Japanese National Park Souvenir sets 1938-1941

[Marcoramius]

The family stamp collection which was started by my great grandfather, eventually passed down to my mother and now me just so happens to contain (7) mint condition Japanese National Park souvenir sets each complete with accompanying folder and glassine sheets. The Scott #'s are as follows:

Nikko#283a
Daisen #288a
D'aso #293a
Daisetsuzan #306a
Kirishima #311a
Niitaka #318a
Tugitaka #323a

All are enclosed in an American President Lines S.S. President Cleveland U.S.T.P. Sea Post cancelled envelope addressed to my great uncle. Cancellation date is May 30, 1941.

While the value of the souvenir sheets themselves total around $1000.00 (per 2003 Scott catalogue) how much more could they be worth because they have the accompanying folders and glassine sheets? The Scott catalog says "values are for sheets without folders". Does the sea post cancelled envelope add any value? What about an added value due to the fact that I have all of these sets?

I have no intention of selling and plan on eventually passing these, along with the rest of my stamp collection, down to my kids. My mother and I had a lot of good times sorting through and combining multiple stamp albums and a few boxes of other stamps back when I was a teenager. I have just always wondered about overall value.

Thanks for any information that you could give me on this matter.

 

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[Mackaydon]

Marco,
Welcome to Treasure Net !!
While the value per Scott's catalog may have been accurate in 2003, my gut feeling is the value of your holdings have decreased due to the reduction in the number of those who still collect (buy) stamps and the simultaneous decrease in the number of new collectors coming into the hobby--unfortunately.
Stamp collecting seems to be going the way of other hobbies--no longer in favor--trumped by video games, etc. Notwithstanding, I hope your collection is one exception to my perception.
Don......

 

[david680]

2010 Scott catalog on these is $1350 as NH without folders. I have no idea what value the folders would add. That price assumes pretty pristine condition, and truthfully, requires the right buyer. If pristine and you went to a dealer expect to get 10-30% of book (probably lower end), and if you put them on eBay at $1 starting bid, expect about the same. Catalog price on stamps tends to be set by the big stamp companies and name dealers, and most of the material can be regularly bought at auction for 25% or less.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I tend to agree with Don. But if those sets held such great value still, maybe I need to go back and find the multiple same sets I have. At that price let's just say "They ain't pretty enough to me to keep!"

They'd add to my metal detecting arsenal and equipment!

Edit: I didn't mean to be negative in my response here. I'm just very disappointed in the decline of the stamp collecting hobby. Makes a person think in terms of "getting while the getting is good".

And Marco, thank you for joining the group - I would like to see you more active on Treasurenet, there's too few of us here.

 

[diggummup]

I'm not a collector really but I have picked up some stamps, covers and cancellations over the years, picking at estate sales and such. I haven't found a full set for sale anywhere recently. You can search ebay's sold items using the Scott numbers to get a value of each sheet individually. For example- Scott #306a | eBay I have a similar souvenir set that all has these stamps in it, along with the 4 Fuji-Hakone stamps that were first issued in 1936 and reissued again later during the war. Mine is from the Japan Stamp Club Nagoya and they are hinged in a booklet with protective paper inserted between each page. I would imagine the hinged (later issue stamp club) sets that were issued would be worth less value. I can't find a photo of my set anywhere but the Smithsonian does have an example mentioned here- Japan national park stamp series (complete set) | Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution
I also found this from 2014 regarding the Japan National Park series- Supply and demand affect values of Japan?s 20th century issues

From 1939 to 1941, sets of four stamps commemorating national parks were issued, and each set was also offered in the form of a souvenir sheet. The releases of these were quite limited.
With the economy revving up for the Asian war, stamp collecting was on the back burner. How many very fine souvenir sheets could have survived the war for future generations?

The first two souvenir sheets commemorate Nikko National Park (Scott 283a) and Daisen and Inland Sea National Parks (288a) and are less costly than the others that follow.

The Aso National Park souvenir sheet (Scott 293a) has a catalog value of $85 unused and $140 mint never hinged, and was printed in a quantity of 60,000.

The Daisetsuzan National Park souvenir sheet (Scott 306a) is valued at $190 unused and $350 mint, and 42,000 were printed.

The Kirishima National Park souvenir sheet (Scott 311a) is listed at $175 unused and $325 mint, and 50,000 were printed.

The souvenir sheet for Daiton and Niitaka-Arisan National Parks (Scott 318a) was issued in a quantity of 76,000, and the value is somewhat less, at $80 hinged and $175 mint.

The same quantity was printed for the Tsugitaka-Taroko National Park souvenir sheet (Scott 323a), the final issue in the series, and the values are the same as well: $80 hinged and $175 mint.

Each sheet was issued with a descriptive folder and thin interleaving. In spite of this protection, some souvenir sheets have picked up tone spots or dryish gum. It is beneficial to collect a National Park sheet with the folder.

To mark the 75th anniversary of government postal service, a souvenir sheet of four stamps was issued in 1946, with two distinct printings (Scott 378a). On the more common variety, the ink lies flatter, as the Scott standard catalog explains in a note following the catalog listing.

Though 51,000 souvenir sheets were printed, no more than 2,000 with the high relief inscriptions (raised printing) were created, and those issues, therefore, are valued much higher, at $800, as opposed to $160 for the more common low-relief variety.

Never purchase a 1946 Government Postal Service souvenir sheet represented as the elusive variety unless it is expertized.

During the late 1940s, quite a few souvenir sheets were issued. Traveling stamp exhibitions were commemorated with souvenir sheets, or overprinting applied to previously issued sheets.

 

[david680]

I tend to agree with Don. But if those sets held such great value still, maybe I need to go back and find the multiple same sets I have. At that price let's just say "They ain't pretty enough to me to keep!"

They'd add to my metal detecting arsenal and equipment!

Edit: I didn't mean to be negative in my response here. I'm just very disappointed in the decline of the stamp collecting hobby. Makes a person think in terms of "getting while the getting is good".

And Marco, thank you for joining the group - I would like to see you more active on Treasurenet, there's too few of us here.

Well,stamp collecting is definitely not in its golden day there still seems to be plenty of activity. Granted it seems to me the much of the interest is in China and the former Eastern bloc countries. It definitely goes around in cycles.

 

[Marcoramius]

Well, thanks for the responses. I am not an active stamp collector anymore but every couple of years I take them out the large tub and peruse the collection. The Japanese souvenir sets are in pristine, never hinged, mint condition. I seem to remember one of the glassine sheets having a fold in one of the corners but beyond that, they're in perfect shape. Maybe one of these days I will take a few pictures and post up...