How to value 99.9% of stamp collections in under a minute

Mike Hall, CEO of Paul Fraser Collectibles and Just Collecting, reveals the simple trick to valuing stamp collections.
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[@Lucky_Logan]

I inheritated my great grandfather’s stamp collection when he passed about I believe it was 15 years ago, he was very very meticulous with the stamps. Wax envelopes, very organized, numbering, sorted, etc. I’m just now going through the collection and so far, the portion I, going through is the first box which has a lot of other country stamps, but the stamps in wax envelopes are presidents, air mail, and everything from 1860’s-the latest I have found so far is 1930’s and there is only 1 so far from 1930’s…..and these are all in amazing condition, there’s so many stamps. In this box, thousands. And this is just not even a 1/4 of the first storage tote.

[@sychambers5440]

sorry buddy but as hard as it is to accept, the history and family means absolutely nothing to those that want to take this from you for as little as possible. I am so sorry for saying that - it hurts me to say that - but sadly the philately vultures are out and will do anything to BS their way past your family and your need to get a "fair" deal.

[@marthaaldridge5346]

Sounds like what my grandson will be saying

[@dennisferguson9129]

Meticulous means nothing if the stamps are common

[@Lucky_Logan]

I’m not saying all of this as I’m trying to add value to it or anything of that sort. I’m literally just telling my experience with inheriting the stamp collection and the actual size of the collection. I don’t know where yall got the assumption that I’m trying to add value due to family values. Nothing of that sort, nothing that I said was aiming to “defend” and using that as an argument point….

[@treescape]

The penny reds and tupenny blues are worth looking at also plate numbers. And watermarks need checking for inverted etc and some perforations might have a key value.

[@henrys3629]

My parents gave me all of their US/World albums. Any unused US stamps went on letters with correct total. The stamp shop sold those same stamps in the books 2/5 cents or face value. Non-collectors don't see tens of thousands of stamps.

[@TheBlah7777]

I have a bunch of old 1 cent stamps going through this collection very nervously.

[@darlene1187]

If the stamps are predominately modern, is there any value in groups of 4 blocks or stamp sheets?

[@davejohnston5158]

Interested to know what the value of whole sheets of uncirculated stamps from 1960's- 70's is, particularly outsize £1 stamps which I have a lot of.

[@Emperor-Wild-Man]

Here is my simple trick to find a value of any collection. Just watch the dealer (the guy who with the stamp expertise will appraise your collection) how he flips through the pages of your stamp album. If he flips the pages like a used Playboy magazine, then your "collection" is of little value. He he flips and paused frequently and take extra moments to view something on a particular page, then you may have something of value. If your collection is composed of boxes of various forms of "unsorted" stamps, then your collection is not a "stamp collection" but a "stamp accumulation", and the value will be measured in terms of $ per pound.

[@KironManuelCards]

I also have such a collection of various periods and regions.

[@polok2427]

I have a old collection high value but we have some health problem and looking for someone for help for right and good value

[@yizhakshachar]

when shooting video, you should put you cellphone horizontal and not vertical. Since it's a stamp tutorial, camera should face the stamps and not yourself. but beside all that, nice tutorial.

[@raulgongora5288]

Twaskyou sr for your information

[@annieyue9184]

Are stamps of more value if they have an official postal office stamped on and dated?

[@curiouscharacter1]

500 pounds? Yes, I think you're being very generous. From your description, I'd put it in the range of $20-25 US. Commons in overall poor condition and stuck down are valueless.

[@voneschenbachmusic]

Yep - I buy box lots and find multiple albums like this in a $50 box.

[@sychambers5440]

I agree completely - where the hell did did £500 come from?? I want him to explain that in fine detail.

[@robbmaier368]

I suppose the details aren't with individualized maybe there's a Ben Franklin step in there that's worth a hundred k did you look

[@HudsonValleyVHS]

I just bought a 1923 Stanley Gibbons world album that is mostly full and looks like it has nothing past the 1940. I payed thirty U.S. because I saw a couple of Danzig overprints that sell for five bucks online and I already had stock books coming so the shipping wasn't an issue... I feel like I payed for the fun of killing a evenings boredom (like spending money in a casino I essentially view it as paying for entertainment). I really don't understand where that $610 value came from. I guess possibly CV for insurance reasons? My honest guess is this constant mission to grow the hobby makes it counter-intuitive for most philatelist to just tell people the truth that Grandpa's stamps are not worth much.

