Finding the Value of a Stamp Without Using a Catalog – Part I

Regardless of how important catalogs are in getting an idea of what the value of some stamp is in your collection, let's face it. Finding the stamp in a catalog can be a challenge, especially if you haven't used them a lot or are just a casual stamp collector who can't be bothered with pawing through pages and pages of seemingly similar looking stamps. Catalogs, also only present the potential value, not what its actual value might be in the market place.

One easy way to find a stamp's potential value is to look at some online auctions and see what real people are buying your stamp for. To do this, you should know a few things about your stamp and then use that information to find it on an auction website like eBay under its recently completed stamp auctions.

There are thousands of stamps for sale every day on these online auction sites, so you have to know a few things about your stamp before you begin. First, is it engraved? If so, this means it is probably from the 19th century. Engraved stamps generally have a series of lines and dots of solid color like you see on a dollar bill. Is it non-engraved? If so, that means it looks more like a picture in a magazine and is often is in full color. This means it is a 20th century stamp.

In our next blog, we will give you more tips on how to set up a good search to see what your stamp is worth.