
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 10, 1995                   TAG: 9508100035
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

APPRAISERS CAN TELL YOU A COLLECTION'S VALUE

Do you have a stamp collection from childhood - or have you inherited one - and wonder about its value? If so, you can have it appraised by someone who knows values.

Although no longer an active club member, retired newspaper editor Horace Hood often appraises collections - for "fun and friendship."

"I don't want to get a license," he explains, "so I don't charge a fee for my services."

He tells of one extensive collection that required about two months of work.

"A friend and his wife had inherited the collection and wanted to know what they could expect a dealer to offer," Hood says. "I worked on one or two albums, and after about two months, I told them I thought they might expect about $11,100. I gave them the name and address of a reputable dealer. After about six weeks, they informed me he offered them $11,000."

Ben Bennett, editor of Original Gum, the newsletter for the Big Lick Stamp club, also appraises collections.

"I enjoy doing it," he says. "But often people think a collection is worth more than it really is. United States stamps issued since 1945, the end of World War II, are generally worth only their face value."

To be appraised, the collection should be well-organized, in albums or with loose stamps in glassine envelopes. Philatelic publications give information about the value of stamps and names and addresses of dealers who will buy collections.

Stamp collections should be stored in a dry environment. Moisture will cause them to stick together and damage them, although sometimes they can be soaked free and saved.

The selling price of stamps will depend upon whether they are sold to a dealer at wholesale prices or to a collector, who often will be willing to pay more for stamps needed to complete a collection.

For information on getting stamps appraised, call Hood at 345-0068 or Bennett at 343-4197.

by CNB