How to Tell if a Stamp Is Rare: 7 Signs Collectors Look For

What makes a stamp rare?

Low supply. A stamp is rare when few were printed, when few were sold before it was withdrawn or replaced, or when few have survived in collectable condition.

Rarity is about how many exist today, not how old a stamp is. Some 19th-century stamps survive by the million, while some modern errors exist as a single sheet. Collectors also separate rarity (how few exist) from value (what people pay): a stamp can be scarce but cheap if few people collect it.

What are the signs that a stamp might be rare?

Check for seven signs: an early issue, a short period of use, a high face value, a printing error, a scarce variety, an unusual postmark or use, and exceptional condition.

1. An early issue. Classic-era stamps (roughly 1840–1870) were printed in smaller numbers, and fewer survive in good condition.
2. A short period of use. Stamps withdrawn quickly, overprinted for a brief purpose or issued by short-lived states can be scarce.
3. A high face value. High denominations were bought mainly for heavy mail and parcels, and were rarely saved, especially used.
4. A printing error. Inverted centers, missing colors, imperforate sheets and double prints. See error stamps worth money.
5. A scarce variety. A different perforation gauge, watermark or paper from the common version. See how to identify stamps.
6. An unusual postmark or use. Early dates, rare town cancels, and unusual routes or rates, especially on the original envelope.
7. Exceptional condition. A common classic stamp that's perfectly centered and fault-free is itself scarce.

What doesn't make a stamp rare?

Age alone, a famous subject and being unused don't make a stamp rare. Many old stamps, royal portraits and popular commemoratives were printed by the million.

• “It's over 100 years old.” Many stamps from the 1890s–1920s are very common.
• “It shows the Queen / Washington / Elvis.” Popular subjects were usually printed in the largest quantities. See the Elvis stamp.
• “It's never been used.” Unused modern stamps are mostly worth about face value.
• “It's a full sheet.” Sheets of common modern stamps usually sell near face value.

Which rare stamps should I look for?

Famous rarities almost never turn up in family albums, but these more realistic finds do: early classics in fine condition, key high values, recognizable errors and scarce varieties of common designs.

How do I confirm a stamp is rare?

Match it to a specialized catalogue listing, including its exact variety, then have promising candidates examined by an expertizing service, which issues a certificate of genuineness.

Rare stamps attract fakes and repairs: reperforated edges, regummed backs, filled thins, painted-in colors and common stamps altered to mimic a scarce variety. A certificate from a recognized service such as APEX, the Philatelic Foundation or BPA Expertising protects both buyer and seller.

Where do rare stamps usually turn up?

In older family albums, correspondence kept in attics, estate collections and dealers' mixed lots. Rare finds are most likely among pre-1900 material and items a collector set aside, rather than in modern albums.

• Old correspondence. Bundles of 19th-century letters can hold scarce stamps, postmarks and rates, so keep them intact.
• The front of old albums. Printed albums are usually arranged by date, so the earliest, and often most valuable, stamps come first.
• Stock books and envelopes marked “specials”. Collectors often set their best stamps aside.
• Unsorted accumulations. Boxes of loose stamps occasionally hold better items that nobody has checked.

Scan the candidates from each of these places first. It's much faster than working through thousands of common stamps in order.