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About Jim Forte
Expertise
Postal history concerns the stamps, markings, rates and routings on covers. Covers is the generic term for any letter, postcard or package that passed through the mail. I am a professional philatelist who specialize in U.S. and Worldwide postal history. I have extensive knowledge of U.S. postmarks and post offices, extensive knowledge of U.S. military postal history, strong knowledge of U.S. rates and usages of the 20th Century. I can usually help with inquires about 19th Century postal history, and all range of countries throughout the world.
Experience
I have been a full time professional philatelist since 1985. The focus of my business is my website, http://www.postalhistory.com. The site offers nearly 115,000 items for sale. The site contains an on-line copy of my book A Price Guide To U.S. A.P.O. Cancels of the Second World War. The site also contains a database of every U.S. post office, including the dates of operation for the many offices that have been discontinued.
Education/Credentials
BA Boston University 1980.
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You are here: Experts > Shopping > Stamp Collecting > Stamps (Philately) > US First day stamp collections
Expert: Jim Forte
Date: 5/11/2008
Subject: US First day stamp collections
Question
Hello Mr. Forte,
I have aquired 16 books of first day cover stamps from the USPS, Readers Digest and The Postal Commemorative Society of Norwalk, CT. There are well over 1000 stamps. How would I go about finding out info and value?
Thank You,
Robert
Answer
There are three factors to consider to evaluate first day covers. First is the stamp. With only a few exceptions, U.S. stamps issued since about 1945 have only a nominal catalog value. You can find this value in the Scott Postage Stamp Catalog. The book is available in most if not all local libraries.
Second to consider is the cachet. Collectors pretty much demand covers that have a cachet unless they are from before 1930. A cachet is a printed design related to the stamp. Some cachets are worth more than others. You will need a book such as 2007 U. S. First Day Cover Catalog and Checklist. This will identify the various cachet makers and give you some idea of relative value. You are not likely to find this in a library.
The third aspect is whether there is an address on the cover. Collectors have an overwhelming preference for covers with no address.
Your collection was advertised in mass market publications where the seller paid to reach hundreds of thousands to millions of readers. If there was much interest among established collectors, they could be marketed in philatelic publications where the seller would pay to reach 50,000 readers. The tremendous difference in marketing cost is passed to the buyer in high prices.
The cachet that was used is among the most common. The covers are address.
The best place to sell them is outside the primary philatelic market, in a place like eBay. On eBay you could expect to receive about 10c to 15c per item in the book. The best way to maximize your price is to include many, many photos, best if one per page.
Good luck.
Jim Forte.
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