My Stamp Collecting

Stamp collecting can be a fun and interesting hobby. But it can also prove to be very profitable. Some people have no idea of their stamp collection value. If you have been saving any stamps, always do a little research before selling, throwing away or giving somebody any of your pieces.

Some United States stamps have shockingly high value. The U. S. Stamp that is considered the most valuable is the so called Benjamin Franklin “Z Grill” stamp. This stamp, which was issued by the U. S. Postal Service in 1868, features Ben Franklin’s profile. Although this particular design was common in 1 cent stamps in the 1860′s, what makes the Z Grill different is the “Z” kind of grill that was pressed into the stamp. The purpose of the grill was to allow the canceling ink to become absorbed into the stamp and prevent it from being reused. This grill was short lived and, thus, the rarity of the stamp.

There are only 2 known such stamps in existence today, both containing cancellation marks. One is owned by the New York Public Library, part of the Benjamin Miller Collection. The other is in the hands of a private collector, Bill Gross.

As mentioned, this Benjamin Franklin Z Grill 1 center is considered the single most valuable. However, there are also two other stamps with the grill: the 10 cent Washington and the 15 cent Lincoln. These are also considered very rare and carry a high value.

Another American stamp with great value is the “Inverted Jenny, ” which is actually a printing error. This postage stamp was first issued in 1918 and featured a Curtiss JN-4 plane. The image of the airplane was inadvertently printed upside down. This is perhaps the best known such error and a sought after one at that. Only 100 stamps (one pane) were ever found. In 2007, an inverted jenny was sold at auction for over $977,000. A set of four sold in 2005 for over $2.5 million.

Of course most stamps will not fetch as much money as that. But for rarity, error and historical importance, several stamps have value well beyond what many would ever expect. Check through your stash and never get rid of anything until you are sure you know what it is worth.