Stamp authentication cost!

I had an occasion recently where certification as to a stamps shade would I’m sure have increased it’s value & given potential purchasers more confidence to buy. The stamp is catalogued at £180 & I wanted to start bidding at £50.
So I did a bit of research & found ‘stamp experts’ who would examine the stamp & issue a certificate BUT their cost isphenomenal, way above the price I am asking for the stamp … . so my question is:
Does anyone know of a reasonable priced service that authenticates stamps? Help appreciated.

Regards Tony
turnagain20

Did you try the Royal Philatelic Society London?

What country is the stamp from?

The Royal London Society will do it for you free of charge, if you are a member. But, membership is expensive and you must be invited or nominated to become a member.

Also try the big stamp auctioneers such as Stanley Gibbons, Phillips and Warwick and Warwick - they will give you a free valuation.
If you get in touch with them, they will let you know when a valuer is going to visit your area.

If you get in touch with your local stamp or philatelic society you will probably get good advice about the stamp's value. To get anywhere near catalogue value it needs to be in first class superb condition.

I personally don't think it is worth getting a certification for the amount of money involved. You only require one of those if you are talking thousands of pounds.

Coin authentication is also costly. Many sellers factor that cost in when they put item up for sale. You do have to be careful who you allow to authenticate a coin or stamp. I don't consider grading by any other companies except the top ones (NGC, PCGS, ANAC, ICG)If I sell "graded" coins from lower tier graders I treat it like any other unencased coin. I'm not really into stamps, although I sell a few. Who are the top graders for stamps?,

P.S. You can avoid fakes by going to coin/stamp shows & getting on site grading submissions, or deal with reputable grading services directly.

Thanks very much to you all for your helpful replies.
I think more economic charges for ‘certification’ are necessary. As you say it is not practicable to have a stamp certified unless it is valuable – worth [or thought to be worth] hundreds of pounds & of course you may well be in a quandary, thinking & hoping the stamp is a particular valuable variation but not able to risk the expense of ‘certification’.
Perhaps some knowledgeable persons who specialise in specific areas should start a website on which they could give their ‘Opinion’ on a stamp of their particular area?
For a small consideration I guess.

Regards Tony
turnagain20

Hi Tony, I once receive a free NGC evaluation of a Carson City Morgan (key date) coin, at a trade show. NGC offered a few hours of eval for free. Trade shows are a lot of fun to attend; the free eval was just desert. Might be worth finding & going to in your area of interest. Unfortunatey, collectors do want to know the evaluating company. What they are willing to spend on a collectible reflects that.

I sell stamps, but am not an expert. My area of expertise is militaria autographs, but, while I am capable of authenticating most, or at least many, I do not authenticate any personally because I am not licensed to do so. What I do is give potential buyers the best provenance I can on the item and let them know I guarantee the authenticity. If they have the item appraised by a licensed or certified appraiser and the appraiser feels the item is not authentic, I offer a full refund plus their invoice cost of having the item authenticated. To date I have never had to make a refund.

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Originally Posted by turnagain20

Thanks very much to you all for your helpful replies.
I think more economic charges for ‘certification’ are necessary. As you say it is not practicable to have a stamp certified unless it is valuable – worth [or thought to be worth] hundreds of pounds & of course you may well be in a quandary, thinking & hoping the stamp is a particular valuable variation but not able to risk the expense of ‘certification’.
Perhaps some knowledgeable persons who specialise in specific areas should start a website on which they could give their ‘Opinion’ on a stamp of their particular area?
For a small consideration I guess.

Regards Tony
turnagain20

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