[@dennisferguson9129]

I guessed it at $50 U.S. by seeing the 2 pages shown

[@WvhKerkhof]

I have a tip about coleections from around 1900-1945, is the color of the stamps mainly red? the collection might have not much value, is it mainly green, it has a little more value, is the color mainly blue, this might be a good collection with higher value. Green is local used stamps, red is national used and blue is international used. UPU decided these colors are the same in all UPU countries. For the rest a part of the value is how much hobby has a lot. Is it adventurous? Is it interesting for postmarks, small villages or big cities? Are postmarks off the face? This might be very fine quality. And who was the collector? A child? A rich person? A real filatelist? I collect this year for 50 years. With no experience you can't find the good things in my collection, you need to know for example that early stamps in New Zealand were made with old machines from England, the quality of the stamps might look bad, while european stamps from the same period were produced with better machines, a nice european stamp might be worthless and a 2 margin NZ stamp might be very valuable.

[@Ilkleyscot]

I am 80 now and have my great uncle’s( he was born in 1888 )stamp album , I also have my father’s ,my cousins an mine when we were boys . In those days the stamps were put in albums that’s how they were displayed on hinges up to to maybe the 70s ? years ago I let a dealer look at them and I noticed all the penny blacks were missing ! So who do you trust? Something akin to car dealers ,antique and double glazing etc.

[@Emperor-Wild-Man]

You can still trust the dealer for an appraisal, but you should never leave the "album" behind where an unethical dealer could returned a cherrypicked album. If you knew in advance that the valuable "penny black"s was part of a collection, then you should have separated them along with other valuable stamps in your opinion, prior to leaving behind your entire album with the dealer.

[@EL-kf8nq]

The way this hack handles a collection, I wouldn’t let him appraise my work boots.

[@kingcurry6594]

Why? He knows exactly what the collection is worth almost as soon as he looks at it. Poor condition, mostly common stamps and mostly quite modern. I reckon £500 is generous!

[@dennisferguson9129]

​@@kingcurry6594very generous. I guess it at 50

[@IMRAN0333]

Friend please tell me I have old stamps how can i sell internationally thanks

[@johnpeterson3299]

I can value a collection in fifteen seconds. If the album is not a modern hingeless one (preferably Lighthouse brand), it is almost certainly not worth opening up. The reasons for that are--a collector with valuable stamps will keep them in a modern archival album and if very valuable stamps are in an old album, they are probably in lousy condition.

[@Uthuwankanda]

John, could you please let me know what archival albums are?

[@johnpeterson3299]

@@Uthuwankanda Modern albums made by Davo, Lighthouse. etc. have acid free pages and mounts that are chemically neutral. Google one of these brands for more information.

[@kingcurry6594]

@@johnpeterson3299 I use Gibbons Exeter and Plymouth albums with Hawid mounts.

[@curiouscharacter1]

Sorry John, I think that's a bit of an overstatement. Yes, you should have an album with good quality pages that are not acidic or could otherwise damage your collection. I personally have an International Junior Album up to 1940. It is not hingeless but meets my needs. I've got 3 countries that I pay particular attention to and all of them are in Scott Specialty Albums. I've custom made a United States album on high quality card stock housed in 4 Harris albums. 3 years ago I surveyed my collection and the catalog value at that time was north of $31k. Not a tremendous amount to be sure and of course I could probably get less than $7k from a dealer (with the exception of VF+ US earlies.) Still, under your definition "it's not worth opening up." I think we collectors must realize that not everyone, especially young new collectors can afford the top-of-the-line accessories like hingeless albums. Our hobby is slowly shrinking and it's our responsibility to encourage new people to participate in it. Insisting that to have a worthwhile collection requires the expenditure of several hundreds of dollars before a single stamp is purchased is not productive to the hobby. For beginners, even hinges have their uses for common stamps but, they should be trained to protect the high dollar items by using quality stamp mounts (Hawid, Scott, Showgard, etc.)

[@failet2143]

can i sell my collection of over 10,000stamps(the newsest is from 2002 and the oldest is from 1870!) for 150000$? if yes how and where?

