Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
10:53:21pm
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Hi Lisa,
your perfin is, acording to my copy of the "Catalog of United States perfins" 1979 published by THE PERFINS CLUB: # D49 reading DH/NYC from the "Departement of Health, New York City. Your copy is more hard to identified because of the position of the perforations.
Hope it help a little,
Jacques
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You mean that have catalogs just for Perfins?? Now I know I'm way behind on the hobby 
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There is so manny perfins, many contry have there catalog for perfins, like US, Canada, G.Brit., France, Germany, Hungaria, etc, etc, If you browse on the net you will find specialized philatelic club for the perfins...
The perfins strart to be used as security in the middle of the 19 century and have been put away around 1980-85 depending of the contry...
Hope it help a little, sorry for my so-so english,
Jacques
PS: your hoby is wath you want it to be.... general to very-very specific, it's up to you,
that's what is fantastic in the stamps collecting....
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04:48:50pm
Thank you for your help. I understand perfin are used for security but are they of any value other than to a perfin collector? I will personally keep this stamp because I think it's cool. I guess I was associating perfins with grills which can be used to identify a stamp and may add value. I'm now guessing that is not the case and they are just things that happen sometimes. Is that a true statement?
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General collectors tend to poo-poo stamps with perfins as they want "solid" stamps, and the value to them for such a stamp is almost like a filler. However, some perfins are worth quite a bit of money (older, smaller railroads for example). It depends on the company.
US revenue stamps are canceled with perfins, and those are worth very little compared to the non-perfin cancelled versions of the same revenue stamp.
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05:55:54pm
Thank you, Michael. That helped. This is where everyone's advice comes in handy.....I like it so I'm keeping it! My collection will be just the way I want it! I was curious about perfins and this has helped clear up my confusion. Thank you all!
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Lisa,
Perfin collectors are an interesting group of philatelists. Many times they will offer what might appear to be overly generous trades for something a non-perfin collector might have. Also, they do not consider their stamps as "un-solid" (whatever that might mean), and definitely treasure new additions, no matter the value as assessed by a non-perfin collector.
Consider how many departments of NYC there might be that have stamps with distinctive perfins. Now consider that a collector might be missing the NYC Department of Health. Would it be valuable to him? I'm betting it would.
Philately is a very diverse hobby, and while saying that "One person's trash is another's treasure" might be a little harsh, I think you can get the idea. I too would keep the stamp in my collection. In fact, it might move me to start a whole new sub-hobby...but that's for another day. 
Warmest regards and happy collecting,
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Years ago I sold a Swiss stamp with a perfin. It sold real quick, and afterwards I wish I still had it. The perfins spelled "TOBLER". mmmmmmmmmmmm
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10:15:32am
I emailed this perfin to a perfin collector. I thought I would share what I learned with everyone.
He said most perfins are so common that they do not add much value to a stamp. However, they are fun to look at in my opinion. Scott 905 is minimal value so it would sell for a penny. With the perfin he feels it would sell for about 5 cents. He said the value of a perfin goes up with the value of the stamp since perfins are so common. Therefore, a stamp worth $100 with a perfin would sell for significantly more. Knowing this, I am a bit surprised that there are perfin collectors and clubs because perfins don't seem to do much for the stamp. Maybe this is why some collectors feel they are simply not a "whole" stamp as Michael has stated.
As I said, I don't plan to sell this or any other perfin. I look at catalog value as a way to determine what I want to do with the stamp. I often hinge minimal values and mount any stamp with more than minimal value. I have found myself mounting stamps that I just think are pretty or have an interesting cancel so again, we all do it our own way, right?
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"He said most perfins are so common that they do not add much value to a stamp. However, they are fun to look at in my opinion. Scott 905 is minimal value so it would sell for a penny."
It all depends Lisa, my primary stamp dealer here has a guy that collections nothing but Perfins... just because it's not an "ordinary" stamp.
So if i were to trade him, i could probably get a better deal than if they were standard common un-perfins... Of course they're still common stamps so they wouldn't be much of a trade-up, but it would be a trade-up.
It just all depends on who's looking to get the stamps and what they're worth.
Personally, I keep perfin's as a "variation" on a standard stamp...
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"It just all depends on who's looking to get the stamps and what they're worth."
that's exactly the key. Most folks think of perfins as damaged, but others see their more elusive nature. I put all the perfins I acquire to the side awaiting the day when I find the perfin collector with whom to trade. They have come in handy in the past.
David
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I have a personal interest in NYC perfins on NYCRR covers. Makes a very nice combination in a collection of NYCRR postal history and ephemera. Off cover perfins of a specific company should be mounted so as to show the initials from the right direction. On a cover they are often difficult to read, but that only adds to the fun of the hunt. I'm going to dig some out later and scan them in to see if it all shows up.
