Catalogue Serves Just as a Guideline

Question: What do you think of the newly revised prices in the Scott catalogues? Will their price cuts undermine the stability of the stamp market? --E.H.

Answer: Until 1988, Scott catalogue values tended to be inflated as a long-standing custom whereby dealers and collectors negotiated the market prices of stamps at various “percentages” of catalogue value. For example, it was typical to buy reasonably nice British Commonwealth stamps in mint condition at half catalogue price. It was kind of like bargaining with a car dealer to see how much money off the sticker price could be agreed upon. People think they are getting bargains when they pay less than the “listed” price for anything.

All that changed with the 1989 edition of Scott catalogues, in which severe price cuts appeared; these have been maintained more or less in the 1990 editions. Current Scott company policy states that the 1990 catalogues reflect retail prices of stamps, the actual prices at which stamps may be bought from an honest dealer.

Knowledgeable collectors and dealers realize that truly superb 19th-Century stamps will always sell for more than catalogue value, while defective material may be expensive at 25% of catalogue value. Philatelists who have studied the stamp market for a dozen years or more have no trouble placing a price on a stamp. A beginner can be very confused about just exactly what catalogue values mean when buying or selling stamps.

To simplify it all: Catalogue values are merely a relative guide to stamp-market values; catalogue quotations should not be taken literally, because the market is always changing and because some stamps vary widely in the condition in which they are encountered and hence in their desirability as investment items; and the best way to learn the real values of stamps is by studying dealer buy/sell price lists and reviewing recent stamp auction catalogue prices and the realized results to know what real people are now paying for real stamps.

As a rough rule, for nice stamps worth more than $20 each, many dealers will buy them from collectors (wholesale price) at about 50% of 1990 Scott catalogue value, and will sell those same stamps to customers at prices ranging from 1990 catalogue value to a little above, depending on the scarcity and quality of the stamps.

But there are many exceptions, of course, and 10 minutes spent at your local stamp dealer’s store will give you an idea of what some stamps are currently worth.

Q: In a recent column you mentioned that pre-Civil War U.S, stamps are invalid for postage. Two other issues have impaired legality for postal use: (1) Five postal cards issued in 1972 (Scott UX61, UX62, UX63, UXC12, and UXCl3) exceed size limits that were established later. They might still be mailed in 1990 with additional postage but not at the 15-cent post card rate. And (2) overprinted transportation coil stamps (still being sold by the Postal Service) cannot be used for first-class mail without a special (but free!) permit, even after adding additional stamps to 25 cents. Unlike past pre-cancelled issues, these stamps are unavailable without the overprint. --D.E.R.

A: And I might add that obsolete Hunting Permit stamps (Scott RW numbers) are invalid for current use, as well as the demonitized precancels of any U.S issue that has already seen postal duty on mail (i.e, cannot be soaked off and reused).

Q: I have two envelopes postmarked Springfield, Ill. Feb. 20, 1928, with the following words appearing in the shape of a horseshoe: “LINDBERGH AGAIN FLIES THE AIRMAIL, CHICAGO, ST. LOUIS, C.A.M, 2, SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 2-20-28.” I was advised that this stamp would never be used again. The stamps read “UNITED STATES POSTAGE, LINDBERGH--AIR MAIL.” Are these two envelopes of any particular value? --A.M.M.

A: Maybe $10 to $15 each, retail price. Charles A. Lindbergh, after his first non-stop solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927, was a hero much admired in his time. Little boys in the 1930s grew up hoping to be famous aviators like Lindbergh, and young girls looked up to the daring pilot Amelia Earhart, whose signature on an air mail cover, by the way, brings over $100 at auction.

The beauty and the problem with Lindbergh’s covers, like yours, is that there are so many of them still available that their price is depressed. Your covers were indeed flown by Lindbergh, along with many others identically like them, so present retail values are merely $10 to $15 per cover. A great price if you seek a philatelic item of historical interest. A bad price if you already have these covers and hope to get rich from them.

Q: I have a box of covers collected in the 1930s that I would like to sell. Where is the place to start? --J.R.

A: In the telephone book Yellow Pages under Stamps for Collectors. Take your covers to the nearest dealer for a quick estimate of their value. Call first to be certain that the dealer’s store will be open when you arrive!

Any long-established stamp dealer with a retail store on the same street for many years has too much to lose in reputation and integrity to even consider stealing a few stamps from your collection, so you likely will be safe in leaving your covers or stamps overnight for appraisal.