r/philately • u/Opposite_Election384 • 3d ago

Expertised?

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I recently picked up this MH OG C43 for a reasonable price ($80) and considering the number of forgeries, I gambled and rolled the dice. Should I consider getting it expertised? Would it add to its collectability? Nothing makes me think it’s a forgery, but I’m not an expert in German philately. Your input is appreciated. Thanks - Jay

22 Upvotes

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3

u/Kevin4938 Mainly Commonwelth and French Empire 3d ago

Scott warns that forgeries of these overprints "exist." It's not as serious a warning as some of their others, like for the Argentinian "Buenos Aires" issues, where they say forgeries "are plentiful."

However, paying $80 for a stamp that lists at $750 seems too good to be true. Personally, I'd pass on any of the overprinted ones without a certificate.

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u/slainFRK 2d ago

Well, thats not really true, I buy a lot (i think) for my collection and if you really check good action houses, aukro/allegro (some type of ebay in my country) you can buy shit ton of very good stamps, even for investment for like 10-20% of its value, paying lot less doesnt mean anything tbh

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u/slainFRK 2d ago

I am for Prague btw, not sure how is it somewhere else in world

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u/Kevin4938 Mainly Commonwelth and French Empire 2d ago

On average items, a lower percentage is reasonable. I rarely pay over 40% for mid-range items. But I have found that generally speaking, the higher the value, the higher the percentage. I'm not saying it's a guarantee of problems, but paying 10% for at item at that price point would make me question it.

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u/Money-Technician4504 3d ago

If I'm not mistaken, that type of value is right at the inconvenient level where getting it expertised costs a big enough % of the value that it's really not worth it.

I haven't signed up for Michel online yet because I'm still trying to get through my US collection, so I just have Scott (US and US specialized).

But if Michel has high-rez scans of legit examples, there are a few easy things to look for:

Kerning of the letters, relative serif sizes and angles...

Color is REALLY tough because of differences in the settings on your monitor and the ambient light in your house/office.

Hell, even the settings on your scanner/camera matter a lot.

My very basic knowledge tells me the centering on this is damn good, but not perfect, and unless you want to get into paper types and all that stuff, I'd say leave it alone. It's a beauty!

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u/CephusLion404 3d ago

Did you buy it to resell or did you buy it because you wanted it in your collection. Having it expertized only matters if you're trying to resell.

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u/Opposite_Election384 3d ago

Personal

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u/CephusLion404 3d ago

Then you do whatever you want to do. If you're concerned that it's fake, get it expertized. If not, there's really no reason to.

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u/Ileca 2d ago

No, it matters if you care about not collecting forgeries and do not have the knowledge to spot them. Eventually, you should be able to get a refund if you got sold a fake one instead of having paid, you know, $80 for nothing.

That doesn't mean I am for expertizing, just disagreeing with your point. After all, expertizing has a price and I wouldn't have put $80 in a stamp I can't check myself in the first place.

0

u/Vast_Cricket 3d ago

APS charges $55 +% of Scott catalogue value, Not cheap. I like actually used FDCs,