US Stamps

About US Stamps

Many of today's collectors started collecting U.S. postage stamps as kids, often with a parent or family member. The US stamp collecting market has weakened in recent years, however, with many stamps and even entire collections trading below face value (so many copies of common stamps were printed that there's not enough demand to warrant a premium). Rare or unusual U.S. stamps, however, are another story - there's a robust market for those, and some specimens can be worth thousands of dollars or more.

There are many ways to approach collecting U.S. stamps. Some collectors focus on a specific time period, like the 19th century. Others choose specific themes like airmail stamps or duck stamps. Some focus on specific formats like sheets, plate blocks, coils, or booklets. There are also a large number of collectors who focus on first day covers - stamps that were affixed to a special envelope and cancelled on the first day of issue...

As with many collectibles, rarity and condition are two key determinants of value. U.S. stamps can be either unused (never cancelled) or used, and there are collectors who focus on both varieties.

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview With U.S. Stamp Collector Bob Allen

Like many collectors, I collected when I was a child, and then I became interested again in the ‘90s. I thi… [more]

An Interview With Postal History Collector Richard Frajola

I have a stamp collection, but I don’t consider myself a collector. I have a collection of my initials on s… [more]

An Interview with Stamp Collector John Hotchner on Philatelic Errors, Freaks and Oddities New!

My father was a stamp collector, and I just took to it. He was perfectly happy to mentor me, so I began colle… [more]

Essays, The Stamp Designs That Also Ran

It was a shock to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing when a critic pointed out that the view of "Gatun Lock… [more]

Postally Used Works of Art

Paintings and sculpture galore have been reproduced on postage stamps, sort of an Everyman's art gallery. But… [more]

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Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

1847USA

1847USA

Bob Allen's beautiful and well organized catalog of US stamps from 1847 to 1970 is a fantastic resource for all US … [read review or visit site]

PhilaMercury

PhilaMercury

Richard Frajola's incredibly rich database of over 11,000 U.S. and foreign 19th Century postal stamp covers. This s… [read review or visit site]

Post Office in Paradise

Post Office in Paradise

Post Office in Paradise showcases Hawaiian postal history from the years before Hawaii became a part of the United … [read review or visit site]

Alphabetilately

Alphabetilately

This creative website is essentially a giant glossary of stamp collecting, 'from advertising covers through Zeppeli… [read review or visit site]

The Stamp Collecting Round-up

The Stamp Collecting Round-up

Don Schilling's long-running, in-depth blog on stamp collecting and postal operations. Schilling stays up on all th… [read review or visit site]

National Postal Museum

National Postal Museum

If you're into postal history or collectibles, check out the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum. This extensive s… [read review or visit site]

Private Die Proprietary Stamps

Private Die Proprietary Stamps

Bob Hohertz's impressive database of U.S. Private Die Proprietary stamps from the Civil War and Spanish American Wa… [read review or visit site]

R. A. Siegel Auction Galleries

R. A. Siegel Auction Galleries

This auction house site offers an extensive online database of US stamp information. Includes PDF catalogs of past … [read review or visit site]


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Clubs & Associations: US Stamps


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Top eBay Auctions  Help | Get weekly US Stamps email