[@juanitomadera8054]

Sir I want sale my stamps from Germany...1944 and 1970

[@sandra.j.g.thompson9268]

Hello, Mike! What if you found maybe 100 very old stamps, and the catalogs show them having some value even if they are used, what is the best way to evaluate and sell these. I am an illustrator, not a stamp enthusiast. I got these from New York City from a woman whose husband traveled the world in his work. He would send these stamps home to her and she would just tuck them away and knew she would never do anything with them, so I accepted them and I'm 71 years old now, and I am ready to sell them. I have a few early American stamps, but primarily what this woman gave me were early German (WEimar Republic), WWII (Deutsches Reich), and post-WWII Eastern German stamps. Some are unused, some stamped. I really would like to get something for them if possible. WHat do you think is my best course of action?

[@willisheard9905]

Hello there I was wondering if you could tell me how to go about helping my friend find out if this stamp is worth anything it is a 24 cent inverted Jenny / red / upside down airplane. I know there was only 100 made and 96 as them were accounted for last time I checked

[@wutzg.owenon5869]

Lick it and mail it. Not worth anything I'm sure.

[@alouise3557]

@@wutzg.owenon5869 you win dumbest answer on youtube.

[@wutzg.owenon5869]

@@alouise3557 Well good on ya.

[@OnlineSlotEnthusiasts]

LMAO 🤣

[@annieyue9184]

Thank you! Please talk something about coin collection!

[@chrisbethew7879]

Sorry to be rude but don’t listen to this guy

[@WvhKerkhof]

Always do your own research.

[@shauncorless8965]

I can value one in under 5, sec ,,99.9 % are worthless 😳

[@user-rc3dk1yp5b]

Hi sir I have stamps of what they sold so much experience but I don't know what I should do can you help me please

[@paulfrasercollectibles]

If you want to sell a stamp, please fill in the link below or contact us via email [e-mail] for a free valuation. Link: www.paulfrasercollectibles.com/pages/looking-to-sell-your-stamps-or-coins

[@kaden7298]

I found some very old stamps it’s feel like plastic not paper. And look very old. It’s price in ounces not in cents. Is it worth money?

[@paulfrasercollectibles]

If you want to sell a stamp, please fill in the link below or contact us via email [e-mail] for a free valuation. Link: www.paulfrasercollectibles.com/pages/looking-to-sell-your-stamps-or-coins

[@michellehowlett2300]

With the passing of the Queen will the value of stamp collections go up or down

[@hasanbilal5552]

I want sale my old stamps

[@izysly6051]

"crap"(he rips a page as he thumbs thru the album)"these stamps will make a festive lining for my chicken coop"

[@FunAtHomeCollectibles]

Love collecting !! Have an awesome day 💥! From HWFAH (Hot Wheels, Lego, Cards & collectables)👍

[@mynahbird20000]

Doesn't mean that old stamps will have value because millions may have been in circulation and only now revealed via the internet.High value stamps are those that are one in a million with errors,etc and unused and in mint condition.Old stamps however have value and can be sold for s few or several hundred dollars as they become scarce eg,old borneo or sarawak stamps but as an album of old stamps some hobbyists maight be willing to pay a few hundred dollars to acquire an ancient collection.I have used stamps from the victorian era for example more than a hundred years old but so do many other people,and they dont cost more than a few dollars to buy on E bay.But because of supply and demand sometimes a stamp like the 1980 china red monkey can fetch thousands.

[@trolling-thope-]

I have old stamps plz contant detels

[@bakatstravarenmattsson3418]

Did you say 500 pounds? as in catalog value or someone paying 500?

[@JOHNUDT]

I pay more than that 😜

[@markorollo.]

500 quid is low value?!!? I've got thousands of stamps and I'd be happy a tenth of that value lol.

[@bakatstravarenmattsson3418]

@@markorollo. Those old albums are usually garbage quality, and very low value, max 20 pounds, and that's too much.

[@kingcurry6594]

@@JOHNUDT Then you're robbing yourself.

[@nafs53]

@@kingcurry6594 " This is a stick-up; gimme your hinges.."

