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Preview of Stamps Catalogue: VOLUME 2
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VALUE OF STAMPS
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Due to the demand of many clients, I have decided
to add some information on the value of stamps. The value of a
stamps is determined by the popularity (or demand) on one hand
and by the availability on the other hand. Some stamps are not
very rare, but highly in demand, so their price will be high.
Other stamps might be quite scarce, but not very popular, so
their price will be relatively low. In most catalogues, the
values of the stamps are indicated. However, the 'real' value of
a stamp is often much less (Most of the stamps can easily be
bought at 50 % of the catalogue value or less). Instead of giving
real values, I have decided to use the following scheme:
vc = very common
c = common
* = not so common
** = uncommon
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*** = very uncommon
R = rare
RR = very rare
RRR = extremely rare
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'vc' stands for stamps that can be found in great
quantities in every dealers stockbook. They can be purchased at
say Euro 0.05. 'c' stands for stamps that are not that common,
but with a little patience they can still be found easily. Stamps
with 'RRR' are really top rarities, most collectores can only
dream of ever posessing any of these stamps, the prices of these
stamps will go above three digits in Euros (if you can buy them
for less, they are either badly damaged or plain forgeries!). The
above scheme will enable you to compare two stamps with each
other.
The value of a stamp can be greatly affected by
its quality. A stamp with tears and smudges will generally be
only worth about 10 % of a nice stamp. Be aware of this when you
buy rare stamps!
Note that small differences between stamps that
look alike, can make a huge difference in the price. A rare
watermark or perforation can make the difference between a common
stamp and a rarity. Such price differences can be observed in the
stamps of many British colonies.
Copyright by Evert Klaseboer