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Hawaii Number 7 Manuscript Overpint - Used Buy it Now$3,511 Ends Tuesday 7 bids 7 watchers
U.s. Mint 3 Volumes With Black Mounts$2,500 Ends in 17 hours 1 bid
Amazing Mint Nh Us Zeppelin Set C13 To C15 No Reserve!$821.00 Ends Wednesday 11 bids 7 watchers
Postage Stamps 2000 - American Flag ($880 Value)$739.00 Ends Saturday 1 bid 1 watcher
Us Postal Stamps - Unused$624.00 Ends Monday 1 bid 4 watchers
U.s. - 1930 Graf Zeppelin Pc - Sieger 64 Aii/64 Bii -$563.00 Ends in 18 hours 19 bids 15 watchers
Us Scott #293, Xf Nh, Original Gum$535.00 Ends Wednesday 9 bids 14 watchers
United States - 1893 Columbus Proof Set To $5 - Rare !!$436.00 Ends in 21 hours 11 bids 15 watchers
Us Postage Stamps (10 Rolls Of 100 At 44 Cents Each) $420.00 Ends in 18 hours 1 bid 1 watcher
Dr. Bob Us Scott #2 Used Sound Stamp$365.00 Ends Wednesday 11 bids 16 watchers
Us Scott C13 C14 C15 1930 Graf Zeppelin Used/rh (jl50)$355.01 Ends Monday 10 bids 27 watchers
Us Scott 46 1875 30c Reprint Xf Unused As Issued$320.00 Ends Sunday 12 bids 23 watchers
Ny New York Apr 28 1930 1st Flt Graf Zeppelin #c15$299.00 Ends in 5 hours 1 bid 5 watchers
Dr. Bob Us Scott #39 Mint Sound Stamp$260.01 Ends Wednesday 13 bids 18 watchers
Dr. Bob Us Scott #116 Mint Part Og Sound With Cert$260.00 Ends Wednesday 7 bids 3 watchers
Scott #122 1869 90 Cent Lincoln, Used$255.00 Ends Saturday 12 bids 19 watchers
#1 - Used, Magenta Grid, Beautiful, 2007 Pfc, Cat. $800$255.00 Ends Sunday 12 bids 12 watchers
U.s. #293 Used Beauty - $2.00 Trans-mississippi$255.00 Ends Sunday 12 bids 12 watchers
Us Stamps # 244 $4 Columbian 1893 (jl54) Cv $1300$255.00 Ends Monday 7 bids 13 watchers
Scott #293 $2 Trans-mississippi, Sound, Used$250.00 Ends Sunday 11 bids 8 watchers
Scott 546, Mint Pb6 (14238), Nh/h Og, Scarce! $1465++++$240.00 Ends in 19 hours 35 bids 18 watchers
Usa , 13-34 Cents Postage , All Different, Fv Us $460,-$237.06 Ends Thursday 2 bids 3 watchers
244 1898 $4.00 Columbian 600dpi Images Fault$227.50 Ends Tuesday 3 bids 5 watchers
Old Us Stamps:1873 #162 Clay Mint 4mgn Og Cv$2750.00$214.48 Ends Monday 9 bids 9 watchers
Dr. Bob Us Scott #c15 Mint Og Vlh Zeppelin$212.41 Ends Wednesday 19 bids 9 watchers
Usa , 32 Cent Stamps , All Booklets ,fv , Us $ 335,--$204.52 Ends Thursday 4 bids 6 watchers
Rare 5 Cent Springfield Experimental Bureau Precancel$204.26 Ends Tuesday 3 bids 2 watchers
Us #292 Mint Western Cattle In Storm$199.99 Ends Thursday 1 bid 6 watchers
Scott #65 With Socked On Fancy Cancel$192.50 Ends Monday 16 bids 16 watchers
Dr. Bob Us Scott #1 Used Sound Stamp$183.58 Ends Wednesday 12 bids 4 watchers
U.s. Classic Scott# 1 Used Stamp Shown Value 600.00++$182.50 Ends Monday 2 bids 4 watchers
U.s. #1b Used Beauty - 5c Org Brown W/ Blue Cancel$182.01 Ends Sunday 9 bids 10 watchers
Us Scott 311 1902-03 $1 Regular Ognh$179.48 Ends Sunday 3 bids 10 watchers
#3262 Shuttle Exp Mail $11.75 Bcv$675.00 Mnh Og S 1998$173.50 Ends Sunday 5 bids 8 watchers
Dr. Bob Us Scott #505 Error Block Of Nine Stamps$161.39 Ends Wednesday 3 bids 4 watchers
Rare 10 Cent Springfield Experimental Bureau Precancel$154.50 Ends Sunday 3 bids 10 watchers
Scott 292, Used, V. Attractive/4-margins! $650+++$150.00 Ends in 19 hours 9 bids 31 watchers
Scott #72 Vf/xf Centering-pq!! Low Start Price!$149.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 2 watchers
Mr Fancy Cancel 353 W/f Line Pair Vf+ Pf Cert Cv$1750$146.50 Ends Sunday 11 bids 18 watchers
$200.00 In U.s. Full Gum Postage$140.00 Ends in 21 hours 1 bid 6 watchers
Scott O 32 24 Cent Purple Justice Official Used $425$140.00 Ends in 19 hours 1 bid 1 watcher
Us Postage Stamps Unused, Nh Postage Value $195.75$138.50 Ends Sunday 5 bids 7 watchers
Us-1869-rare 90 Ct "lincoln" Used With Weiss Cert/#122$132.59 Ends Saturday 12 bids 8 watchers
Old Mint Us Airmail Stamps C1-6, C-18 Hubba Hubba!$131.38 Ends Sunday 9 bids 19 watchers
Scott 578, Mint Pb4 (14591), H Og, Scarce! $1030++++$130.76 Ends in 19 hours 8 bids 9 watchers
Dr. Bob Us Scott #467 Mint Block Of 12$129.49 Ends Thursday 3 bids 5 watchers
Us Stamp Scott 38 Used. $129.49 Ends in 3 hours 16 bids 20 watchers
Thousands Of Dollars Old Us Stamps To $325.00 Ea. B4787$127.50 Ends Wednesday 6 bids 11 watchers
Rare Vintage 14k Solid Gold 2 Cent Us Stamp Charm 1930s$127.50 Ends in 4 hours 15 bids 22 watchers
1912 Vincent Astor Mourning Letter-rms Titanic Disaster$127.50 Ends Sunday 6 bids 22 watchers
Mr Fancy Cancel 546 Mint Nh Block 4 Pf Cert Cv$1120++$127.50 Ends Sunday 10 bids 7 watchers
Usa 1912 # 423 Mint Stamp, Scv $ 250, Nr$125.00 Ends Tuesday 1 bid
Scott #121 Thirty Cent Shield Eagle & Flags Stamp Used $122.50 Ends Sunday 9 bids 4 watchers
Us Scott 120 24c Declaration Of Independence Sharp Used$122.50 Ends Monday 9 bids 9 watchers
Davo Hingeless Usa Seven Albums. No Reserve!!!$122.50 Ends Wednesday 4 bids 10 watchers
Us, Colombian Stamps On Page, Incl Mint 240 & 241($1)$117.61 Ends Wednesday 4 bids 8 watchers
Start $1.00 Pse R102c 1864 Revenue $200 Dollarsgenuine $116.55 Ends Friday 13 bids 29 watchers

