Ever wondered why exactly people collect old stamps? What exactly do they love about these printed small papers with faded prints? Well, such old stamps have historical art, cultural designs, and government-authorized marks! But are they worth your money?
In Jan 2023, the Smyth County News quoted that a simple Marion stamp, bought for 5 cents, was sold for $10,500 at a New York auction. So, yes! Old stamps can be worth a lot!
But finding out the value of old stamps is tricky! People often fail to appraise them rightly and sometimes even tear them mindlessly. I bet you don’t want to do that, do you? So use this value guide to spot and value all such unique, worth-investing stamps!
Key Takeaways
- Original, unused, or mint-condition stamps are 10 – 12 times more valuable than used, hinged ones, often priced between $300 – 9,000.
- Among the five main types of old stamps, the official, revenue, and airmail ones cost more due to their national emblems, receipts, and tax marks.
- Besides the national and leadership stamps, even the natural, cultural, and historical stamps are worth $9,000 in mint condition.
- Old stamps with perforated or straight edges are old and worth $4,000 – 12,000 more than the new, die-cut ones.
Key Features Of Collectible Old Stamps
Vintage stamps with aged and faded colors, hinged marks, and cuts are worth $1,000 – 6,000. But your stamps might be rare and more valuable if they have the following features:
- Perforations and hidden or light-sensitive watermarks along the edges
- Hand-beaten linen or rag-paper surfaces
- Average or eccentric centering
- Original, intact gum and space fillers
- Maker errors – inverted colors, double impressions, and blunt edges
- Printed monarch, anniversary, national, presidential, or charity designs
Who Made the First Postage Stamps And When?
Sir Rowland Hill made the first postage stamp, the ‘Penny Hill,’ in 1840 in Britain. But before that, there were crude Henry Bishop’s seals in the London Post Office. It’s just that they used ink or a stamp pad that wasn’t portable. So, people stopped using them by the 1800s.
Then, in the 1850s, Sir Rowland switched to perforations and added self-adhesive or cased stamps as per the national postage. These stamps also had colored borders, portraits, and historical scenes, such as the Mauritius stamp, worth $12,790,600.
During the 1900s, the makers focused on newer holographic, flexographic & digital stamp prints. These have better colors, textures, themes & watermarks, but they won’t be worth more than $300 due to their standard, tourism-like designs.
5 Types of Old Stamps
Apart from regular postal stamps, makers issued some valuable anniversary, birthday, or national stamps leading to the five types below:
| Vintage Stamp Types | Collectible Features | Popular Examples | Estimated Value (Mint Condition) | Estimated Value (Used Stamp) |
| Commemorative Stamps | Small circular, triangular, or rectangular stamps with sketched portraits or landscapes to honor any specific person, place, or object | Penny Black, Apollo 11 & Beijing Winter Olympics stamp | $5 – 1,000 (an entire set might cost up to $4,000) | $0.6 – 500 (a complete set might cost up to $2,000) |
| Official Stamps | Simple, silk paper stamps with perforated edges, national emblems, and leader, president, or monarch portraits | 3-cent George Washington Stamp, Red Lion stamp & Gandhi 10-rupee stamp | $300 – 8,500 | $5 – 2,500 |
| Postage Stamps | Perforated or grooved letter stamps having illustrated cultural, monument, or national holiday designs | British Guiana stamp, Inverted Jenny & the 1893 transcontinental railroad stamp | $150 – 1,000 | Worth their face value from $1 – 300 |
| Airmail Stamps | Printed paper, silk, or linen stamps with letterpressed planes or aviation designs & stamped ‘AIR POST’ or ‘POSTA AEREA’ symbols | US 24-cent Airmail Stamp, Graf Zeppelin & British Comet | $400 – 1,400 | $50 – 600 (a 3-stamp set might value up to $1,700) |
| Revenue Stamps | Simple yet denominated stamps with original fee, tax, or service receipts and a cancellation mark to avoid reuse | Black Eagle Revenue stamp, 1868 5-cent stamp & the Inverted Jenny | $300 – 4,800 | $1 – 400 |
5 Key Factors to Identify and Value Vintage Stamps
Now, let’s see how different factors like age, marks, and grades help you identify if your old stamp is worth the money or not:
1. Antique Stamp’s Age and Minting Location
Old post stamps might not have dates, but they do have printed or embossed minting marks hinting at their printing era. For instance, the 1840s stamps are mainly from Britain and America, while the 1850s ones trace back to India and Canada.
