I found a strange looking postage stamp in a box lot of 'junque' i won at an auction- what is it?

Question

While going through a box lot of stuff i won at an auction I found a cigar box of loose world stamps. Most of them are pretty common {King George V stamps from England, German 'Deutches Reich' stamps from 1930s- the end of WW2, Russian ones from the 50s and 60s, etc} BUT there was one in a small plexiglass case with a label reading '1859 VF MNH [very fine grade, mint- never hinged], 5gr Thurn and Taxis' Do I have a potential gold mine here moneywise?

Answer 1

It is possible that the stamp is worth a few hundred dollars, but there were reprints made of these stamps that are worth about $5 as well. You need to get such an item "expertized" if you hope to sell it for much. There are several such services available at varying costs. One of the best is the service of the American Philatelic Society (http://www.stamps.org/Services/ser_SubmitItem.htm ), but it is a little pricey for non-members. You could join APS or use the services of the Philatelic Foundation (http://www.philatelicfoundation.org/ ), the Germany Philatelic Society(http://www.bpp.de/ ), or some other recognized expertizing service.

Good luck!

Answer 2

A gold mine? Maybe, maybe not. A rare find, yes. Run it by a coin/stamp collector's shop. They should be in the Yellow Pages.

Good Luck!

H