Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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i don't know of any catalogue listing town cancel values.
When offering these, I'd do precisely as you just did and ID its history, including census at the time the cancel was affixed. Kansas and/or Elm City collectors will pay some premium.
I often include the census information in my offerings (I did in a few that i've got listed); if there's interest in the place, I'll get a bid.
Good luck.
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Elm City, Labette County Ks. (1886-1907) DPO. I collected Neb. & Ks. Post marks I would have paid $10-$25 for just the post mark. It would bring more for the cover hard to find.
Keep on Stamping
Richard
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03:10:51pm
I think there are many people who collect postmarks, especially if they are rare and from the area they were born or lived. I collect postmarks from Queen's County, Nova Scotia. Some are rare and very hard to find and I have saved searches on E-Bay for the ones I am missing. I would pay a fair bit for the rarer ones. I would say there are probably people searching for Elm City Kansas but this is probably too small a venue. You probably need to put them on E-bay or possibly in some other larger venue if you don't get an offer from here. As to what to charge, since there is no book to check, you just have to judge the rarity and make an educated guess! Good luck!!
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The town is rated in Helbock as an RF5 (out of 9 with 9 being scarcest)
Value of postal history is usually dependent on the number of active collectors at the time of sale. I have an old manuscript cancel on a ladies cover for a town where the post office existed for only 5 years (1854-1859). It is rated an RF8 by Helbock. Population figures are unavailable as it was merely a place name for the hollow where someone built a Methodist Church and managed to open a Post Office - it was within a larger township which had its own Post Office.
My set of Helbock's is old - but as a point of reference it lists the price range for RF8 at $200 to $500 , It lists an RF5 at $25 to $50- in line with rwillis29's comment.
When I checked it out a well known WNY cover dealer had an an almost identical cover priced at $375. I last checked it a few years ago and the price had dropped to $75. If no one is actively looking for a particular town cancel it remains in inventory regardless pf scarcity - no one cares.
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Can't believe I've never heard of the Helbock reference work. If anyone has a volume with Florida and Tennessee I'd love to ask a couple questions. I'm assuming these are way out of print and hard to come by.
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I need that too!
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OK - Ebay and Abe Books are your friends here along with many philatelic literature dealers.
Abe currently gets 17 hits on "Helbock United States Post Offices" and I think 90 hits on just "Helbock" - a lot of which are articles in LaPosta (Frajola's magazine).
Ebay has 552 hits on Helbock - use the drill down on the left to get to Stamos and go from there - most are covers quoting rarity or scarcity factors (SF). He has a catalog of Doane cancels and other cool stuff and his books are affordable for philatelic material.
I remember when the serious buyers at shows would come along with a bag filled with his original little books published by state. You will come across some of those on Ebay as well.
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Webpaper,
Yep, i did that too. Searched "Helbcok" and saw a bunch of really nice covers with a Holbock "R rating". I tried to sort by books or literature. I'm interested in obsolete Duval County postmarks. Theres quite a few.
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Webpaper:
"Abe currently gets 17 hits on "Helbock United States Post Offices" and I think 90 hits on just "Helbock" - a lot of which are articles in LaPosta (Frajola's magazine).
"
The LaPosta Journal is not a Frajola magazine.
The current editor of LaPosta is Pete Martin. He purchased the rights to publish the journal several years after Richard Helbock's passing.
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Thanks MikeL - my memory has a mind of its own at times and neither of them are foolproof.
I had Frajola on my mind as I have a couple of covers I need to query on his website. My go to historian passed away a couple of years back and I've been procrastinating.
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09:14:53am
I have some Elm City Kansas 1899 postmark covers . Looking for an value for this town.Elm City, a hamlet of Labette county, is located on the Missouri Pacific R. R. in Elm Grove township, 13 miles southwest of Oswego, the county seat, and about 2 miles east of Edna, from which place it receives mail daily. The population in 1910 was 77. The town was founded by Jesse Edmundson soon after the railroad was built in 1886. The first building erected was occupied by Wilson & Vanbibber, the first merchants. This is a grain shipping point.Elm City is now a ghost town.
