Letters from 1892. Are they worth anything?

[Scorpio_queen6]

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me if these are worth anything? There are so many and idk anything about them. New to stamps .

Thanks!

 

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[GoDeep]

The stamps themselves are common, what may be collectible is if the cancellations are from small rural post offices that no longer exist. Are any from Minnesota?

 

[Mackaydon]

Like "Go Deep" mentioned, most are common stamps but the ten cent stamp on the Darlington PO envelope is worth a few bucks.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Sco...j0i22i30l2.9012j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
What I also like are the decorative designs on some of the sender's envelopes.
Don.......

 

[NJearthman]

What amazes me is that most of them don’t have street addresses on the envelope.

 

[Mackaydon]

For the most part, the monetary value of stamps today is a fraction of what they were worth in the 1950s. Today, I find a greater value may be found in the history of the stamp or the history on the envelop. IMO, the value of this collection centers around the law firm of Crane and Anderson. Here is the history of Anderson and when he partnered and split from Crane.
https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4588&context=ilj
Don...

 

[Catweazle]

I agree; that's what they call "postal history"! Sometimes the story behind a collection with multiple items like this is fascinating in itself and perhaps they ought to be kept together if that's the case. Have you been able to find out anything more about the senders, recipients or postmarks? I'm sure they have a story to tell!

Sometimes, if the recipient was well known in a small town (think doctors, lawyers, etc), the postmaster likely knew many of them anyway and was easily able to direct it. How times have changed. Nowadays we have very large street numbers and multiple people with the same, or similar, names!