Shell Search Ends in Unexpected Find

Question: Several months ago, my wife and I spent the day at a beach in Encinitas, Calif., looking for seashells. An airtight plastic bag washed up on shore, containing a quantity of postage stamps, some canceled, some not. Having no clue as to their owner, we bought a Scott 1989 catalogue and soon realized that most of what we had were worth from 5 cents to 25 cents each.

It wasn’t until we got to the canceled stamps that we found something I’m not sure I believe. We have several 1908-09 blue-colored Washington 5-cent stamps, canceled. These stamps are not watermarked, and two of them are printed on a definitely bluish-tinted background paper. According to the Scott catalogue, the bluish-background stamps are worth $3,500 to $4,000. The Scott number is 361.

Are these truly as valuable as they seem, and where can I take them to sell them?--J.H.C.

Answer: One problem with No. 361 is that this stamp was printed in blue ink on bluish paper, so the ink’s color itself can make the stamp appear more blue than it really is supposed to be if it is a genuine No. 361 instead of, say, No. 335 (catalogue value $2 used), which was printed on paper that was more or less white.

If the stamps were in contact with seawater at all, they may have changed color due to chemical reactions. Stamps also change color when exposed to sunlight, or they can be fraudulently altered to seem to be a color that they aren’t. I recommend that you take the stamps to a stamp shop (listed under “Stamps for Collectors” in the Yellow Pages) and get an opinion from a professional dealer. If there isn’t a competent dealer in your area, try dealers in San Diego or Los Angeles. My guess is that the stamps aren’t the rare variety.

Q: Can you tell me the value of United Nations first-day covers, both with single stamps and blocks of four? I have them for the first 25 years.--W.N.

A: The first U.N. stamps were issued in 1951, under the newly formed U.N. Postal Administration. First-day covers of the first 25 years of U.N. stamps retail for 50 cents each, on the average, with blocks going for a few cents more. There are a few rarer items, such as Scott Numbers 29 and 30, priced at several dollars apiece and, of course, the souvenir sheet of 1955 at $50.

Mail Bag

Kathleen Phillips writes: “Visitors are most welcome at the Simi Valley Stamp Club, which meets on the first Monday and third Thursday of each month from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Simi Valley Presbyterian Church, 4832 Cochran St., Simi Valley.”

Anybody who lives in Simi Valley and is interested in learning more about stamps should stop by this club.

Stamp clubs are an entertaining way to have fun learning more about stamps, to meet new collectors for possible exchange of duplicates and to keep the collecting interest going. All stamp clubs that I know of will welcome visitors, won’t force you to join or donate money and charge low yearly fees for membership, typically from $3 to $10.

For this membership fee, you get to hear lectures by fellow members, see stamps you might never see elsewhere and even participate in mini-auctions and raffles or door prizes. Every club has its own personality based on the age group and interests of its members, and you have to visit it to decide if it is for you.

Krause, a member of several national stamp-collecting organizations, cannot answer mail personally but will respond to philatelic questions of general interest in this column. Do not telephone. Write to Your Stamps, You section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.