Collecting is such a stupid thing. There's a thing. No-one uses this thing anymore. 99.9% of the world: bin it. That 0.1%? Well that sounds like a collectible. And they argue and fight over the price while the rest of the world knows nothing about it. Then suddenly a Spongebob shower caddy in the wrong shade sells for twenty million dollars. Meanwhile people are in food poverty.
I've no clue as to why that sheet is special. Maybe the age of the stamps, or cancellation marks, but if 99.9% didn't bin them I guess they wouldn't have any value. xoxoxoBruce
They are old stamps (you will note the visage of Queen Victoria on many of them, followed by KEVII and KGV). Normal attrition ("binning" as noted above) over that period of time makes stamps from these eras uncommon. Secondly they are high-denomination issues (shillings, not pence) used typically for packages, not letters, and thus issued in small quantities and therefore uncommon when issued and rare nowadays. Their monetary value depends on whether you are a collector (immense) or a noncollector (zero).
Ah, thank you. Of course being foreign with that non-decimal money prices makes it tough for a non-stamper like myself to decipher. Being higher priced andrarer might help explain why there are no uncancelled. xoxoxoBruce
As an example to confirm your point, the 1884 Victoria stamp in the far UR corner with the unattractive cancels has a catalogue value of USD $3,500 used, $32,500 in mint condition.
Has been done ever since stamps were first printed. Numerous anti-reuse modifications have been applied to stamps since forever, culminating in the recent development of digitally-numbered stamps. On these old ones those killer cancels were almost impossible to remove completely. "Mint" status also requires original gum.
Collecting is such a stupid thing. There's a thing. No-one uses this thing anymore. 99.9% of the world: bin it. That 0.1%? Well that sounds like a collectible. And they argue and fight over the price while the rest of the world knows nothing about it. Then suddenly a Spongebob shower caddy in the wrong shade sells for twenty million dollars. Meanwhile people are in food poverty.
ReplyDeleteUsername fits.
DeleteI've no clue as to why that sheet is special. Maybe the age of the stamps, or cancellation marks, but if 99.9% didn't bin them I guess they wouldn't have any value.
ReplyDeletexoxoxoBruce
please let us know what is note worthy. Non stamp collectors would like to know.
ReplyDeleteThey are old stamps (you will note the visage of Queen Victoria on many of them, followed by KEVII and KGV). Normal attrition ("binning" as noted above) over that period of time makes stamps from these eras uncommon. Secondly they are high-denomination issues (shillings, not pence) used typically for packages, not letters, and thus issued in small quantities and therefore uncommon when issued and rare nowadays. Their monetary value depends on whether you are a collector (immense) or a noncollector (zero).
DeleteAh, thank you. Of course being foreign with that non-decimal money prices makes it tough for a non-stamper like myself to decipher. Being higher priced andrarer might help explain why there are no uncancelled.
ReplyDeletexoxoxoBruce
As an example to confirm your point, the 1884 Victoria stamp in the far UR corner with the unattractive cancels has a catalogue value of USD $3,500 used, $32,500 in mint condition.
DeleteI bet that someone is figuring out how to bleach off the postmarks to make it mint? Or has already?
DeleteHas been done ever since stamps were first printed. Numerous anti-reuse modifications have been applied to stamps since forever, culminating in the recent development of digitally-numbered stamps. On these old ones those killer cancels were almost impossible to remove completely. "Mint" status also requires original gum.
DeleteHas this lot been sold? If so, what did it go for? (Couldn't find it after a brief search of "used British stamps.")
DeleteThe page was not a separate lot; it was one of a hundred+ pages in an album. The album sold for about $30,000 IIRC.
Delete