Most stamp collectors have never had an item expertized. Among APS members, perhaps one in ten has submitted an item to any expertizing service. In the population of non-APS members the percentage is even lower.
There are many important reasons to consider having philatelic material expertized. These include:
- To avoid financial loss and disappointment.
- To have a warranty of genuineness (and with an APS expertizing opinion, a five year guarantee).
- To have proper identification of paper, color, watermark and grills.
- To know if a stamp is never hinged, has been regummed or had a cancel removed.
- To know if a stamp has been repaired or has hidden flaws.
- To know if an item has been reperforated or perfs have been trimmed to resemble a coil or imperforate stamp.
- It is easier to sell an item that has a certificate attesting to its genuineness.
Expertizing is especially important when an item is purchased over the Internet. Many sellers on eBay and other online sites are not APS dealer members or philatelists who can differentiate between color shades, grills, printing and paper types, and other fine differences that can make a world of difference in the proper identification and value of a stamp.
So how do you know when an item should be submitted for expertizing?
- When a catalog includes a warning that counterfeits, forgeries, or reprints are abundant.
- When the same design type (image) exists on a stamp with a much lower value. This includes stamps with proofs that are less expensive than the genuine stamp, stamps with overprints and surcharges that significantly increase the value, and color varieties.
- When the stamp is claimed to be an error.
- Used stamps that are significantly more valuable than the same stamps in unused condition.
- Covers that are significantly more valuable than the used stamps. This includes valuable postal markings, fancy cancellations, usages and destinations, and covers with stamps not tied by postmarks or cancellations.
- Stamps with a substantial premium for being never hinged.
- When the stamps represent a significant investment.
Unfortunately, there are situations where getting an expert opinion is useful, but not necessarily financially wise. For example, the Scott catalog notes counterfeits exist of Greece RA45 (Figure 1) and RA46 but the stamps are only valued at $2 used and about $10 unused. Since our Expertizing fees begin at $25 for an APS member (as of March 1, 2021), few stamps that typically sell for less than $100 are submitted for expertizing.
Member questions related to expertizing are welcome and can be sent to me at kpmartin@stamps.org. If you have suggestions or comments about “Adventures in Expertizing,” I look forward to your feedback.
Meet the Expert - Behruz Nassre
Behruz Nassre has been an APS member since 2002 and a stamp collector for over 50 years. He began collecting in his native Iran when he saw his uncle’s stamp album in his grandparents home. Nassre collected through his high school years until he came to the United States for college. Following college and the beginning of his IT career in the San Francisco Bay area, he resumed collecting and has been a serious collector and exhibitor for the past 20 years.
Like many collectors, Behruz ties his collecting to his heritage. He describes this connection in the “Collecting Ancestral Homelands” exhibit of the National Postal Museum, available at http://aps. buzz/NassreNPM.
In addition to the APS, Behruz is a member of the Iran Philatelic Study Circle, the United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS), the Royal Philatelic Society London, the Collectors Club of New York, the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors and the Collectors Club of San Francisco. Nassre is past president of the Collectors Club of San Francisco, a current board member of the UPSS and manages the website and online discussion groups for the Iran Philatelic Study Circle and the Collectors Club of San Francisco. He has written numerous articles for Iran Philatelic Study Circle Bulletin and the UPSS. He has exhibited nationally internationally for the past 20 years. Some of his exhibits can be viewed at https://www.iranphilately.org/exhibits_bne/. For the last six years, he has served on the APEX expert committee in the Iranian stamps and postal history area.
His favorite stamps offer a contrast to Iranian philately. One is arguably one of the most beautiful pre-1890 stamps and the earliest 3-color stamp ever produced, the 1882 1 Toman (10 Fr.) (Figure 2), Dual Currency Issue of Iran printed by the Austrian Government Printing Offices in Vienna. He is currently working on an exhibit on this stamp. A second favorite stamp, which was the subject of his first multi frame exhibit, is the Provisional Typeset Issue of Tehran, printed in 1902 by the Pharous Printing Firm in Tehran. This stamp is extremely crude, as a stamp was quickly needed due to a stamp shortage.
Attention ALL Philatelists: No matter how large or small your philatelic collection may be, you can’t take it with you! When the inevitable occurs, you certainly want to control what happens to the collection that brought you so much pleasure. To ensure that your wishes are carried out, you need to plan ahead. Expanding your philatelic toolkit will help you to prepare instructions for your heirs and plan for your collection’s future.
will meet – April 13, 2021 (3:00 – 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time)
Cost: FREE for APS Members/$10 for Non-Members
Instructor: Ken Martin and Scott Tiffney
The Advertures in Expertizing Column is reprinted from the March 2021 Issue of The American Philatelist, The Buyers Guide Issue. If you are interested in joining the American Philatelic Society to gain access to members only benefits such as this highly acclaimed monthly magazine, visit Together We Grow today!