[@user-oy9mn1fs8u]

Was wondering if you could help me with an appraisal but I am in London so is there anyway I could possibly send you some photos over WhatsApp or even a recording please, thanks

[@coins_seller]

I HAVE OLD STAMPS WHERE I SHOULD SELL THEM

[@josephpostma1787]

Ebay, thats about it. through 'em up in an auction, see what happens.

[@kartikchawla1]

I want to sell stamps

[@romesp.5068]

How to Value a Stamp Collection of a few 100000 stamps? Make photographs of each page in your albums, let software couple each stamp to a stamp in the Michel catalogue (and determine its condition) and let the software make a calculation of the value

[@xr4ti548]

500 pounds is not little value for one album of roughly 1100 stamps. It is not a fortune by any means, but nice chunk of change. But I doubt that album would sell for that on that price.

[@1dimeslot]

You have to be KIDDING.

[@sni-ri1yg]

I thought stamp collection what euphemism for tabs of l s d

[@johnwheet7037]

I was questioning your statement until I saw what you were about to value. As a collector I know nothing of world wide stamps so what I do is to look at are the areas I know, if I see value there then I tend to think there is value in those other areas as well. Collectors that collect a wide variety of countries tend to work on one area or country collecting stamps until they reach a point where the stamp value is to high to collect further then move on to other countries. I would think it highly unlikely to find value in one portion and little to no value in another....of course there's no rule to this....just my opinion

[@44lgarden]

Unfortunately very little actual information in this video. You basically are saying 99.9% of used stamps have no value. Kills the whole idea of the fun of collecting.

[@OrangeNash]

Might kill the fun of investing, but not collecting. If 99.9% of stamps have little value, you can easily make a good collection without spending too much.

[@44lgarden]

@@OrangeNash True enough.

[@alouise3557]

I think what this guy is doing is hunting for the holy grail. Regardless, he shows an album where all of the stamps are *stuck to the album page* which, from what I've read in beginner stamp values info, means they're really not valuable. If they were not stuck, perhaps not stamped, the guy may have spent more time but he knew quickly, if the stamps were licked and stuck to pages, it was a hobby; not a Collector that knew what they were doing. Hence, he's right. He wants to see a $1000++ stamp. Not several of them worth $.20 each.

[@claudiocarrieri3862]

There can't be at least one valuable stamp it that album ?

[@dennisferguson9129]

Very unlikely. Never a rare stamp mixed in with common

[@mpckelly91]

I guess I’ll just throw it out then

[@zakariahilalli2645]

hi

[@j.tyler2024]

I beg to differ I recently picked up a collection from all over the world dated 1850-1950. And I've already found one worth 25k and several worth 5-10k. It was defiently from a collector who recently passed very old and was a collector their entire life. They knew what they were collecting.

[@dennisferguson9129]

An old collection from someone who understood the stamps doesn't make them valuable. Neither does family sentiment. A buyer doesn't care if they belonged to your grandfather

[@WvhKerkhof]

Impossible to value under a minute. Your video takes 5 minutes to explain how to value in a minute.

[@dennisferguson9129]

Of course, takes longer to explain than to do. I can value from a simple flip thru as he did. Most collections are worth very little. People don't understand that

[@paulm5133]

i like to lick them , whether or not they are used and if that doest work rubber cement glue (lots of fumes_more bang for your buck!

[@aidybing690]

Is ur wife Irish because my mum used to say that to my brother during his punk days

[@WvhKerkhof]

His mother is a punk from Ireland.

[@skyscraper4956]

Teacher

[@hannnahhoney6168]

It is impossible to value the collection from what was shown in the video. No way can you know that the mint stamps are stuck down with a 5 second flick of 300 pages. That is like saying you can speed read the bible in one minute. Frankly ridiculous. The valuation given is equally unrealistic and totally at odds with his description of the collection. Somewhere in the region of £20 to £50 is much nearer the mark. If he was really a dealer he would go bankrupt in his first year paying up to 50 times what the collection is actually worth. A similar collection in the same album did sell for around £700 recently but in that collection there were lots of good stamps scattered throughout the collection and condition was above average for the period. Such collections are rare though which is why the bidding was intense. The collection he described would probably be added to a large carton of other similar material and would probably fetch around £100 for the entire box at auction. I can value a collection in about 10 minutes but only as a rough ballpark figure. Good stamps need to have their condition checked carefully though as it could affect the value from a low of £1 up to £100 for the same stamp in fine condition. So this video is of little value to anyone apart from a sweeping generalisation that old schoolboy collections are nearly always worthless apart from a few rare exceptions. Because most stamps are common or damaged or frequently both.

