When does a stamp become valuable?

Answer 1

Generally, rarity and demand. It's not enough for a stamp to be just rare, there must also be at least two people who want it. They then compete against each other to buy it, driving the price up. If I have the only copy of stamp, but nobody wants to buy it, it is worthless to me. This is true for any 'collectibles'.

Answer 2

This is a good question. Condition and rarity make a stamp worth money. An old "common" stamp is not worth anything just because it's old. A modern stamp that has a rare feature could make it worth money. For instance, recent coils have rare numbers that make them worth allot to collectors.

Answer 3

Large number of factors are involved. The basic single factor is rarity. There are lots of stamps with single or few known copies. They also need to be desired by collectors. Those that really want the stamps will pay for them. Real collectors avoid 'junk' stamps.

Answer 4

There are many factors to be taken into account:

Rarity is the single most critical factor. That can vary greatly even within the same stamp printing if there are variations in perforations and color.

A few minutes reading the front of a stamp catalog will provide a great deal of insight into valuation of stamps.

Answer 5

older stamps are generally more valuable, but stamps are very slow sellers right now, the market is down, it is not a sellers market at all!