Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

Less than 4 million .... How rare

Thanks Norm.

And I think we have an ultimate winner:

$USA900,000 start or BIN $USA 1,000,000



http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BIRTHDAY-PROPHET ... 0462063136?



Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

But it was carried by camel, that has to give it some premium. Hard to sort mail and make a clear strike of the hammer on covers when you're bobbing on a camel. And we all know those Middle Eastern sheikhs are richer than Allah, so surely they'll stump up the cash as this is pocket money to them.

Someone needs to tell this seller that the way to become a millionaire is through i) hard work to earn the money; ii) play the lotto and beat the 14,000,000:1 odds; iii) be born with a silver spoon in your mouth; iv) marry into money. Does anyone stumble across million-dollar stamp finds? Well there was the Stock Exchange invert stamp in the USA...on the other hand how much did the schoolboy get for the Tre Skilling Banco.

Time to pick my lucky numbers for the next draw.

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Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

Here is my contribution:



And the description:

Germany 3.Reich Michel Nr. 565-568 Saar voting FDC ej38
Germany 3. Reich / Deutsches Reich - Michel Nr. 565-568 End of the Saar protectorat / Saar voting / Saarabstimmung on rare FDC / First Day Cover / Ersttagsbrief with 2 different FDC cancellation from the voting day / Abstimmungstag 13.1.1935 in good quality (12 Pfg. small fault / 12 Pfg. kleine Zahnfehler) - see scan
Michel value for FDC = 800,00 Euro

Start price is "only" 275 Euros.

Here's the link if you want to look for yourself:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Germany-3-Reich-Michel-Nr-565-568-Saar-voting-FDC-ej38-/120657762054?pt=Briefmarke&hash=item1c17c35706

So, what's wrong? First of all, the First Day of these stamps was 16.1.1935 (16 January 1935), and were issued only after the results of the plebiscite on 13.1.1935 were known. Second, the Saar and Germany at this time were separate countries. So, why would a foreign stamp get a cancel in the Saar? Finally, this just appears to be an unaddressed piece of paper/envelope. There is no evidence of any address, etc.

The seller has been in business in Germany since 2001 and has a 7,000+ positive rating. With that rating, it is hard to believe this is fraud, so I'll go with ignorance.

Clay

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German, German State and Saar Revenues Wanted...

I am curious as to why 2 completely different cancellations on the cover.

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

Machine cancel and hand cancels the machine missed.

Clay

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German, German State and Saar Revenues Wanted...

What? How did it get a machine cancel if it has no address and , so, wasn't posted? Surely it would have to have been canceled at the counter and then taken away?

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

Another excellent point pushing it to the screaming fake side.

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German, German State and Saar Revenues Wanted...

Here is one I found today looking to complete some Air Mail sets. This one brings Stamp grading into the forefront. The Catalog value for MNH on this one is $18.00, or real world of around $3-4.00 US, this one has the bidding starting at $89.50, I can't imagine why there are no bids, I agree it's well centered but since when does that bring a premium of over 4 times the catalog value ? Also notice in the description it states "SMQ $100.00"
anyone know what SMQ stands for ?



http://cgi.ebay.com/US-C16-5-Winged-Glo ... 35ae5f04b9

Another question, why would someone spend 20-30 dollars (I'm assuming the having a Stamp graded costs around that much) to have a $4.00 stamp graded ?

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"Life is a tough Teacher, it gives you the test first and the lesson later"
Anonymous

Looks like SMQ stands for Stamp Market Quarterly which is done by http://www.psestamp.com
I'm with you on this one it Just seems absurd that cheap stamps are worth lots more because they're printed how they're meant to be printed !

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Donald.
Aus KGV Head Addict !

Americans have been going crazy for "graded" and "slabbed" stamps. PSE has probably made a good bit of change from these services.

Send a stamp to PSE, have them declare it a 95, 98, or, "dreamer" 100, and your ordinary item has suddenly jumped wayyyy up in 'value'. Then there's also the 'J' suffix, as in 90J, 95J, the J is for 'jumbo', as in the stamp has jumbo size margins compared to the 'normal' for the issue.

There was a discussion on SB awhile ago, maybe pages back in this thread, about a slabbed stamp. Linn's used to carry headlines about records for such material. The one I remember well was one of the National Parks stamps making hundreds of $$ at auction when the catalogue is pennies.

