I have just come into possession of several shoe-boxes of stamps. They seem to be mostly American with a number of foreign. I don't have any interest in collecting but I would like to determine their value. How would I do that efficiently?
Master Coin Referee
Coin referee for CRI, GTM, HND, NIC, PAN, and SLV.
Revisor principal de monedas
Revisor de Numista para monedas de CRI, GTM, HND, NIC, PAN y SLV.
Check if your public library has a copy of a recent Scott postage stamp catalogue (they are rather expensive to buy and recent years should serve as a guide to value) in US (Michel catalogues in Europe, Gibbons catalogues in Britain and current and former colonies, Yvert catalogues in France and related areas). To sell your stamps as a bulk lot try comparing yours to lots available at auction or on sites like eBay. Catalogue value is meant for what dealers sell for, you would be lucky to value your stamps at one-third catalogue value. Unused US stamps sell for below face value in large lots as discount postage.
It's been 30 years since I collected. So maybe someone can supply you with more recent strategy. Unless you have very specialized stamps or classic stamps I am afraid the market is not good. To identify more valuable varieties you will need a perforation gauge, watermark detection fluid and tray, and probably a magnifying glass. If the stamps are on bits of paper, they will probably be worth more soaked off the paper (unless self-adhesive). If unused, stamps that have never been hinged into albums are generally worth more.
