog, as well -- these will provide loads of information on scarcity, variations, and so on.

I am not a stamp collector myself; but I acquired a small collection several years ago, which I have been selling stamp by stamp for the past few years.  If you have patience, and LOTS of time, you should be able to make a nice profit for yourself -- but it is important to dig into the research before you begin listing.  And there's a LOT to learn!

Good find -- and good luck!

[dirk12955]

Tagging on:     I see the OP sells coins.   Assuming he has knowledge of numismatics and 

has purchased coin collections in the past,    He realized that a coin (Or stamp)  gets valuable 

because of it's scarcity.

A 1909s VDB cent or a 1916d dime is valuable because if you buy 100 "Coin collections"  you'll 

go 0 for 100 on both of them.   The average collector does not have ANYTHING rare and valuable.

Same with stamps.     But,    you've stumbled across a truckload of stamps and who knows what's in the 

mix.   That's what makes it fun.

But it's no different than a 5,000 count bag of wheat cent.    You can spend all day checking each date 

and mint mark and still find NOTHING worth setting aside.

There are very few $400.00 stamps.   There are uncountable and untold numbers of common stamps.   

     You can sort those common stamps into lots of 1,000 taking hours on each lot.     Then when the

package is ready to list,   You'll find they're worthless and unsalable.    

Do the work and maybe you'll strike gold.      Maybe not.   

[reibne0]

Yeah i agree with you but in some how its hard for a beginner with a such a big collection

the 1840 black penny , its extremely fine but it looks lik have some ink on it , maybe a cancellation as i read but till now i didnt find match of it on internet , it has had PL letteres 

[ms.rodriguez*]

Make smaller lots.  Look for that upside airplane stamp. I hope you have it.  maybe divide by country.   Goodluck.

[byrd69er]

Dump them all at once.

You're never going to sort them into lots worth who knows what. Certainly you won't know.

It's over a million stamps?  LOL

Dump 'em.

[paulhua3]

The website of American Philatelic Society, stamps.org has a lot of useful information.  APS is a non-profit organization, the world's largest stamp club with over 30,000 members.

Paul (APS life member)

[moondogblues]

OP, as a stamp collector I AM SO ENVIOUS.  But at almost 71 years old I wouldn't have time enough left to go through them all.  But if it was me, I'd start by sorting by country, then type, like animals, dancers, sports, Olympics, cars, boats...you get my drift.

Also, have you thought of offering them to a big stamp seller like Mystic Stamps.  There are others I am sure.  Good luck with this.  Almost reminds me of when a, few years ago, a friend who's Dad had died gave me his music collection.  Boxes and boxes of vinyl, sheet music, music books, wonderful stuff.  I am still going through the collection.

[reibne0]

I believe that the ex owner of that huge collection was very passiom about collecting.

Now i decided to get into a club and start sharing them with collectors who has long experiences on that field.

Recently i found many blocks of black and red penny , i hope to find something in them 

[deltilogical]

There are experts who can tell quickly if you found tonnage or something tradeable.    without pictures its hard to say.   Are they in professional binders and mounted well or just loose? or in glassines?  Look for some key dates - are all the early stamps missing if in binders, or seem damaged if present.   

APS website will certainly list some dealers near you who would probably take a look. 

Or just bring some stuff to a stamp show and see how the dealers respond.  

[creativecrisis]

Something no one here has mentioned — there are people who buy stamps who aren't collectors. Collage artists, junk journal artists, crafters and makers ... some of us love using postal stamps in our work!  We're looking for the old and unloved. Used, tattered, unhinged, and postmarked are good!  When I buy stamps, I look for unsearched lots of used stamps, preferably worldwide collections. I also like stamps on paper. If your huge collection includes less valuable/uncollectible stamps, you might consider creating lots of 100-200 that would appeal to artists.  

[coolections]

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@reibne0 wrote:

1M stamp at once? or just list them one by one?

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One million stamps listed one at a time you will be 101 years old before you're done. My guess is 950,000 are worth nothing but without knowing the age no one can say how you would do. Suggest putting them into groups that are alike and selling them in HUGE lots.

[reallynicestamps]

The Penny Black is the first postage stamp.

I had ten at the show we attended yesterday priced at $10(Cdn) each.

Didn't sell any.

If you decide to put those up, remember to mention the initials in the bottom corners. Some people collect their own initials.

Famous is not rare. Rare is not valuable.

Your best bet would be to bring the accumulation to a local stamp dealer one carton at a time and sell them for cash.

[reallynicestamps]

Reading further, you have only 15 cartons?  And they are in albums?

Still peddle them to local dealers. A dealer should be able to go through an album in less than a minute and give you a good idea on the value to him (cash in hand) or suggest an auction house if there is anything good.

Make an appointment. Keep the appointment.

Let him know if you want an oral or a written appraisal and for what purpose.

Expect to pay for a written appraisal.

You will be asked to stay during the appraisal. This is for his  protection, not yours.

Be ready to say yes or no to any cash offer.  It won't be repeated.

BTW- we are involved with this philatelic auction and have some 40 years experience in the trade.

https://sparks-auctions.com/2023/01/20/lot-16-canada-1851-twelve-penny-black-queen-victoria-on-laid-...

[hotspotauctions]

If you look up 1 million stamps, and it takes you 1 minute a stamp, it will take you 16,666 hours.  Break that down to a 40 hour work week, and it will take you 8 years. That stamp collection would have to be worth 120,828  to earn the federal minimum wage of 7.25 an hour. List all those stamps individually, say it takes 5 minutes a stamp, it will take you 83,330 hours, or 40 years of 40  hour work weeks. It would have to be worth 604,142 dollars to earn the previous 7.25 an hour mentioned. The chances that the collection has not been cherry picked sometime in the past, or that there is a stamp, or a few stamps that add up to that value are slim. 

You said most are sorted in books. Go by country, look up the high values by country, scan for those, and throw the rest away.  In a storage? they may very well have been cherry picked in the past. If they are cancelled, unless they are ultra rare, throw them away. Uncanceled US stamps are still worth the face value in postage. Stamp collectors are a dying breed. Millennials and Gen Z could not care less about them. 

If you make 1000 bucks but it took you 100 hours of your time,  you would make more working at McDonalds.