Sunday, February 24, 2013

Before Searching For Stamp Experts

By Lenore Nealey


Collecting stamps, an activity also known as philatelism, is one hobby many people choose to devote both their time and money for. Not all gathered stamps have great value in them though but some rare ones usually are worth heaps. An older stamp tends to be valued greatly if it is unmarked. Worth even much more are misprints. Collectors who wish to have their collections appraised are recommended to seek the services of reputable stamp experts.

Other than providing you with the accurate value of your collections, a professional appraiser will also be giving you advice on what is best to do with these. You may be pointed to good auction houses if it so happens that the stamps you have are rare. You can actually do the evaluations on your own. However, a professional assessment might just be much more accurate than yours.

Prior to going through with searching for appraisers, it is important for collectors to first sit down and examine the stamps at hand. Some details that should be taken note of are the face value of the items, their condition, year, design and whether they are used or not. Stamps that may have been already posted on envelopes will most likely be worth lesser.

Collectors should do further research about the stamps they currently have. They might want to head down to public libraries and get a hold of books that enumerate stamps printed in their areas. Seeking the help of librarians will surely make things a lot faster.

You will usually be able to find details as to how much your stamps are approximately valued. Books will also tell you if there had been different versions of the prints and how much they are sold for. Know that a price difference exists between the first print and the second print.

Valuing collections will usually be carried out in accordance with some known guidelines. One important detail is that stamps printed within the span of 60 years will hold face value only. This is usually at a dollar or even less. In addition, collectors must remember never to remove stamps on envelopes except when they have been told so by experts. Removing posted stamps can actually affect worth.

There are many collectors that choose to seek recommendations when searching for appraisers. Referrals can be acquired from fellow avid collectors. Naturally, people will be recommending only those with a reputation and reliability they are certain about.

You may also want to contact the collectible store you often buy stamps from. Businesses are sure to have some stamp experts in their network. Make sure that you consider pertinent factors as the skill and experience of the professional before hiring.




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