Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

Alrighty, a while ago I mentioned that I was given a collection of stamps that my grandfather obtained while serving in Germany during WWII.

I am posting this thread to share the album that was included in the collection for two main reasons - to get advice on if anything that you see that may jump out at you that I should take a closer look at and just to share it with everyone.

I know this isn't exactly rare or uncommon, not the fact that I have an album like this. But I still find it interesting - how my grandfather obtained it, the name of what I assume is the original owner listed within, what could have ever happened to the original owner, if he ever thought about it after it disappeared or if he even made it through the war to care about such a trivial thing at the time.

By posting all of them at once, I'm not asking for people to look over every single thing. I know I'll have to start future threads for real focused specifics. I am posting them all just to let everyone take a casual look, see if anything jumps out, and go from there. My knowledge of them is basic so I don't even know where to start by picking one out to ask about. Then if someone sees one that I should focus on, I can scan that one and work from that.

NOTES: I am not looking for an estimated value. I am not looking for anyone to tell me what the entire thing is or isn't worth. The blank spaces where stamps once were are where a lot of the "loose" stamps from the collection came from as they have the same type of backings.

Also, the last two images aren't technically part of the album, but they were stored within the album. It looks like the main images of the stamps in the album have been posted below in reverse order, so view it like you are looking at the last page of the album then backwards.

I have checked out the entire series of Scott guides from my local library to at least get an idea of value myself. I am lost on variations and cancels and watermarks and the such. I have likely poured almost 100 hours into this since I first decided to dive into the research of this hobby, and the collection that has fallen into my hands.

I have had a great amount of fun and entertainment with all of this, and that is what matters more than anything else.

Thanks, and at least have fun looking through the images!

http://s1166.photobucket.com/albums/q60 ... =slideshow

Rocky -- photos are the way to go, but only 6 to 8 per post please so they load while folks are browsing them.

So make a few more posts with 6 to 8 please and not 100 in post 1!

Admin

Ok, I think I posted all of them correctly now. If I screwed it up fixing it please let me know.

The stamps on here that I do know (which is very few) are unremarkable.

If this came into my possession, I would keep the entire album intact as a collectable item in its own right.

I am aware that there are collectors of old albums (I am not) ... and I think it would suit this type of collection.

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Collecting Greater New Guinea & Macropods (Kangaroos & Wallabies).

RockySC, thanks for sharing. The German material looks like a very good base to launch a good collection from, and pre 1949 Germany makes for a fascinating study if you have the time and energy. There are so many attractive stamps, and it is a fascinating peek at the history of the era (not all that pleasant, but it happened).

Unless you have an emotional attachment to the album, I would tend to replace it, as it is damaged and stained in places, and the stamps are to put it bluntly, a mess as far as order and layout is concerned. It will only get worse over time, and I can see no practical method for salvaging it.

But the main thing will be, enjoy your stamps, and the research you do wherever it leads you, That is what collecting is all about.

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, .

Thanks guys!

I'd love to hear from others as well.

I looked at the Dutch and French stamps, and there is nothing really valuable there. Except maybe for the two blue French paquebote stamps. One of them is a color variant (the lighter one), which is worth something (not huge amounts, I don't have a catalogue here). There is also a pre-canceled 10 centimes type blanc from France (the purple one). If it has undisturbed gum, it's probably worth a couple of dollars as well.

There are some nice socked on the nose cancels in there (where you can read place and date).

And of course there's a ton of fun in sorting things out in there as well.

Thanks hendriks, I'll take note of those and check them out!

Hello!
On the first Austrian page was an green Donaustamp (Donau-Dampfschiffarts-Gesellschaft) from 1867. It is Mi3 and depending on type it was worth 100 - 150 Dm. Sorry don´t have Europriced catalouges.
/Magnus

RockySC,

I can only confirm what other members have been saying here, at least for the countries I know: France, Belgium, UK, and Germany.

Nothing very valuable from these countries, but a base for a collection to expand on as Norm says, more so for Germany than the other countries.

Still there are a lot of stamps that appear to be damaged or foxed, and it would make sense to follow Norm's advice and start organizing them outside of this album.

As to the French Paquebot stamp mentioned by Hendriks (issued in 1935-36), the light coloured one catalogs 20 Euros in the Yvert et Tellier, while the darker one catalogs 2.30 Euros.

Good luck with your collecting,

Best Regards,
Joel.

I saw that. Most likely to be a reprint in my opinion.

The combined value of the remaining Austria may be a few dollars, but no more.

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

Your first Hungary page has a Franz Joseph at the top, albeit common, still worth a few bucks. Also an interesting O/C imperf (I'm at work, so can't help you with Scott value on it). I'll have a look at the catalogue tonight.
Erik

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The Pom.
Could be. With my eyes I can’t judge from the small picture. Anyway it is worth checking. Even if reprint it is not an stamp you see everyday.
/Magnus

Agreed, nothing much of any real value there. It's a bit sad just how many of these old time collections turn out to be worth so little.

If only he'd left them all on the original envelopes!

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Nice assortment of stamps. Plus the emotional value.

My advice would be to use it as a foundation for an interesting collection.

Thanks for sharing the images.

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I'd agree with fromdownunder...the organization is a total mess now, it looks like someone loaded the stamps in a gun and shot them onto the page like buckshot.

You could re-house the stamps in a stockbook, and keep the old album as a memento. There's a nice variety of material here, it would form the basis for a collection to expand on.

Great to see you sat down and did the research with the stamp catalogue, a lot of people (non-collectors or people who have inherited a collection) don't make that effort. Don't worry about cancels and varieties at this point, that comes with experience; getting the basic ID of a stamp is step 1.

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