And, of course, they all used a different paper and pattern that affects their worth even today! Let’s see how!
| Antique Stamp Years | Age | Old & Collectible Features | Location | Average Value(Mint Stamps) | Average Value(Used Stamps) |
| 1840s | 174 – 183 years | Embossed or hand-marked stamps with original portraits of Queen Victoria, Benjamin Franklin or George Washington | United Kingdom & United States of America | $2,500 – 17,000 | $10 – 750 |
| 1850s | 164 – 173 years | Brass-cased or linen-printed stamps with local postmaster, national or regional emblems, and natural or landscape designs | Canada, Australia, Russia & India | $500 – 9,000 | $5 – 500 |
| 1870s | 144 – 153 years | Simple, penny-post stamps with embossed grills (embossed patterns for cancellation ink), historical scenes & artistic prints | Japan & China | $300 – 7,000 | $5 – 450 |
| 1880s | 134 – 143 years | Perforated 0.8 – 1” stamps with colored American culture & natural designs like the landing of Columbus, Boston Tea Party, etc. | Worldwide | $250 – 4,500 | $1 – 300 |
| 1900s | 100 – 123 years | Holographic or digital stamps with standard pan-American designs, grooved edges, woven or laid paper surfaces & electronic bar codes | Worldwide | $200 – 3,500 | $0.5 – 150 |
Try to get unhinged stamps, i.e., the ones without any back sticker or label, as those cost more due to their aged gum and print.
2. Vintage Stamp Prints
If your old stamp has simple natural motifs, it might be an old and hand-pressed stamp from the early 1840s. But if it highlights any leader or national portraits, emblems, or flags, it might be a rare stamp worth 2,000 – 11,000. And if it has cars and ships, it might be a new, post-1850s stamp!
Let’s check how much different stamp patterns affect its worth below:
| Vintage Stamp Prints | Estimated Price of Mint Stamps | Estimated Price of Used Stamps |
| Portraits – Kings, Queens, Leaders & Monarchs | $2,000 – 11,000 | $5 – 5,500 |
| Historical Events & Treaties | $500 – 3,500 | $0.5 – 400 |
| Cultural dances, emblems & Symbols | $1,000 – 3,000 | $80 – 2,500 |
| Natural Flora & Fauna | $2,000 – 17,500 | $50 – 3,500 |
| Trains, Ships & Cars | $600 – 7,000 | $10 – 2,000 |
| Architectural Buildings & Palaces | $500 – 9,000 | $50 – 4,500 |
| Olympic Games & Sports | $200 – 3,000 | $1 – 1,000 |
3. Old Stamp Grades
An old stamp’s grade or condition tells you if your old stamp is still collectible or not. So, observe the surfaces of your stamp and note all the defects – warping, sticky gum, mold, or fading prints on its surfaces. Once done, refer to the comparison chart below to know its grade and value.
| Antique Stamp Grades | Visual Traits | Average Cost |
| Gem Uncirculated (GU) | Unused, no defects – warping, fading, discoloration, or ruffled edges & intact, non-sticky gum | $500 – 11,000 |
| Superb Uncirculated (SU) | Unused, slight discoloration & faded or chipped gum | $10 – 6,000 |
| Extremely Fine (XF) | Used, slightly torn or discolored stamps with hinges, back labels, or double-exposed lettering | $10 – 2,450 |
| Very Fine (VF) | Intact prints, but might have large tears & faded colors | $5 – 1,500 |
| Good (G) | Used stamps with missing pieces and ruffled edges but intact prints, visible letters & marks | $0.5 – 500 |
If your used collectible stamp is attached to an old common envelope, remove it by soaking it in warm water and mild soap solution. But if the envelope has official stamps or leader signs, avoid removing the stamp as it might devalue it.