Then there's 'slabbing'...that was done originally for coins, then to banknotes (as the two are related in terms of collectors and dealers) then the contagion spread to stamps. Take a nice item, stick it between pieces of plastic, and screw the whole thing tight so any tampering will be obvious. Preserve your treasure in a block of plastic the size of a wallet. So much for mounting in an album.

Some auction houses in the USA devote a category in their catalogues to "slabbed" stamps. Can you say "tulip futures"?

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Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

I was saying the same thing, but you beat me to the post - and said it much more eloquently. I saw a common 2c Washington from the 1880s with a catalog value of $11, go for $3,000 with a PSE 98 slab. A lot is domain knowledge; how rare is the item in superb condition? Older stamps might be tough, but from the 1930s on...give me a break.

The market is currently sustained by a few collectors seeking perfection. If they change focus, the market will fall apart.

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German, German State and Saar Revenues Wanted...

Grazie. You'd think I'd have something more important to do at 2am here than write long-winded posts...or maybe because its late that's why I ramble on so?

19th century items making substantial sums can be somewhat understandable...they're scarce enough that PSE can compile surveys of the items with high grades, and catalogue descriptions will carry such details, ie "this stamp is graded 95, there are only 3 known graded higher". When you look at sales from smaller firms, the early material can sometimes have woeful centering, superb items just aren't out there.

I'd be interested to see what PSE does when grading the Special Printings...when there's only a few dozen in existence, and all scissor-cut apart, do you grade everything in the 60s , or do you re-configure the grading standards for that issue?

When people start grading/slabbing the National Parks, Famous Americans, Overrun Countries, thats when the fad goes from silly to downright ridiculous. I remember seeing a complete set of Overrun Nations in an auction, each individually slabbed...a set of stamps worth, what, $4.95 or so, now taking up half a banker's box of space, and estimated exorbitantly, mostly to cover the fees paid to PSE. A conspiracy theorist might query who the consignor of such material is....

The people who go in for such things and then can't sell the material down the road deserve to lose their money I say. It might sound harsh, but as was pointed out in previous discussion on grading, when people see how much a common stamp sells for when so graded, piles more will start coming out of the woodwork and the price will plummet. OTOH, you can't pull superb Columbians out of nowhere.

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Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

Initially the gum debate, and now the grade debate makes me glad that I gave up collecting mint stamps long ago, and happily stick to postal history and used revenues. No offense to fellow members who enjoy mint stamps, they're just too much of a headache for me.

I'll keep saying it; this is a fun hobby - not a chore.

Clay

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German, German State and Saar Revenues Wanted...

I enjoy the Mint Stamps and they are fun to find at the right price, but I refuse to pay $250.00 for a prexie because is actually centered and stuck in a .40¢ plastic case. The Air mail mentioned above isn't even in a cheap plastic case, it's just actually centered which isn't a big thing for the stamps of the 1930's. Ebay needs to hire a professional stamp expert and have them patrol the listings on a daily basis for the financial safety of the new collector.

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"Life is a tough Teacher, it gives you the test first and the lesson later"
Anonymous

Ok, someone please provide clarification for me on this one. I must be missing something here, this is what appears to be a booklet pane of 10¢ Spirit of St. Louis US Airmails. Catalog value for MNH Booklet pane of 3 is $130.00 US. His claim is that they are Only perforated at the top of each Stamp which makes them very rare, now I know I'm new to this but wouldn't the perforations on the top of a stamp also be the perforations on the bottom of the Stamp above it ?




http://cgi.ebay.com/C-10a-3-Stamps-MInt ... 51907ce17a

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"Life is a tough Teacher, it gives you the test first and the lesson later"
Anonymous

Stallzer,

You are 100% correct!

This misrepresentation made my blood boil so I penned a vitriolic missive through Ebay to this idiot.

I wonder if they will show the question...

Off to work now...

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The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge........

If this grading malarky is increasing values of stamps by 10, 50, 100 times for good margins then what on earth would this stamp be graded and valued at ?



Ok it's used and some perfs are iffy, but the margins are way better than most i've seen and i've only got it up for $4.00 on ebay, what value would graders put it at if it was mint ? !!

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Donald.
Aus KGV Head Addict !