[@johngreen3543]

I agree with the vlogger, if you know ww stamps a cursory exam in just a few minutes can decide if you have anything potentially valuable. If the older material predominates (1840 to 1920) then you can go through with a little more detail. But looking at a collection of a little more than 1000 stamps with 99% in the minimum catalog range makes the collection worth about 5cents per stamp or around $50 which is what I would pay for such a thing. And most collections that I have seen at swamp meets fall into this category.

[@corporalclegg914]

Dude. Your hair looked great. Let it go, Madman.

[@izysly6051]

Not a bad tutorial but it needs improvement.

[@georgikablakian2637]

hello Dear i have a big collection if you interested

[@koolbugz]

not at all what i expected you flipped thru 1 book how is that going to help

[@dennisferguson9129]

Usually a flip thru is all it takes

[@YellowfinGrouper]

£500? You are kidding. Fun for a child to take over and expand. But it’s not going to be of interest to a serious collector. The stick down stamps should be thrown in the bin. The rest could go in packets at about 1p per stamp.

[@wolfie854]

Your valuation is too generous. Trying to sell this album to a dealer is the real test. I would guess £50 as the top price you would get and that's still on the generous side. You might find a collector who would take it on because of the interesting content but most of the stamps I saw were common and it would take hours of work to sort out the best ones. Interesting take on it though, enjoyed your commentary.

[@mikobeatsaber1]

Taking 15yrs to tell us

[@sychambers5440]

I was really hoping for a more detailed response. You have very obviously gone through this album previously and know exactly what is there so to insult those of us looking for an honest valuation is just wrong. I was staggered...gobsmacked.... at the valuation given at £500. Seriously? After all the negative things you have said about it?? More like £50 at best from what I see. I am always looking for a good deal... but the people inheriting collections have ZERO knowledge about the actual value....and just because they have something "old" think it's worth a lot of money...take a quick look at FB marketplace. ppl with no idea asking for ridiculous money. Sadly this is what the modern SERIOUS collector faces.

[@WvhKerkhof]

Old is not rare these day's the latest stamps are rare. That is new, before internet old stamps were valuable.

[@johnbren1351]

I inherited nothing. My dad would bring me stamps back from work and I would mutilate them further. I had the husband of my mum's friend who vaguely tried to introduce me to proper stamp collecting. I was about 13 and had NO money but realised how one could display stamps beautifully. I marvelled at his collection but knew I could never be a philatelist. I still have my 1960s collection. Value? Priceless! (£12)

[@pamelaroliva8501]

I thought you said under a minute! You took 5:03

[@dennisferguson9129]

Takes longer to explain than than to do. He said that in the beginning

[@davidsongatbonton4059]

hai sir

[@louisharding9018]

That was the the worst " how to " I've honestly seen..all those pages and u only show 1 or 2 pages saying oh not valuable..as far as stamp value goes as far as any stamp collector would say the value of stamps depends on how rare and conditions but is still a personal business transactions and how much a buyer is willing to pay for a stamp..people who seem slick and half way show things are the people who really likes to get stuff basically free not really someone who gives his honest opinion..old judge a book by his cover or something cause no one could flip though a book that fast and tell perfs and watermarks..I've been doing a lot of studying cause I have a stamp collection I really like appraisal for..

[@dennisferguson9129]

Don't have to examine every stamp in detail to determine value. A flip thru usually tells the story

[@rhumbatron2912]

video is 5x a minute-

[@dennisferguson9129]

Yes because it takes longer to explain than to do

[@Eric-rf6te]

The disregard for a collection of two or more generations of the stamp merchant, bored of looking at stamps and collections. Depressing

[@juanitomadera8054]

Sir I want sale my stamps from Germany...1944 and 1970

[@michaeld4090]

I have some from Germany too from 1940s. How much value are they? I have no clue where to value stamps

[@abudibinlaeeq7480]

@@michaeld4090 i have a collection from 1700 till 1800 maybe or quite close ? where can I found the correct value of my collection