Roger
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I have a couple of older philatelic reference books, from the late 1940s and early 1950s. In these particular books when referring to Perfins, it was stated - "Perfins are nothing more than damaged stamps and are nothing but junk that deserve nothing more than to be thrown in the trash can" (Words to that effect from the top of my head from memory)
This can be no further from the truth. When you stop to think that there are now societies solely devoted to Perfins and auctions specifically, pointing out perfin stamps and covers with them on them is now phenominal. Granted, let's say that you have a stamp that 'normally' catalogues $5.00, but it has a perfin,so, it might bring the value down in some cases. Then, on the other side of the coin, there are some perfins that are scarce and brings the value of an otherwise cheap stamp up significantly.
So, to sum up, don't throw away those perfins. They are very collectible.
Chimo
Bujutsu
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09:17:17pm
Chimo - you are so right. I have a Netherlands stamp with a perfin that I found in a five & dime bag when I was a kid. It's also syncopated which is what caught my eye back then & I put it in my album. About 12 years ago I was looking through the album & noticed the perfin so I asked a SOR friend from The Hague if he could tell me anything about it. He gave me a lot of information on it that thankfully I wrote down & the perfin turned a low-value stamp into something quite valuable. So now I'm careful when selling or trading to tell the person that there is a perfin in the lot & encourage them to look into it if they are interested because you never know what might turn up.
Kelly
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09:51:13pm
Much as there are collectors who choose postally used rather than mint, never in the same room as a hinge, and vice versa, per-fins and revenues are often ignored by "mainstream" collectors but treasured by those for whom such items have an appeal.
For more than ten years I traded every per-fin I came across with Mr Henrik Oor for Dutch and other nice postally used European stamps until my letter to him came back marked "Deceased."
I always thought that I got the better of the deal, but knew that he seemed to be equally thrilled with what I sent him. An excellent example of the old rubric about beauty being in the eye of the beholder.
As far as catalogs go, one whole chapter of the Complete Deegam Machin Handbook, the essential bible of Machin stamp enthusiasts lists every per-fin known to have been used on the ubiquitous Machin stamps.
Machins have been produced for forty-five years and easily there are 500 simple color varieties so the possibilities of per-fins on Machins seems almost endless.
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It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis
19 May 2012
10:53:21pm
What is this perfin? Does it add any value to US Scott #905? Is there a place that has a guide to perfins?
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re: US: identification of perfin on #905
Hi Lisa,
your perfin is, acording to my copy of the "Catalog of United States perfins" 1979 published by THE PERFINS CLUB: # D49 reading DH/NYC from the "Departement of Health, New York City. Your copy is more hard to identified because of the position of the perforations.
Hope it help a little,
Jacques
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re: US: identification of perfin on #905
You mean that have catalogs just for Perfins?? Now I know I'm way behind on the hobby
Login to Like
this post
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
There is so manny perfins, many contry have there catalog for perfins, like US, Canada, G.Brit., France, Germany, Hungaria, etc, etc, If you browse on the net you will find specialized philatelic club for the perfins...
The perfins strart to be used as security in the middle of the 19 century and have been put away around 1980-85 depending of the contry...
Hope it help a little, sorry for my so-so english,
Jacques
PS: your hoby is wath you want it to be.... general to very-very specific, it's up to you,
that's what is fantastic in the stamps collecting....
Login to Like
this post
It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis
20 May 2012
04:48:50pm
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
Thank you for your help. I understand perfin are used for security but are they of any value other than to a perfin collector? I will personally keep this stamp because I think it's cool. I guess I was associating perfins with grills which can be used to identify a stamp and may add value. I'm now guessing that is not the case and they are just things that happen sometimes. Is that a true statement?
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05:27:10pm
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
General collectors tend to poo-poo stamps with perfins as they want "solid" stamps, and the value to them for such a stamp is almost like a filler. However, some perfins are worth quite a bit of money (older, smaller railroads for example). It depends on the company.
US revenue stamps are canceled with perfins, and those are worth very little compared to the non-perfin cancelled versions of the same revenue stamp.
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It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis
20 May 2012
05:55:54pm
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
Thank you, Michael. That helped. This is where everyone's advice comes in handy.....I like it so I'm keeping it! My collection will be just the way I want it! I was curious about perfins and this has helped clear up my confusion. Thank you all!
Login to Like
this post
07:11:08pm
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
Lisa,
Perfin collectors are an interesting group of philatelists. Many times they will offer what might appear to be overly generous trades for something a non-perfin collector might have. Also, they do not consider their stamps as "un-solid" (whatever that might mean), and definitely treasure new additions, no matter the value as assessed by a non-perfin collector.
Consider how many departments of NYC there might be that have stamps with distinctive perfins. Now consider that a collector might be missing the NYC Department of Health. Would it be valuable to him? I'm betting it would.
Philately is a very diverse hobby, and while saying that "One person's trash is another's treasure" might be a little harsh, I think you can get the idea. I too would keep the stamp in my collection. In fact, it might move me to start a whole new sub-hobby...but that's for another day.
