Private Seal Issues Have an Interesting History for Collectors

Question: I have an old envelope with a seal printed in black ink: “U.S. Post Office Department, officially sealed, opened through mistake by” and then an illegible signature, apparently of some long-ago postal official. Is this worth anything?--R.T.

Answer: Probably, if the cover (envelope) and seal are not damaged. You have what is known as a Typeset Post Office Seal, of which little is known, but Scott’s U.S. Specialized Catalogue says that these seals are thought to have been manufactured privately and sold to postmasters. When they come on the stamp market, they bring prices ranging from a few dollars to several hundred dollars each. Scott notes that beginning in 1877, “official seals were used to repair damaged letters or to close those received by the Post Office unsealed.”

Q: When was the first post card made?--E.A.

A: Post cards are the things for sale in drug stores and tourist souvenir stands, with color pictures or designs on one side and blank space for a written message, address, and postage stamp on the other side. We may never know for sure when the first picture post card was made, but they became extremely popular all over the world around 1900. Post card postage within the United States at that time was 1 cent, and many people of all ages had “pen pals” for the purpose of mailing each other interesting post cards of their respective localities.

If you mean postal cards , the first ones in the United States were issued May 13, 1873. Postal cards are the items sold in post offices, completely blank on one side and with a pre-printed “stamp” and place for the address on the other side. Except for certain commemorative issues, post offices don’t sell post cards. They sell postal cards, although the general public gets them confused and uses both names interchangeably. Post office window clerks give postal cards no matter what kind of card is requested.

Q: I have a set of eight stamps, from 20-cents to 90-cents denominations, and bearing a gentleman’s portrait and the inscription “U.S. Custom House, N.Y., Cashiers Office, Fees Received.” What is this set worth? All are in cancelled condition.--H.D.

A: About $10 for the set of eight values. These are customs fee stamps of the New York Custom House, issued in 1887 and discontinued in 1918. They were used for the collection of various customs fees. The 80-cent and 90-cent values are worth the most in this set, and these are the two stamps that a dealer or collector will look at first when buying or selling the whole set.

Q: When will postage rates be going up?--L.C.

A: Probably not until early in 1991, after the 1990 Christmas season. The most recent increase in the U.S. domestic first-class letter rate was on April 3, 1988, when it went from 22 to 25 cents. The next increase may be to 30 cents.

Q: I have a curiosity--a meter-stamped postal card dated Feb. 35, ‘61! Are such errors common or have I perchance a rarity?--V.B.

A: Uncommon material is automatically rare, but not necessarily valuable. Postage meters are the machines at the post office or in the mailing rooms of large businesses that machine-stamp mail with a pre-printed stamp design, usually of an eagle with spread wings and a circle for insertion of the city of origin and mailing date on the left, and a square for the amount of postage on the right. Because anyone with access to such machines can manufacture any “instant” rarity like fantastic dates (Feb. 35! or 1776!), such meter errors (as they are called) are of no special value.

Q: I have a Poste Vaticane stamp collection in mint condition from the year 1954 to 1989. What value do you think it has?--A.P.

A: Unfortunately you must have missed all the more expensive issues. Vatican City stamps from 1954 to present are mostly the cheaper varieties, compared to the more valuable stamps from 1929 (the first Vatican stamps) to 1953. If your collection is complete, you have a bit over $100 worth of stamps at current market values. Any errors or unusual first-day covers in your collection?. These might substantially raise its value.

Q: Will the recent events in Panama affect the market value of Panamanian stamps? I have a number of issues from that country from the years when I worked in the Canal Zone.--A.L.

A: Collectors of Central American stamps tend to be unaffected by temporary publicity that comes from those nations. There are a number of reasons. One is that an entrepreneur named Nicholas Seebeck damaged the philatelic reputation of Central American stamps in the 1890s by acquiring the printing plates of stamps of Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua and printing up quantities of stamps that he dumped on the philatelic market (stamp collectors have long memories). Another is the relative poverty--hence more limited collecting ability--of Central American citizens. Consequently, the stamps of this geographical area don’t change much in market value from year to year.

Revolutions and political turmoil are expected in many Latin American nations. Long-term stability and financial prosperity are what make a country’s stamps shoot up in price, because a home demand is generated for local stamps. If the public can afford to spend discretionary income, stamps tend to bring the best prices in the country of origin; for example, some American collectors send their British collections to London for auction, where English collectors will bid spiritedly for Great Britain rarities.

Q: Is there a stamp club in Culver City where I live? I want to exchange my duplicate and get involved in a local club.--T.F.

A: The Philatelic Society of Los Angeles meets on the first Tuesday of the month at the Culver City Library, 4975 Overland Ave., Culver City, from 7:30 to 9 p.m.; it also meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Westside Pavilion, 3rd floor Community Room, 10800 West Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Visitors are welcome without charge, and there is no obligation to become a member or to stay for the whole meeting. For more information write: Philatelic Society of Los Angeles, P.O. Box 2217, Culver City, Calif. 90230.

Stamp Club meetings are usually begun with a guest speaker who shows slides or photos of interesting stamps, followed by some kind of trading among members, perhaps a low-priced “auction” or awards of door prizes, and often simple refreshments like cookies and punch. If you are used to being hounded for money and donations, you won’t find that at stamp clubs, whose average yearly membership fee is about $10. I suggest that you visit a club meeting and decide if that society is for you.

Q: My cancelled souvenir sheet from Switzerland shows two Doves of Basel. What is this item worth?--P.E.

A: About $50 mint, $80 cancelled. Beware of forged cancels. This Swiss souvenir sheet was issued April 14, 1945, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Basel Cantonal Stamp. (The 1845 version is now worth thousands of dollars.)