A Huge Stamp Project!

We are totally excited about a stamp collection that was given to us for absolutely nothing. We were given a large box, 2 shoeboxes, 4 or 5 plastic bags with tubs, boxes, and other containers of stamps and several stamp collecting supplies.

We do not know a thing about stamps or the collecting of them but it appears that we are going to have to learn!

In these containers are stamps dating back to 1902 (at least that we've found upon a couple of brief inspections). Some are unused, some are used - there are some US and some foreign but there is a huge variety. Some are neatly stored in albums and some are in various containers waiting to be sorted. A few still need to be seperated from the envelopes so we will have to learn the proper procedure of doing that.

We have been snooping all over the internet to find whatever information is available to help identify each stamp. We aren't sure what the best way to proceed is but looking up and researching each one of the thousands of stamps we were given is an intimidating task. There were a few stamp collecting books included that may be helpful but we think we are going to need more extensive sources.

Also included are some full display pages. One includes the 25th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy's death. We are amazed at the variety of designs that we do not remember ever seeing, even though they were issued during our lifetime. The older stamps are quite interesting and ornate. It's easy to see why stamp collecting is such a fun hobby.

There are even some First Day Covers from various years. Some are well kept while some have bent corners on the outer envelopes. We haven't opened them to check on the condition of the inner envelopes yet. All of the stamps on these are equally as interesting as the individual stamps in this collection.

When we first brought these stamps home, we went to one of the seller forums we frequent and asked for information on idenification and values. We had no idea where to start. We did get a lot of useful information to help us begin this project but it didn't take long for someome to come along and try to discourage us. We were told by one person that stamps can be valuable enough to pay off a car but then another person said that the value of stamps became diluted during the time that baby boomers were doing the collecting. He even said that if any of the stamps we were given were not used, they would have more value as postage than as a possible future sale.

The person talking about the diluted stamp market was talking mostly about the foreign stamps. In the large box, we have a book with many foreign stamps from all over the world. We are not going to let that information discourage us. We are going to look into these stamps to find out for ourselves. If nothing else, it looks to be an educational journey ahead - learning the history behind the stamps.

** If any of our readers has any helpful information or advice on how to handle this collection and the proper way to do things, we would greatly appreciate it if you would contact us. **

We are excited about the adventure ahead!