Help in solving an old family mystery

[kirispupis]

My apologies that this isn't coin related, but even though it covers a stamp, I hope everyone will enjoy the story and I also feel that the advice is the same were this an ancient coin. I also don't know any stamp people.

My grandfather on my mother's side was an avid collector of stamps. He also collected coins, too, though it mostly consisted of roughly ten eagles and double eagles that were beautiful to behold, but were passed on to another branch of the family where they were eventually sold to fund a gambling sickness. Moving on to the stamps, he focused mostly on US and Luxembourg issues, because both of his parents were born in Luxembourg and it is from him I have my citizenship there today.

Most of his collecting was accomplished in the 1950's and as a kid I too became interested in stamp collecting. He was a reticent man, but we bonded over stamps and I recall fondly lugging my album on our RV trips to a park near his place, where he'd show me his collection and I'd proudly display mine, then we'd trade a few stamps. He also gave me my first Scott catalogs, and until I was in my twenties and able to afford new catalogs, I relied on his beat up ones from 1942, which pushed me towards older stamps since I couldn't look up the newer ones.

When he approached the end of his life, he fought with Alzheimers and an unhappy marriage (my mother's mother died when my mother was seventeen). One day, my mother related that he'd confided in her concerning the fate of his stamp collection. He stressed that I should inherit it, but he was aware that his wife would liquidate everything after his death. He therefore told my mother in detail that he'd removed the pages containing his most valuable stamps and placed them haphazardly in a drawer. He told her exactly which drawer and how to find them. Lastly, he related that one of the stamps in those pages was very valuable - at the time worth $40,000 (~35 years ago). 

The day after he died, per his instructions my mother visited his home and, sure enough, his wife had sold every album. I still long for his wonderful Luxembourg album. However, she either never checked his desk or never thought the loose pages were worth anything, so my mother was able to take them. I have those pages today.

Now, I was obviously more than a little curious about the stamp, but the problem is I had no idea which one. I went through them with my 1942 Scott catalog, and later again with the newer catalog, but I was unable to discern the stamp in question. I did find one issue whose price depended wildly on the grill size. Were it one size, the stamp was worth tens of thousands. A different size merited I think $4. I measured and re-measured, and every conclusion came to $4.

It's been many years since I've tried to re-evaluate the stamps, but the truth is I haven't dabbled with stamps much in the last twenty years. Therefore, I feel I'm even less likely to identify the stamp than I was back then.

I don't feel comfortable taking the albums to a stamp dealer because I don't trust any of them. A few years ago I brought some stamps to sell at our local dealer and he was quite rude. If there is a stamp that's worth a significant amount, it would be trivial for him to replace it with a cheaper copy or even remove it. I'd have no idea of the switch.

There's also the premonition that my grandfather was mistaken. He went through his entire life believing he had such a valuable stamp, but it's very possible he measured the grill incorrectly. Maybe he never sold the stamp (he was far from wealthy but lived on low means) because deep down he knew that. Personally, I don't know what I'd do if the stamp were identified and deemed valuable. I'm doing fine financially, but I hardly ever look at my stamps. The ones I still have today I keep because they gave me great satisfaction as a kid and I couldn't bear to give them away for the low prices everyday stamps demand.

Therefore, I'm at a quandary on whether I should uncover the truth or live on with the mystery, and if I should pursue the truth, how could I find it?

So, what would you do?

• Would you make an effort to discover the truth?
• If so, how?

[ominus1]

2 minutes ago, kirispupis said:

if I should pursue the truth, how could I find it?

 

[CPK]

Hmm that is a good question. Thanks for sharing the story too, sounds like you had a good relationship with your grandfather.

If I were in your place, I would try to find out which, if any, of the stamps is the valuable one. If you don't trust any dealers, perhaps you could do what many do in this hobby - post the question on a good, respectable stamp forum? There wouldn't be the risk of getting ripped off by a dealer, and there would be much less incentive for hobbyists to downplay or deceive if you actually had a stamp worth that much.

[Mucius Scaevola]

Nice to see some luxembourgish fellow here! As CPK said, you can post all of them in a stamps forum and tell your story. They for sure will help, but of course don't answer to buying requests. Or you take them to a good auction house and ask them to evaluate the stamps. It will cost something, but if your dad was right, it would be worth it.

[mcwyler]

I think the idea of getting a valuation from a reputable auction house is a good one. Otherwise it will be nagging away at the back of your mind for ever! Of course, they could miss it too, it may be the perforation guage but could be a shade, watermark  or some kind of error, something missing etc. Good story.

[Ryro]

Great story and thanks for sharing it!

A couple good ideas already. I would recommend starting with finding a stamp collecting forum, that way it's easy and nothing or of pocket. Then if you get a lead it might be worth utilizing a reputable auction house.

All that said, old men love to tell stories. I bet you're probably correct that he was mistaken about the size. But I hope that we're wrong and you've got a million dollar stamp to sell off and buy more coins from the time of Alexander!

[mcwyler]

One of them didn't have a picture of an old aeroplane flying upside down, by any chance? 🙂😀