Warmest regards and happy collecting,
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this post
09:54:54pm
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
Years ago I sold a Swiss stamp with a perfin. It sold real quick, and afterwards I wish I still had it. The perfins spelled "TOBLER". mmmmmmmmmmmm
Login to Like
this post
It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis
21 May 2012
10:15:32am
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
I emailed this perfin to a perfin collector. I thought I would share what I learned with everyone.
He said most perfins are so common that they do not add much value to a stamp. However, they are fun to look at in my opinion. Scott 905 is minimal value so it would sell for a penny. With the perfin he feels it would sell for about 5 cents. He said the value of a perfin goes up with the value of the stamp since perfins are so common. Therefore, a stamp worth $100 with a perfin would sell for significantly more. Knowing this, I am a bit surprised that there are perfin collectors and clubs because perfins don't seem to do much for the stamp. Maybe this is why some collectors feel they are simply not a "whole" stamp as Michael has stated.
As I said, I don't plan to sell this or any other perfin. I look at catalog value as a way to determine what I want to do with the stamp. I often hinge minimal values and mount any stamp with more than minimal value. I have found myself mounting stamps that I just think are pretty or have an interesting cancel so again, we all do it our own way, right?
Login to Like
this post
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
"He said most perfins are so common that they do not add much value to a stamp. However, they are fun to look at in my opinion. Scott 905 is minimal value so it would sell for a penny."
It all depends Lisa, my primary stamp dealer here has a guy that collections nothing but Perfins... just because it's not an "ordinary" stamp.
So if i were to trade him, i could probably get a better deal than if they were standard common un-perfins... Of course they're still common stamps so they wouldn't be much of a trade-up, but it would be a trade-up.
It just all depends on who's looking to get the stamps and what they're worth.
Personally, I keep perfin's as a "variation" on a standard stamp...
Login to Like
this post
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
"It just all depends on who's looking to get the stamps and what they're worth."
that's exactly the key. Most folks think of perfins as damaged, but others see their more elusive nature. I put all the perfins I acquire to the side awaiting the day when I find the perfin collector with whom to trade. They have come in handy in the past.
David
Login to Like
this post
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
I have a personal interest in NYC perfins on NYCRR covers. Makes a very nice combination in a collection of NYCRR postal history and ephemera. Off cover perfins of a specific company should be mounted so as to show the initials from the right direction. On a cover they are often difficult to read, but that only adds to the fun of the hunt. I'm going to dig some out later and scan them in to see if it all shows up.
Roger
Login to Like
this post
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
I have a couple of older philatelic reference books, from the late 1940s and early 1950s. In these particular books when referring to Perfins, it was stated - "Perfins are nothing more than damaged stamps and are nothing but junk that deserve nothing more than to be thrown in the trash can" (Words to that effect from the top of my head from memory)
This can be no further from the truth. When you stop to think that there are now societies solely devoted to Perfins and auctions specifically, pointing out perfin stamps and covers with them on them is now phenominal. Granted, let's say that you have a stamp that 'normally' catalogues $5.00, but it has a perfin,so, it might bring the value down in some cases. Then, on the other side of the coin, there are some perfins that are scarce and brings the value of an otherwise cheap stamp up significantly.
So, to sum up, don't throw away those perfins. They are very collectible.
Chimo
Bujutsu
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11 Sep 2012
09:17:17pm
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
Chimo - you are so right. I have a Netherlands stamp with a perfin that I found in a five & dime bag when I was a kid. It's also syncopated which is what caught my eye back then & I put it in my album. About 12 years ago I was looking through the album & noticed the perfin so I asked a SOR friend from The Hague if he could tell me anything about it. He gave me a lot of information on it that thankfully I wrote down & the perfin turned a low-value stamp into something quite valuable. So now I'm careful when selling or trading to tell the person that there is a perfin in the lot & encourage them to look into it if they are interested because you never know what might turn up.
Kelly
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
11 Sep 2012
09:51:13pm
re: US: identification of perfin on #905
Much as there are collectors who choose postally used rather than mint, never in the same room as a hinge, and vice versa, per-fins and revenues are often ignored by "mainstream" collectors but treasured by those for whom such items have an appeal.
For more than ten years I traded every per-fin I came across with Mr Henrik Oor for Dutch and other nice postally used European stamps until my letter to him came back marked "Deceased."
I always thought that I got the better of the deal, but knew that he seemed to be equally thrilled with what I sent him. An excellent example of the old rubric about beauty being in the eye of the beholder.
As far as catalogs go, one whole chapter of the Complete Deegam Machin Handbook, the essential bible of Machin stamp enthusiasts lists every per-fin known to have been used on the ubiquitous Machin stamps.
Machins have been produced for forty-five years and easily there are 500 simple color varieties so the possibilities of per-fins on Machins seems almost endless.
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