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Answers to Go

Photo from Metro Creative

Answers to Go

Answers to Go

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Q. I have inherited a stamp collection, but I am not sure what to do with it. Can you give me some information about how to handle this inheritance?

Yes. There are A. several things to know about valuing a postage stamp collection that you should know.

The first thing to do is to take your time and decide what you want from the collection — sell or keep. Take your time deciding, but in the meantime, secure it so it does not deteriorate. For example, if it is packed away in a cardboard box, you may want to consider re-housing it in airtight plastic tubs that can be sealed. Plastic tubs will protect your collection from pests, water and changes in humidity. Remember that stamps are paper, and water is dangerous to paper. San Marcos can experience high levels of humidity, so keep the collection is a cool, dry place. Another thing to do is to store stamp books upright, like books on a shelf. By storing them stacked on top of each other you risk pressing them down and getting stamps stuck permanently together. Once you have secured the collection, it is time to consider its value.

Valuing a stamp collection can be daunting. If your loved one collected stamps for investment purposes, it is likely they had the collection insured. If that is the case, the insurance value is a good starting place for valuing. If there is an inventory of the collection — even better. However, if there is no inventory, you may want to go through the collection, making notes as you go, to begin your own inventory. Keep an eye out for lists of stamps — that may be an inventory. An inventory is important because if you are not experienced with stamp collecting, you will need something to present to a dealer or local stamp club to give them an idea of what you have. There are several stamp clubs for hobbyists in Austin and San Antonio. They are (locations/meeting times):

• Austin: Austin Texas Stamp Club. Meets 7:30 p.m. first Tuesday, Lakewood Homeowners Association Clubhouse, 7317 Lakewood Drive, third Tuesday, South Austin Senior Activity Center, 3911 Manchaca Road. Lyle Boardman, 3916 Wyldwood Road, Austin 78739.

• Austin: Texas Precancel Club. Meeting times and places vary. John C. Foster, 4113 Paint Rock Drive, Austin 78731

• San Antonio: San Antonio Philatelic Association. Meets 7:30 p.m. Friday, MacArthur Park Lutheran Church, 2903 Nacogdoches Rd., San Antonio 78217. Contact janekfohn@sbcglobal. net.

• San Antonio: Lone Star Chapter of Eire Philatelic Association. Meets in members homes 2nd Saturday at 2 pm. Contact pjryansr@ sbcglobal.net.

**These meeting times and locations were current as of March 2019, so you may want to contact them by email or regular mail to find out if they are currently meeting.

You may need to contact a dealer about your collection. It is important to do some research and find dealers that are reputable and local, since they will probably need to review the collection in person. To help with this, consider those who are members of the American Philatelic Society (Philately is the study and collection of stamps). You can see who is near San Marcos by visiting their website at stamps.org. (This organization has an excellent video that was valuable for writing this column.) If your collection has a focus on a specific country, let the dealer know that too. If you do make an appointment with them, be sure to make it clear that this is NOT for an appraisal, since there is a charge for that — just an inquiry. You can also come by the library and use our 2010 reference book, Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, R 769.56 SCO (V1-6).

For more information about stamp collecting, here are a few book suggestions found at the library:

“The World in Stamps” by Laurent Lemerle

“The World of Stamps and Stamp Collecting” by David Lidman

“A Guide to Stamp Collecting” by Prescott Thorp

Suzanne Sanders is the new columnist for the library. She is the Community Services Manager for the San Marcos Public Library and came from the Austin Public Library in 2015 after having served there as a librarian for over 20 years. She gratefully accepts your questions for this column.

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666