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Recent News: US Stamps

Source: Google News

Ask Charlie: Nature trains men to be magenta-eyed
Vail Daily News, November 20th

You have a great time but meet a great guy who shares your interest in stamp collecting. So you take him home to show him your collection...Read more

Collector says he got hooked on stamps at early age
Wooster Daily Record, November 20th

Haimann, who at age 24 is considered something of the wunderkind of the stamp collecting world and is employed by the Smithsonian Institution's National...Read more

Early Canadian stamps auction nets $3.2M US
CBC.ca, November 19th

This rare 1851 Canadian stamp with an image of Queen Victoria was sold for $260000 US in New York on Thursday. (CBC) A New York stamp collector auctioned...Read more

Photo Flash: TheatreWorks New Milford Announces Their 2010 Season
Broadway World, November 19th

The stakes are high when half-sisters inherit a book of rare stamps that may include the "crown jewels" of the stamp-collecting world and could be worth...Read more

Boy Scout stamp to honor scouting centennial
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com, November 19th

Lugar, an Eagle Scout, brought with him his Scouting memorabilia, including a stamp-collecting merit badge he earned in 1945. Designed by illustrator Craig...Read more

Stamp of approval: Volunteers aid veterans philatelically
Kenai Peninsula Online, November 18th

Instead, someone suggested the Stamps for the Wounded program. Since 1942, the program has collected stamps and other stamp collecting related materials,...Read more

There's a little 'collector' in all of us
Northern Sentinel, November 18th

But it's not all that rare or valuable...there were 68-million printed, so many survived and stamp collectors, even in these early days, often put away...Read more

Timecare: Why Alternative Commodities Are Helping Savers Beat the Banks
Reuters, November 4th

Stamps We`ve all heard of the famous `Penny Black`. Recently one of these rare stamps sold for £250000 - making stamp collecting a lucrative investment...Read more

US Stamps

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