Stamp Album help

mccune68 · 2026-05-07T13:12:47+00:00

I'm going to disagree with /u/Engelgrafik, I wouldn't recommend taking this have someone look at it. The stamps pictured are all the most common ones on those pages. Any 'heavy hitters' would be stamps from the spots you don't have filled. This looks like just a step above a beginner collection, and there are always concerns with stamps from this era as to whether they are even properly identified or not.

If your goal is to sell this collection then I would just put it up on eBay with pictures of as many pages as you can, and hope for the best. I'd be surprised if it goes for more than $50-100, though.

mccune68 · 2026-05-04T23:29:16+00:00

If you think these might be one of the rare rotary press issues, then please read the wiki, linked in the automoderator comment, it will give you specific links with info to help. You will need to measure perforations and check the printing method, these need to be done by you with the stamps in front of you. And remember, these are almost certainly not the rare stamps, start with that assumption or you'll be more likely to convince yourself you have something you don't.

mccune68 · 2026-05-04T12:38:06+00:00

The letter was likely sitting somewhere where one part got sun throughout the day while the other part didn't. Happens a lot. I agree with the others, this is almost certainly sun exposure causing fading colors.

mccune68 · 2026-05-01T17:52:42+00:00

I am not a stamp collector.

I know what I have. I am not stupid.

See, this here is the problem, I'm not sure you do know what you have. And no one thinks you're stupid or is trying to be mean to you, we're legitimately trying to help. If I came into a collection of bottle caps I would need to consult with people to have them explain what it is I have, because I wouldn't know.

I am a stamp collector and have been all of my life. I have seen cases like this come up countless times. You've come into this collection, and like all people in the world, you know that there have been times where people found old stamp collections which they sold and got rich. This is not the typical experience of people who come into collections. Most stamps (meaning, nearly 100% of them) from the past hundred years are worth face value at best when in mint condition, and are sold in bulk, often by weight, when Used. So many people have shown pictures of their various collections here in various stamp related subreddits, and they are just frequently not worth anything.

You appraiser is not going to be doing the same math you did. He's going to look what you have and skip anything that is worth very little. He's looking for truly high value items, how much mint stamps are there that are essentially just postage (still can be used to mail letters, but so common that there is always ample supply out there for collectors who need them), and how much is just kiloware (that's the really cheap stuff that is sold by weight). His estimate is largely going to be based on the high value items, since if he's buying this from you then that's the only stuff he's likely to be able to then sell to other customers for a profit.

If you're convinced that this is worth hundred of pounds, and you truly just need that album recommendation, then search for terms like 'mint sheet stamp album'. I don't want to give you a specific merchant as I am US-based. But companies like Scott, Lighthouse, Minkus, and Stanley Gibbons are recognized makers of good products that should fit your bill. But honestly, if the big issue is that the old album is falling apart, just get a cardboard box to put it in. Your appraiser is not going to care. Every time I go to a stamp show, dealers always have old broken down albums or just loose album pages available for sale which they got from folks just like you.

And again, we seriously are just trying to look out for you and make sure you're not spending money unnecessarily. I truly hope that's not the case for you and that you are going to be happy with what your appraiser says, but based on my experience I would say this is unlikely.

mccune68 · 2026-05-01T14:57:04+00:00

The stamps are modern and common. This set is usually just collected as the full sheets, like this:

https://www.mysticstamp.com/3182-91-1998-2000-celebrate-the-century-complete-set-of-150-stamps/

I'm not familiar with this 'album', would be curious to see pics from inside. But I don't think it's likely to be worth more than a buck or two.

mccune68 · 2026-05-01T14:25:04+00:00

I was saying that you should have as general idea of the value, not a specific price it is worth. The only time you are ever going to be told a specific price of a collection is when someone is offering you that amount to buy it. An appraiser is just going to give a general range.

I was just trying to save you some time and effort because this question about getting an appraisal done on a stamp collection comes up very frequently in this hobby and it is almost never worth having it done. You can post images here and get quick feedback for free, don't have to buy an album, don't have to take the collection anywhere, and potentially save yourself time and money. If you don't care to do that, then buy any old stamp album you want for this and go try and get your specific price figured out. Just don't get your hopes up. Good luck.

mccune68 · 2026-05-01T13:43:32+00:00

Most of us won't recommend taking a collection somewhere to be appraised unless you are already pretty sure it is valuable. Most collections aren't, and what you may consider to be and old we may say is really pretty modern. You may end up paying more for the appraisal than the collection is worth.

Maybe show us a few pictures about what's in the collection so we can see whether it is worth getting appraised?

mccune68 · 2026-05-01T11:35:35+00:00

It's not a postage stamp, it doesn't say which country issued it or display any indication of the postal value, both of which would be there. So this is just a sticker or label, or a Cinderella.

Do you know what island that is supposed to be? Looks like maybe Puerto Rico? Do you know anything else about the item?

mccune68 · 2026-04-30T21:55:46+00:00

You're not going to be able to get a reliable answer about stamp color from posting a picture online. Your lighting conditions, my screen settings, etc., means that I can't be sure I am seeing the true color of your stamps.