4. Vintage Stamp Edges
You all might associate old post stamps with the typical straight or plain edges. But old post stamps weren’t this simple; they had many edge designs like die-cut, perforated, etc.
Let’s analyze different stamp edges to know your stamp’s worth:
| Vintage Stamp Edges | How to Identify Them? | Estimated Cost (Mint Stamps) |
| Perforated Edges | Small, circular and punched holes along the outer edge | $2,000 – 15,000 |
| Imperforated Edges | Straight, simple & ruffled edges | $1,000 – 7,000 |
| Rouletted Edges | Straight & boxed cuts, more like c-shaped channels next to each other | $200 – 3,000 |
| Die-cut Edges | Curved, s-shaped edges with a tapering point at the corners | $100 – 1,500 |
5. Old Stamp Colors
Did you know that old stamps from different eras have different colors? For instance, the earliest 1840s stamps used plain white or black papers. But, by the 1850s, post offices were using red, blue, gold, and green stamps!
So, let’s check the worth of all such colored stamps!
| Old Stamp Colors | Average Cost (Mint Condition) | Average Cost (Used) |
| White, Black, Gray | $300 – 12,000 as per the patterns | $20 – 450, official presidential stamps might cost up to $6,000 |
| Orange & Brown | $500 – 10,000 | $10 – 300, stamped George Washington stamps value up to $2,500 |
| Blue, Green & Purple | $300 – 7,500 | $1 – 200, official stamps might cost up to $1,000 |
| Red & Golden | $150 – 3,000 | $0.5 – 200 |
Top 6 Rarest And Most Expensive Stamps for Every Stamp Collector
Now that you know the worth of common, easy-to-collect stamps, it’s time to check out the rare or celebrity-owned stamps that fetched millions because of their history and labels:
| Rare & Expensive Post Stamps | Unique Features | Face Value | Last Resale Value |
| Inverted Jenny Stamp | Historical world-war motifs with a rare, inverted plane error and original ink marks | 24 cents | $1,631,700 |
| Mauritius Post Office Stamps | One of the first foreign-made stamps with British designs & a limited make of 27 stamps | 1 penny | $12,790,600 |
| British Guiana 1-cent Magenta | A single-piece hexagonal stamp from Britain’s Royal Philatelic Collection | 1 cent | $11,628,700 |
| Benjamin Franklin Z-grill | Rare, perforated stamp with horizontal, z-shaped grooves & a limited make of 2 pieces worldwide | 1 cent | $4,451,000 |
| Swedish Treskilling Yellow | Yellow & misprinted stamps with superior perforated edges & royal crown designs | 3 skilling | $4,248,000 |
| Red Revenue Stamp | Small, bright red stamps with a limited make of 32 pieces, small and illegible text & perforated edges | 1 dollar | $1,107,300 |
How Do You Handle Old Stamps?
Avoid handling or peeling old stamps with your hands directly. Instead, use a pair of pointed tweezers to reduce tearing and oil stains. Also, keep your stamps in an enclosed plastic album to keep them safe from mold and discoloration.
Does a Post Office Buy Back Stamps?
No, a post office doesn’t buy back old stamps but allows you to exchange them for new and trendy stamps of the same worth. However, you can sell your stamps on online platforms like eBay, Etsy, and Sotheby’s in exchange for money.
Which is the Rarest Stamp in the World?
A hexagonal British Guiana 1c magenta stamp, with only one recorded copy worldwide, is the rarest stamp to date, valued at over 11 million dollars!
Apart from the rare designs and portraits, the early 1840s minting, errors, and limited edition catalogs make old stamps worth the money today! And it’s not the case with stamps alone; these 23 rare old coins are worth collecting for their unique mint marks and historical significance!