It really does not matter to the real world what stamps are graded at. What matters is only if somebody is willing to pay a deluded amount for a graded stamp.

You can always pull the stamp, spend a heap of money getting it graded (used stamps will get graded for a price) and then re offer it IF it gets a high rating. Then the market will decide.

It's up to you.

Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

Ever get a reply to that message Ian?

_________________
Has fallen in love with Flora & Fauna FDC's!

OK I'll have a go.
First no stamp would be 0. Actually I reckon a mint total dud would still score 70. That's off centre, hinged, cracked gum, pulled perfs and a slight tear with foxing!

So this one if it was with full mint, no thins, complete good original gum with no trace of hinge, but centred slightly high and with....a dozen or so nibble perfs across the top and the bottom perfs ragged....early 80's only - placing it at probably less than average.

If you took a point off per pulled perf, a point or two off for centering, and a few points for imperfect perfs on the bottom that's where it would head. And I havent even looked at the back.

In the world of perfection a 96 or 97 is not good enough. And each point above would double or triple the value of each extra point.

Think of it this way:
99% of all mint would rate 95.
99% of the remaining 1% = 96
99% of that fraction = 97
etc
until you have just a 1:100,000 chance of a 99
and a 1:1,000,000 chance of a 100 stamp.

Bet you that 95 sounded good though didn't it!

Best of the best will cost, even with a normal rate stamp from 70-100 years ago.

I can understand the logic - the search for the best there is.
But this bubble surely has to burst?

_________________
Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

Thanks for the explanation Allanswood, shows you the owner of a stamp sees a lot less faults than a prospective buyer, I'll leave it at $4.00 !

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Donald.
Aus KGV Head Addict !

Running through Scott, assuming the least valuable option - $4 seems to be a good starting place. Having handles a few of these it is "rather nicely centered" and with somewhat large margins. With any luck you'll get more than the minimum on it.

Additionally, it's a very nice, albeit common cork cancel that is truly SON!

BTW - If I collected these I'd grab it at $4!

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Mike
Why do we need perforations? Scissors are cheap!

It's still a decent used example with a nice "fancy cancel" (cork?)

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

From ebay seller xtreme0020. Starting price US$1,400.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150533303955





I've no idea what catalogue he's looking in, because it's £0.20 in mine....

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Always on the lookout for Australian pre decimal First Day Covers.

From ebay seller 09rado2004. Start price US$80, Buy it Now US$500

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220706797926





Catalogue value £0.10

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Always on the lookout for Australian pre decimal First Day Covers.

From ebay seller alexey1470. Start price US$19.99, Buy it Now US$49.99.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220706186232



Catalogue value £0.10

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Always on the lookout for Australian pre decimal First Day Covers.

According to Ezgrader, this stamps receives an XF92 rating.

Just goes to show how "Ezgrader" gets it wrong!

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

Actually, a score of 70 requres a pretty decent condition.



To a large extent - it has.

We have yet another eBay seller who either
(a) Hyperventilates at the sight of an Indian States stamp, or
(b) Doesn't read the catalogue

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330510892679

zt256 / India Travancore Cochin 1921 Official stamps



and the seller also includes scans of the backs of the stamps, showing that both have sideways watermarks.

Of course, the 4 Pies stamp is only known with the watermark sideways, and is listed in the current Gibbons Part 1 at (wait for it) 10p, and the 9 Pies is listed with both watermark upright and sideways at ... 10p either way. 20p total catalogue value, and all yours for only $US160 BIN.

And who doubted that Cochin was running hot?

(After looking at some of this sellers other Indian States offerings, I'd have to say that the answer to my question is (a). We have a hyperventilator.)

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'First I'll steal all the money, then I'll kill everybody, and then I'll go away', Père Ubu

eBay seller trendwert really does need to stop taking deep breaths, or else lay off whatever he's been drinking or smoking ...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330510762074



zt015 Soruth Saurashtra - 11 -14

Another BIN bargain at $US160, with a Gibbons catalogue value of 20p.

Or is this some sort of elaborate Swiss joke?

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'First I'll steal all the money, then I'll kill everybody, and then I'll go away', Père Ubu

For only $A500, you can have



http://cgi.ebay.com.au/old-postage-stam ... 0567301815?

Why have I not offered a scan or two? Well, there aren't any. I don't think that marketing is this person's strength.

Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

Well, it is their first or second sale, and they are from Mooroopna, and they might think that's what bag of kiloware is worth.

_________________
A man might as well marry ... if he finds a good wife he will be happy ... if not, he will become a philosopher.
Collecting Greater New Guinea & Macropods (Kangaroos & Wallabies).

Is this outrageous ? or is it just me.... I know this is a beautiful piece with exceptional centering and Margins
but $1,875.00 ? PSE grades it at a 98 and it now fetches over 13X full catalog value.

Catalog value MNH $135.00




http://www.collectorscorner.com/Product ... id=8338270

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"Life is a tough Teacher, it gives you the test first and the lesson later"
Anonymous

If you take full cat value to be a 94 score and double the price every point from then...
$2,160.00
And that's probably as good a guess as any as to how the heck they work them up to that value!

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

$US6,999,999

Old Lot Used Stamp Collection,Special, Unique,Worldwide



http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Old-Lot-Used-Sta ... 0469043624?







Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

$US100,000

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/RARE-VINTAGE-FRE ... 0661834153?



The rare missing corner variety.

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

Price lowered from US $6,999,999.00 to US $5,999,999.00 ...

I sent him a question about the collection being worth $5-10, then he relisted it to the US $5,999,999.00 price ...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Old-Lot-Used-Sta ... 0471148493?

Ain't there someone sane enough in the holy land who could ring this lad up and give him a gooooood laugh?

Kloster

Another of the 'rare missing corner' variety, starting bid of $10

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Rare-australian- ... 0526657361



This is a collectors item

Rare

worth over $100

Im selling it today for only $10!!!

Thats 90% off!

(Posted on ebay by zac-kroonenberg, feedback 12, for a period of 1 day)

From ebay seller antiques1235

http://cgi.ebay.com/AUSTRIA-LEVANT-10C-FRANCE-DENOMINATION-CAT-103-/120656701450

Yours for a mere US$20,000.

Catalogue value £6.40.....

_________________
Always on the lookout for Australian pre decimal First Day Covers.

It did not sell. Surprising? - NOT.

Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

Breaking News. Kiloware about to burst through the price Glass Ceiling (assuming there is a bunny big enough to swallow this one). Film at 11:00


$US50,000


http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Vintage-American ... 0705390731?






Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

There is a simple answer here - Hidden among the 500 worthless stamps is one worth US$50,000. Careful searching and LOTS of drugs will be needed to find the treasure.

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Mike
Why do we need perforations? Scissors are cheap!

Obviously what we are not seeing here is the underneath the pile block of 4 Scott #79's with the rare "A" Grill.................

*Need Norm's face palm picture here *

_________________
"Life is a tough Teacher, it gives you the test first and the lesson later"
Anonymous

Or in this case...



Norm

_________________
Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

Perhaps we need a separate dreamer thread for 1923 German Inflation Dreamers Or GIDS for short. Don't steal this it's my term, and I will sue!

Anyway today's GID is junkzillah

$US11,000

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Germany-Inflatio ... 0667575411?




$US499.99

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Germany-Inflatio ... 0667579176?



$US999.99

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Germany-Inflatio ... 0667578039?



$US20,500.99

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Germany-Inflatio ... 0667572811?



$US10,250

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Germany-Inflatio ... 0667574307?



$US2,499.00

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Germany-Inflatio ... 0667576793?



Hey! junkzillah Everything I have scanned here is not worth $A1.00 between all of it. You have completely wasted your listing fees, and probably the $US50.00 you spent buying the Mint inflation issues in the first place (as per your feedback).

Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

Diver Pete, did you ever get a reply ? I just sent them an email too as they are still listed. No they did not post your question and to really drive the dagger home they have the nerve to charge $13.00 for shipping something that fits in a glassine and domestically costs them .44¢.

_________________
"Life is a tough Teacher, it gives you the test first and the lesson later"
Anonymous

Stallzer,

This was my question to them:



and, yes I did get a reply:

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The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge........

It's been a while since we had a Diana Dreamer, but here is one at $A200.00 or $A400.00 BIN



http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Australia-24c-ma ... 0528547792?



...but it turns out that he is just a regular garden variety dreamer:

$A110 or $A350 BIN

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/set-5-first-flee ... 0528544795?





Norm

_________________
Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .