Welcome to the second video of our results from a stamp submission to PSE for grading. Graded stamps that are well centered and sound can increase significantly in value.

Video Transcript

Hey everybody, this is Ryan with West Coast Stamp Company. I just got the results of my latest submission to PSE for grading. I’m gonna head on over to the PSE website and let’s take a look at what I submitted. If you’re not aware, graded certs bring a lot more value to a stamp.

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Cattle In The Storm

Alright, first up, we have a 292. This is the $1.00 Trans Mississippi. This came back as sound. It has well balanced margins, especially for this issue. It was graded a very fine, which is an 80. On the SMQ.

This has been called the most beautiful stamp that america has ever produced I don’t know if it is or not.

Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments.

I think it’s a decent looking stamp. I don’t know about the most beautiful It’s definitely more beautiful when it has a higher grade. This one looks nice though. It’s got a very light cancel. That’s not disturbing The stamp design very much. Nice looking stamp.

Let’s go see what this one’s worth. This one has a value of $700 in a very fine grade. That looks pretty good. I usually get around 80 to 90 percent of the SMQ value depending on what the issue is. Some bring more, some bring less.

Special Delivery

Next we have an E1. This is a special delivery stamp. This one came back in a grade of 90, which is extra fine.

It’s got well balanced margins. Original gum is what the Mint OG. means and the little h at the end means that it’s been hinged that means that in the past there was something stuck to the back of the stamp usually it means it was mounted into an album so whenever you see that or hear that a stamp is hinged it means that it has some sort of gum disturbance on the back from when it was mounted.

Never hinged stamps don’t have any disturbance on the back and those bring even more of a premium value.

This one, again, nice sound example. Let’s take a look at what it’s worth. An E1 in the grade of a 90, previously hinged. Is going to be $750 SMQ value and you can see on the never hinge it goes all the way up to $3000.

That is quite a difference in value depending on whether the gum is hinged or not.

Imperforate Stamps

Alright, let’s take a look at the next one. Okay. Next we have a 409. This is a imperf stamp from 1912. This one was graded a 100. It is genuinely used and has a plate number at the bottom, which adds some value to it.

A grade of 100 on an imperforate stamp is. not very uncommon depending on what the issue is.

Usually it’s pretty easy to find multiples, or blocks of these imperforate stamps and trim them so that they have four margins on each side of the stamp. Several of the issues during this time period can be worth more money as a used graded item versus a mint graded item. It’s just more uncommon to find well centered stamps that have been genuinely used or in sound condition.

A lot of the better centered stamps have been collected and accumulated over the years and were never used. So to find a used example on some of these issues can bring a higher value than the mint example. Let’s take a look at the used value of the 409. This one has a $225 value as a used example compared to the $125 value of the never hinged example.

So keep an eye out for some of those more common use stamps if they are extremely fine centered and sound.

Okay, next we have a 383. This is going to be another imperforate stamp. It. Is graded a 100 J. So unlike the previous stamp that was only graded a 100 with three of the margins having adjoining stamp designs, this one has all four sides with adjoining margins, and that makes it have a jumbo designation.

This one has a really nice. cancellation where you can see the 1915 date making it period usage. Sometimes some of these stamps were used later on after they were issued and their cancellations aren’t necessarily considered to be period. Those have a much lower value than a stamp that is period. within a five year time frame from when it was issued.

So looking at the 383 as a used 100J, again you can see that the used value is much higher than the mint value, and this is just for a grade of 100. The 100J is not listed on PSE. This is pretty common to see on a lot of the imperforate stamps that the 100J is not listed. I’m not too sure of the reasoning.

If anyone knows, please leave it in the comments. I usually will just go off of the regular 100 value, in this case a $225 value. Again, much better as a used example.

1917 Reissue

Next up we have a 479. This design was re released in 1917 along with the $5 from the same 1902 issue, but there is a slight variation in color.

However, the easiest way to see the difference between them is the reissued one has a perforation gauge of 10 versus the original with a perforation gauge of 12. And those are going to look pretty dramatically different. Perforations are going to be the little holes that you see on the side of the stamp.

The perforation 12 is going to be a much smaller perforation than this, and that stamp is worth a lot more than this one. However, this is a very well centered example of the 479. Let’s take a look to see what it’s worth. As a grade 90, we have a value of $300. That is a pretty nice value considering that the A grade of 80 is $200, so it’s gone up about $90.