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re: Elm City Kansas Post Mark Value
i don't know of any catalogue listing town cancel values.
When offering these, I'd do precisely as you just did and ID its history, including census at the time the cancel was affixed. Kansas and/or Elm City collectors will pay some premium.
I often include the census information in my offerings (I did in a few that i've got listed); if there's interest in the place, I'll get a bid.
Good luck.
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re: Elm City Kansas Post Mark Value
Elm City, Labette County Ks. (1886-1907) DPO. I collected Neb. & Ks. Post marks I would have paid $10-$25 for just the post mark. It would bring more for the cover hard to find.
Keep on Stamping
Richard
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Back when I had a bunch! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
10 Sep 2025
03:10:51pm
re: Elm City Kansas Post Mark Value
I think there are many people who collect postmarks, especially if they are rare and from the area they were born or lived. I collect postmarks from Queen's County, Nova Scotia. Some are rare and very hard to find and I have saved searches on E-Bay for the ones I am missing. I would pay a fair bit for the rarer ones. I would say there are probably people searching for Elm City Kansas but this is probably too small a venue. You probably need to put them on E-bay or possibly in some other larger venue if you don't get an offer from here. As to what to charge, since there is no book to check, you just have to judge the rarity and make an educated guess! Good luck!!
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03:31:08pm
re: Elm City Kansas Post Mark Value
The town is rated in Helbock as an RF5 (out of 9 with 9 being scarcest)
Value of postal history is usually dependent on the number of active collectors at the time of sale. I have an old manuscript cancel on a ladies cover for a town where the post office existed for only 5 years (1854-1859). It is rated an RF8 by Helbock. Population figures are unavailable as it was merely a place name for the hollow where someone built a Methodist Church and managed to open a Post Office - it was within a larger township which had its own Post Office.
My set of Helbock's is old - but as a point of reference it lists the price range for RF8 at $200 to $500 , It lists an RF5 at $25 to $50- in line with rwillis29's comment.
When I checked it out a well known WNY cover dealer had an an almost identical cover priced at $375. I last checked it a few years ago and the price had dropped to $75. If no one is actively looking for a particular town cancel it remains in inventory regardless pf scarcity - no one cares.
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re: Elm City Kansas Post Mark Value
Can't believe I've never heard of the Helbock reference work. If anyone has a volume with Florida and Tennessee I'd love to ask a couple questions. I'm assuming these are way out of print and hard to come by.
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re: Elm City Kansas Post Mark Value
I need that too!
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07:19:56pm
re: Elm City Kansas Post Mark Value
OK - Ebay and Abe Books are your friends here along with many philatelic literature dealers.
Abe currently gets 17 hits on "Helbock United States Post Offices" and I think 90 hits on just "Helbock" - a lot of which are articles in LaPosta (Frajola's magazine).
Ebay has 552 hits on Helbock - use the drill down on the left to get to Stamos and go from there - most are covers quoting rarity or scarcity factors (SF). He has a catalog of Doane cancels and other cool stuff and his books are affordable for philatelic material.
I remember when the serious buyers at shows would come along with a bag filled with his original little books published by state. You will come across some of those on Ebay as well.
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this post
re: Elm City Kansas Post Mark Value
Webpaper,
Yep, i did that too. Searched "Helbcok" and saw a bunch of really nice covers with a Holbock "R rating". I tried to sort by books or literature. I'm interested in obsolete Duval County postmarks. Theres quite a few.
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re: Elm City Kansas Post Mark Value
Webpaper:
"Abe currently gets 17 hits on "Helbock United States Post Offices" and I think 90 hits on just "Helbock" - a lot of which are articles in LaPosta (Frajola's magazine).
"
The LaPosta Journal is not a Frajola magazine.
The current editor of LaPosta is Pete Martin. He purchased the rights to publish the journal several years after Richard Helbock's passing.
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09:42:04pm
re: Elm City Kansas Post Mark Value
Thanks MikeL - my memory has a mind of its own at times and neither of them are foolproof.
I had Frajola on my mind as I have a couple of covers I need to query on his website. My go to historian passed away a couple of years back and I've been procrastinating.
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