Stamps play a vital part of every nation’s culture and history. They are printed to honor various events, persons, icons and symbols. Other than being a fun hobby to do, it proves to be a very valuable one. Many people earn a fortune because of their stamp collections. The secret behind the success of any person is in determining the value of stamps. Once, its value is determined properly, they can be sold at high prices. Now, what are the factors that affect the value of stamps?

1. Country of Origin

In general, country of origin greatly affects its value. The name of the country is printed on them. Great Britain, however has their current monarch’s side profile. The country of origin has a great impact on the stamp’s value. This is the very first thing that a collector should determine, since the UK stamps can be more valuable in UK-based collectors than those that are in the US or other parts of the world.

2. Used or Unused?

Of course, unused stamps or those that are called “mint stamps,” are worth more than the used ones. These mint stamps are basically the ones which are not yet circulated.

3. Age

For a stamp dating back to the 1840’s is worth a fortune. Basically, the older the stamp, the higher its value. So, enthusiastic collectors focus more on collecting old ones rather than the existing ones

4. Condition

Damages and various quality conditions will most likely affect the value of your collection. This is why a mint stamp is more valuable than a used one, because the quality is not yet violated. Hence storing them in good condition is a crucial part of your collection.

5. Type

The type of stamp also determines its rarity. The most common types are the definitive stamps. These are considered as the stamps used for circulation and postage use. Postage stamp collecting is also focused on collecting the rarest stamps possible. Mostly, the special as well as the commemorative ones are valued higher because of their short duration of availability.

6. Grading Factors

Grading focuses on the various factors such as if the stamp is cancelled, image position, density and size of cancellation, condition of perforations, color quality or color fading, repairs and damages and many others. Enthusiastic collectors usually use this grading system to determine the value of their collection.

7. Image

Most of the time, the image on the stamps influence its value. Rare images in a country’s stamp line-up are considered as rare piece. Sometimes, even the errors in stamps price them exponentially.

Errors are actually one of the deciding factors of rarity, since errors in the stamps very rare. One example is the “Inverted Jenny” of the U.S. Postage stamp. The Inverted Jenny features what seemed to be an inverted print of an airplane design. This error made its value to almost $900,000.

Stamp collecting is one of the most exciting hobbies in the world today. The use of modern technology when it comes to mailing has made them almost obsolete, which then made postage stamp collecting a majorly valuable hobby to engage oneself in. So, for people who want to determine their stamp’s value, these are the factors that you should focus on the next time you look at your collection.

Stamp Collecting
Stamp collection is one of the most popular hobbies in the world. There is much more regarding stamps that people of any age, interest, income and gender find it as tempting and very satisfying.

Click here for Postage Stamp Collecting

Stamps signify historical events, historical people and historical places. Many stamps tell stories of different places or people. It is a stress-free stepping stone to learn about history.
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Author Bio: Stamp Collecting
Stamp collection is one of the most popular hobbies in the world. There is much more regarding stamps that people of any age, interest, income and gender find it as tempting and very satisfying.

Click here for Postage Stamp Collecting

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Keywords: Stamp Collecting, Postage Stamp Collecting, stamp collecting information, collecting stamps