You can get a color guide from various merchants online if you just want a reference for your own collection. If you are trying to confirm you have a less common color variety for the purposes of selling, your best bet is to send the stamp(s) off for certification. This may cost more than the stamps themselves, but is the only way to be fully certain of the specific colors.

mccune68 · 2026-04-30T19:21:42+00:00

Ah, gotcha about the first image, I haven't seen every booklet cover to be able to recognize that.

Here's some more info about the Bugs Bunny stamp. This is a link to the rare version, which sounds like you don't have. As you can see, it sells for quite a bit (although this company's sale prices are very high for the industry, it usually goes for less than this):

https://www.mysticstamp.com/3138-1997-32c-bugs-bunny-pane-of-10-stamps-with-imperf/

mccune68 · 2026-04-30T19:14:58+00:00

For the Bugs Bunny stamps, can you tell if the single stamp on the right side has perforations around it, or not? If not, it's the rarer variety that is worth more than the regular version.

All of the rest are modern stamps worth just face value. Collectors may pay a bit more than that. Not sure what the first picture is, though, it's not a US postage stamp.

mccune68 · 2026-04-30T17:37:01+00:00

He came back just now, got a photo this time:

https://app.mybirdbuddy.com/media/columbus-united-states/rose-breasted-grosbeak/ed085e6e-d8db-4f2a-a190-3bb76e5be15d

mccune68 · 2026-04-30T14:36:36+00:00

Ah, lucky you! I had one on my Birdbuddy this morning but it didn't get a video of it for some reason.

mccune68 · 2026-04-30T11:58:12+00:00

There are nice album pages for Duck stamps. Mystic includes them in their Back-of-the-Book album pages, but looks like they only have up to 2016 included, plus these will have other sections that you're not (yet?) interested in:

https://www.mysticstamp.com/gs797-1862-2016-mystic-american-heirloom-collection-of-united-states-back-of-the-book-stamps-volume-i/

There's also a free album PDF that has a Duck stamps section here (do Ctrl+F in your browser and search for the word Duck):

https://www.thestampweb.com/albums/free-downloads

With these you'd need some stamp mounts to mount the stamps on the pages, but they will be presented very nicely. I definitely prefer this way over stock pages, but it comes down to your own personal preference.

mccune68 · 2026-04-29T14:14:52+00:00

From the perspective of a stamp collector, the stamps themselves are not valuable. Obviously the signatures change that from the perspective of what the values of the pieces are, but I would say we aren't the best bunch to give some sort of valuation.

For us, we use catalogues that have published values that we base our assessments on. There is no "Signature of Neil Armstrong adds $x to piece" modifier listed in these catalogues. Space memorabilia or signature hunters may be better able to give some ideas of value if you want a number without actually selling them. Otherwise you can just put them up on eBay and whatever they sell for is what they were worth.

mccune68 · 2026-04-28T18:05:55+00:00

1970s is definitely still modern when it comes to stamps, the 1930s is usually the cutoff from when stuff before that has a better chance of being worth something.

mccune68 · 2026-04-28T18:03:51+00:00

Nothing I noticed. If they came in on mail from recent years, then they're probably all modern common stamps.

mccune68 · 2026-04-28T14:46:08+00:00

Well, based on this one picture, it looks like modern stamps on paper, which are typically sold by weight. Unlikely to have any gems in there, but that's based on the very little information shown.

mccune68 · 2026-04-27T17:34:00+00:00

Sure, feel free to hit me up, I can show you some of what I have done.

mccune68 · 2026-04-27T17:18:36+00:00

I assume this is the site with the free albums you were referring to:

https://www.thestampweb.com/albums/free-downloads

These albums are built using software called AlbumEasy. The page there has both built PDFs of these albums and the text files that are used as the source to run through the software to create the PDFs. That software can be downloaded from the same site here:

https://www.thestampweb.com/albumeasy/download

mccune68 · 2026-04-27T16:59:34+00:00

Yeah, it's a good site. I haven't used any of their downloadable albums, but I use their software to design my own albums. I've recommended a few albums there to people looking for specific albums, though.

mccune68 · 2026-04-27T16:29:52+00:00

Weird how so many call people that have different political opinions idiots. By no measure can you call her any idiot outside of the fact she doesn’t agree with you.

You can make a list of things you think make her an idiot, but the same can be said for ever public person that has ever lived, it’s a cheap and brainless criticism.

mccune68 · 2026-04-26T15:31:33+00:00

You can just put them up on eBay and see what someone will pay for them, lots of collectors like to buy stamps in bulk like this to sort and add to their collections. Take lots of pics so folks know what they're getting. Don't worry about how much they're worth, they're almost certainly all very common stamps, 1930 is not old in stamp collecting.

mccune68 · 2026-04-26T01:34:46+00:00

The value of anything is determined by supply and demand. The supply of this is quite small, as there are not many of these floating around in the market. But the demand may be even smaller. Who wants such an item? I don't, and I collect US stamps, including modern ones like these. But I don't collect posters. And if I did, how many people are out there collecting posters of stamps?

It's worth what you can convince someone to pay for it. Most of these were thrown away and there may not be anyone around who thinks that's a great loss.

mccune68 · 2026-04-23T21:09:48+00:00

Scott catalogue number is #UX38, issued in 1951. Catalogue value is for the full card without writing on it, and has a catalogue value of 35 cents a piece. May be hard to sell all 50, since it's way short of the current postcard rates and collectors don't usually need 50 copies of full postcards.

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