Daryle Lambert: Run Across Any Stamp Collections? What a Gift They Can Be.

Inverted Jenny, a 1918 US Stamp,known for its error, is Valued at $525,000 at famousstamps.org

Forget about the baseball cards, I wish that I had my stamp collection back. The stamps that were given to me as a young child might have been the fortune that got away.

When I was about twelve years old, my father walked out to his car one morning and was astonished to find an older man asleep in the back seat. My father woke him and asked if he needed help. In broken English, the man told him he was hungry. My family took him in, and Mr. Michael stayed with us for several weeks. We began to form a lasting bond with him. It seemed that he was of Greek origin and from a well to do family. However, he had run out of money and needed to reconnect with his family. After a few weeks, my father set him up in a hotel and tended to some of his other needs.

Mr. Michael soon pulled himself together and shared gifts with my family, some of which were several fabulous rifles that had silver and gold inlay. On today’s market, I’m sure they would bring over $25,000 apiece. He eventually left our town, but each Christmas, he sent enough frozen lobster and shrimp to feed an army, and this was a very special treat us. We were an average family at that time, and shrimp and lobster definitely wasn’t on our usual menu.

But, the best gift of all was a collection of Greek Stamp he gave to me. Every few months I received another delivery of the most beautiful stamps I’d ever imagined from Mr. Micheal. He also encouraged me to start collecting American Stamps, and I did. I wish that I knew what happened to this collection over the years.
The reason this comes to mind is that a friend asked if I could help her with her fathers stamp collection. As I started to do some research, my eyes popped out of my head because I recognized some of the stamps as being the same that were in my collection. In today’s market, their value had risen into the thousands.
At an auction house here in Chicago I saw a stamp collection auctioned that took several months to complete. One book sold for over $10,000. I wonder what was in that book.

I suggest that you watch the sales you attend for stamp collections. If my memory serves me well, most of my collection was from the early !900's thru the 1940's. I still run across collections regularly, and I can assure you if I think that they a worthy I will be picking them up. Be sure to check that the stamps aren't glued down on the pages but are connected by hinges. Every stamp that you find might not be a treasure, but it will only take one. And if you buy them cheaply enough, I assure you that you will be well rewarded.

To this day I still wonder what happened to Mr. Michael. One day he was just gone, as if he never was. I continued to ask my father about him, but there was never an answer. It was if he had disappeared off the face of the earth. I pray he is in Heaven.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

Visit our Website, here.


Today's Links:

http://www.famousstamps.org/

American Philatelic Society
http://www.stamps.org/

Auction Site Dedicated to Stamps:
http://www.stamps.org/

THE MAIL MIGHT SERVE YOU RAIN OR SHINE. Collectible Postcards-Stamps-Santa-Airplanes Might be Your Treasure

Tomorrow I am going shopping at the garage and estate sales, and I will be accompanied by a friend from Texas. His name is Jeff, and we talked about my starting a company several years ago when he was in the Armed Services, living in the Chicago area. Unfortunately he was relocated, but we have remained close friends.

When I first talked about writing a book, Jeff was one of the first to encourage me, and he helped with the title,"31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques and Collectibles." Jeff and I spent many days talking about the antique business, and he proved to be an excellent student. Even now I get calls from Texas asking about what my thoughts are on the price of an item he is considering purchasing. His field is musical instruments.

Jeff was one of our first members of the 31 Club, and tomorrow we are going to look for items that will take us another step or two in our journey through the 31 Steps.

We will go rain or shine just like your local postman, but we will be looking for what the postman leaves behind. What do I mean by that?

Some items that will be on my wish list tomorrow are boxes of old postcards and letters. Stamp collections can also be found at these sales and you might find their price to your liking. Yes, we will be looking for things that are mailed.

If you remember, I have said before that some of the best collectibles are things that appeal to more than one collecting group. In the trade, we call this cross collectibles. If two people want the same thing, but for different reasons, then the price will probably go up.

Postcards and letters fall into this category. Stamps on the cards can attract the attention of the stamp collectors, but the card itself could be attractive to the card collector because of its content.

Rare stamps have been found on cards or letters in cheap box lots that have been purchased for just a few dollars. These rarities may include one such stamp known as the upside down airplane stamp, that was selling for over $100,000.00 when I was a boy. What if you ran across one of these while rummaging through a box of letters? This was a miss-print stamp that is still the most sought after stamp in the world. One last sold for $525,000.00 on June 4, 2005. Can you imagine that? But just think this stamp would also be valued by people that collect aviation items.

What if you find a box of letters, like the ones that I mentioned before in a past blog, that were from Martin Luther King Jr. or, perhaps some that were signed by Babe Ruth. Can you even think of what their value would be? You see the stamps can have value as I mentioned before, but so can the letter inside. And, even the postcard might bring you a pretty penny if it is a early Santa.

I could go on by saying the letter might have historical significants, but to wrap this up I think you get the point. Often boxes of letters and cards can be purchased for only a few dollars, and the return on them can be unbelievable

I think that you would have to agree with me, that the postman carries some valuable merchandise.

Be sure to visit our web site for more information about how you can join the 31 Club and start your own race to your millions! Read more about it here!"The Guy in the Red Tie" --- Daryle Lambert

If you wish to leave comments use the ANONYMOUS button and then you don't have to sign in to leave your message.