A friend I work with has a little grandson who wants to collect stamps. My uncle who lives in East Germany sent him a bunch of uncancelled stamps and also some that he had cut out of envelopes that had been cancelled.
So ignorant me, wants to know if people also collect cancelled stamps and do they have any worth?
Thanks
Q
Yes, they do have some worth.
Just not as much as an uncancelled stamp in most cases.
There are a few stamps, such as ones isued by the Confederacy durring the American civil war, that are worth more used than unused.
The reason is that a lot were printed but very few were actually used to send a letter.
a catalog that I have lists Scott # csa 8 at $85 unused and $325 postally used.
Just to get a general picture, visit your local library, and ask the reference librarian to point you to the Scott’s Catalogs of postage stamps. They list average retail prices for used and unused stamps (not what one could sell them for, but what you’d have to pay a philately dealer for them).
Don’t make the mistake of thinking of collecting stamps as an investment. By specializing in certain rarities, it’s possible to make money, but generally, it’s just an enjoyable hobby that drains money away from you!