My mother is moving and she gave me a bunch of stamps.
I don’t know anything about stamps. I have googled a bit but the sites are confusing since I don’t know anything about stamps.
I have a small stack of books from the 60’s with stamps from around the world. All of the stamps have cancellation marks on them although I can’t read all of them. There are various loose stamps also.
Specifically I would like information on how to determine if this collection is trash or not.
I would also like to know how to care for them now that I have them. And I’d love to know some better questions to ask other than “Uh - is this a stamp?” Are there still stamp shops one could go to looking for help? Or stamp collector clubs?
Go to the reference section of your friendly local library, and ask them to point you to the Scott’s guides to postage stamps. I think what you will discover is that stamps from any time after WWII have very little value - they were generally printed in huge quantities, and only rarity makes a stamp valuable.
The fact that they’re all canceled makes it even less likely that they’re worth anything, since unused stamps are generally worth more (as a general rule).
There are certainly stamp shops around, though they’re disappearing. The hobby is gradually dying - kids just aren’t picking up the hobby as they once did. A stamp collection just can’t compete with a video game.
There are a couple of stamp dealers in your general area (if your location is actually Haverhill, MA) - Brunelle’s Stamps and Coins and Derry Coin and Stamp, both in Derry, NH. You could drag your stuff in, and let them take a look at what you’ve got.
I’d never seen a postage due stamp before. This has been interesting just perusing the stamps…
I am in Haverhill, I will be heading to the librabry this week and maybe into Derry in the near future.
Any luck at the library?
You could try this book or this one, plus this price guide would be a good start, too.