1916 Washington Issue Not Worth a Lot

Question: I have some old stamps, one of which is Scott No. 462, the 1-cent green Washington of 1916. The catalogue shows their value to be 25 cents each. What is their value by the page?--G.A.T.

Answer: Current Scott catalogue value for this stamp is $8.50 mint, 20 cents canceled. It sounds like you used a dealer’s price list to get the 25-cent value for a used copy of the stamp.

What do you mean “by the page”? Do you have a whole album page mounted with used examples of this stamp? Or do you want to know the value for a mint pane (sheet)? No. 462 was issued in panes of 100, and the plate number block of six lists at $150, so a pane as issued by the post office is worth several hundred dollars.

Because you mention the price of 25 cents per stamp, my guess is that you want to know what a small accumulation of used copies of No. 462 is worth. The answer is “not much.” It is a common used stamp and wholesales for maybe 5 cents per stamp, so unless you have many thousands of them, they wouldn’t be worth a lot of money.

Q: My collection includes the set of seven airmail stamps from Nepal. What are they worth?--R.E.C.

A: According to Scott’s catalogue, $4.60 mint and $4.05 used. This set was issued from 1958 through 1979.

Q: I have several U.S. airmail booklet panes of Scott catalogue No. C-64 (the 8-cent jet over the U.S. Capitol) that are unusual in that each pane has a plate number in the lower right corner, and it is partially trimmed off in the manufacturing process. I cannot find this item in the catalogue.

How rare is it and what is the value of each pane that is normal in other respects?--D.G.

A: It is not listed in the catalogue because it is not a major error, like imperforate (without perforation holes between two stamps) or missing colors. You have a production error, and not a particularly rare one at that. The normal booklet pane is worth a couple of dollars mint, and your error might be worth double that to a specialist.

Q: Is there a collector’s organization for Irish stamps?--H.McG.

A: The Eire Philatelic Assn. was founded in 1950 and has grown to more than 600 members today. They publish a quarterly journal and specialist catalogues, hold auctions restricted to members and have a committee that studies forged material and publishes its findings. Dues are $7 per year in the United States. For more information and a membership application, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Secretary, E.P.A., 8 Beach St., Brockton, Mass. 02402.

Stamp News

First-day sale of the 56-cent definitive honoring John Harvard in the Great Americans series will be Wednesday in Boston, Mass. 02205.

First-day sale is scheduled Sept. 4 at Window Rock, Ariz. 86515, for the block-of-four 22-cent Navajo Art commemoratives.