Like, the higher up in grade you go can really change the value of a stamp. In this particular issue, if you went all the way up to a grade 100, like what we were seeing on those imperforate stamps, it would be a $7,000 value.

Washington Franklin Issues

Next is a 515. This is the 20 cent perf 11, 1917 issue. This one’s nicely centered.

It got graded a 95 and previously hinged. Let’s take a look at the value on this one. All right, as a 95, this one comes in at $125. If it was never hinged, it would be about four times more valuable. Next up, we have another imperforate stamp.

This is the 532. Offset type four. This one is a gem. Grade 100 on this and also never hinged.

So when you see the NH at the end of og, that means that the stamp has never been hinged. In this case, the never hinged example of the 532 in a grade of 100 is $400. So if this stamp was genuinely used during that period. It would be worth $450 compared to the $400 as a never hinged example.

1922 Definitives

Next up is a 585.

This is the 4 cent perf 10 version of this stamp design. This one came in at a 95 grade. Also again, never hinged. This is a nice looking stamp, especially for this issue. So the 585 value at a 95 grade, Never hinged is gonna be $225. That’s quite a jump up from the $30 that it’s listed at in very fine condition.

So going just from an 80 to a 95, you go from $30 to $225.

Next is a 692. This is going to be from the 1931 perf 10 and a half by 11 reissue of this design. This one came in at a 95 also. Never hinged and it has a value of $100. Otherwise, a pretty common stamp with not much value in the fine condition.

Following suit from the same issue is a 696. This is the 15 cent, also graded 95 never hinged, and this one is a $140 value at that grade. Going up again from pretty much a common stamp with little to no value. Like I’ve mentioned before, I love finding well centered versions of otherwise mostly common stamps.

It really brings up the value, turns them into more of an investment piece to hold onto and they should always be more desired than the off centered versions. So they tend to hold their value pretty well. And again, also from the same set, this is a 697, also another 95 never hinged. Very well centered example for this one.

Let’s take a look at the value. The 95 for this issue has a value of $145. Okay, next is the 701. This is the last denomination in this set. The 50 cent Arlington design. This one received a grade of 100. And is also never hinged. Essentially, PSE is saying this is as good as it gets. It’s a perfect 100 grade stamp.

You can’t get better centered than this. I’ve seen a few cases where a stamp either looks better or worse than what it was actually graded at. And I think that it has to do with the way the human eye just perceives the colors and maybe the shape of the perforation. They use a lot of technology to measure the stamp at a microscopic level, so they’re pretty good at seeing how well balanced the margins are.

However, graded certs are also just the opinion of the expertizing service. does not mean that the stamp would be graded differently from another expertising service, but usually the most trusted ones are going to be PSE and the Philatelic Foundation. Those two are going to be The most trusted in the marketplace and usually have values that are held closer to what the SMQ database shows.

So a 701 that’s the 50 cent in a grade of 100 perfection, the value of $1,000. Now, there is a higher value if it had jumbo margins, which are pretty tough with that issue. A 100J would give you a value of $2,750. Okay, that by far is one of the nicest stamps that I received back this time. Let’s take a look at the next stamp.

National Park Issues

The next one we’ve got is the 738. This one came back as a grade 98. That’s superb. And also never hinged. This one has a value of $125 dollars. We’ll take it.

Next is a 742. This is from the National Park Series of 1934. This one received a jumbo designation, a 98J, very large, well balanced margins, very attractive stamp.

Let’s see what it is at a 98J. The stamp is not even valued in the SMQ at a grade of $80, so unless it is graded 95 or better, the stamp will probably have no resale value. But at 98, this stamp has a value of $200. All right, this is the last one from this particular order. It’s a 748. This one’s also from the National Park series.

It is also a 98 without the J. So just a 98 on this one also never hinged. And this one has a value of 125. Again, a common stamp that takes it from being worth essentially nothing all the way up to over a hundred dollars. That’s it for me today. I hope you guys enjoyed looking at those. These will become available in my Facebook group.

Just go over to Facebook and look up US Stamp Shop if you haven’t already. I post 75 stamps a week there for sale. Let’s see what the total value was.

$4,785. Thanks for watching and happy collecting!