The most valuable US stamps are a short list that every collector knows: the 1868 1 cent Z grill (Scott 85A, two known, about $3 million), the 1918 24 cent Inverted Jenny (Scott C3a, 100 exist, about $150,000-2 million each depending on position and condition), the 1867 15 cent Lincoln Z grill (85F, two known), the 1869 pictorial inverts (119b, 120b, 121b, about $25,000-500,000), the 1901 Pan-American inverts (294a, 295a, 296a, about $10,000-100,000), and a handful of rotary press and paper errors from the 1909 to 1923 period that run from $10,000 into six figures. Below them sit the stamps that are valuable and findable: the 1847 5 cent Franklin and 10 cent Washington, the dollar-value Columbians and Trans-Mississippis, the 1930 Graf Zeppelins. The honest news is that the stamp in your album is almost certainly not on the first list, because the owners of those stamps know what they have and the stamps are tracked by position. It might be on the second list. Most old US stamps, including most from the 1800s, are worth under $5, and this guide tells you how to spot the exceptions.
Quick answer
- The famous rarities are accounted for; a found Jenny or Z grill is a reproduction until an expertizing service says otherwise.
- Findable value: 1847 issue ($350-1,500 used), dollar Columbians and Trans-Mississippis ($400-4,000), 1869 pictorials ($15-500), Zeppelins ($200-900 each), early coils and bluish papers (expertized only).
- Mint sheets and commemoratives from 1935 onward are worth face value or less, as of late 2026.
The stamps at the top, and what they look like
| Stamp | Scott | What to look for | Known | Value, about |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cent Franklin Z grill, 1868 | 85A | Blue 1 cent Franklin of 1861 design with a Z grill: a pressed waffle pattern 11 by 14 mm with horizontal ridges on the points | 2 | $3,000,000 |
| 15 cent Lincoln Z grill, 1867 | 85F | Black 15 cent Lincoln with the same Z grill | 2 | $1,000,000-2,000,000 |
| Inverted Jenny, 1918 | C3a | 24 cent carmine frame, blue Curtiss JN-4 biplane printed upside down | 100 | $150,000-2,000,000 |
| 1869 15 cent Columbus invert | 119b | Brown frame, blue center vignette of the landing inverted | about 90 | $25,000-250,000 |
| 1869 24 cent Declaration invert | 120b | Green frame, violet center inverted | about 90 | $30,000-300,000 |
| 1869 30 cent Eagle and Shield invert | 121b | Blue frame, carmine flags inverted | about 40 | $50,000-500,000 |
| Pan-American 1 cent invert, 1901 | 294a | Green frame, black steamship center inverted | about 1,000 | $10,000-20,000 |
| Pan-American 2 cent invert, 1901 | 295a | Carmine frame, black train inverted | about 160 | $30,000-75,000 |
| Pan-American 4 cent invert, 1901 | 296a | Brown frame, black automobile inverted | about 200 | $20,000-100,000 |
| 1 cent Franklin rotary perf 11, 1923 | 596 | Green 1 cent, 19.25 by 22.5 mm, perforated 11 all round | about 15 | $100,000-200,000 |
| 2 cent Harding rotary perf 11, 1923 | 613 | Black 2 cent Harding, rotary size, perf 11 | under 50 | $30,000-60,000 |
| 5 cent carmine error, 1917 | 467, 485, 505 | A 5 cent Washington printed in the 2 cent red, found inside 2 cent sheets | thousands | $300-1,000 single; 485 imperf $10,000-15,000 |
| 1 dollar Rush Lamp invert, 1979 | 1610c | Brown candle flame inverted; the CIA invert | about 95 | $15,000-25,000 |
| 1851 1 cent Franklin Type I | 5 | Blue 1 cent with the full ornamental design complete at top and bottom, from one plate position only | about 90 | $50,000-100,000 |
The Jenny is the stamp people most often think they have found. All 100 are known by sheet position and the reproductions outnumber them by thousands. The 2013 souvenir sheet reissued the design at a $2 face value, so a Jenny marked $2 is modern; of those, the Postal Service deliberately printed 100 sheets with the plane upright, which sell for about $25,000-50,000. A 24 cent Jenny that was never inverted (Scott C3) is a common stamp worth about $40-100 mint.
The stamps you can actually find
Prices are what used and mint stamps in sound condition, with full perforations and no thins or tears, sell for as of late 2026. Faults cut the price by half or more. Centering, meaning how evenly the design sits inside the perforations, moves a stamp within the range and sometimes beyond it.
| Stamp | Scott | Used, about | Unused, about | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 cent Franklin, 1847 | 1 | $350-700 | $5,000-8,000 | Red-brown, imperforate; the first US stamp. The 1875 reprint has different shade and paper |
| 10 cent Washington, 1847 | 2 | $700-1,500 | $25,000-40,000 | Black, imperforate |
| 3 cent Washington, 1851-57 | 10, 11, 25, 26 | $3-30 | $20-200 | By far the most common 1850s stamp |
| 3 cent Washington, 1861 | 65 | $2-5 | $50-100 | Rose; the most common Civil War era stamp |
| 90 cent Washington, 1860 | 39 | $10,000 and up | $2,500-4,000 | Genuine used copies are rare; most cancels are faked |
| 90 cent Lincoln, 1869 | 122 | $1,500-2,500 | $5,000-10,000 | Carmine and black, the top of the pictorial set |
| 1869 pictorials, 1 cent through 12 cent | 112-117 | $15-500 | $100-2,000 | The 2 cent Post Horse and 3 cent Locomotive are common |
| 1 dollar Columbian, 1893 | 241 | $400-800 | $800-1,500 | Salmon color |
| 5 dollar Columbian, 1893 | 245 | $1,500-2,500 | $2,500-4,000 | Black, Columbus portrait |
| 1 dollar Trans-Mississippi, 1898 | 292 | $600-1,000 | $1,000-2,000 | Western Cattle in Storm, black |
| 2 dollar Trans-Mississippi, 1898 | 293 | $600-1,200 | $2,000-4,000 | Mississippi River Bridge, orange-brown |
| Washington-Franklin coils, 1908-1915 | 348-356, 385-396 | $20-5,000 | $50-10,000 | Faked by trimming sheet stamps; buy and sell expertized only |
| Bluish paper issues, 1909 | 357-366 | $100-5,000 | $150-5,000 | Grey-blue paper tone, visible from the back |
| Graf Zeppelins, 1930 | C13, C14, C15 | $150-700 each | $200-900 each | 65 cent green, 1.30 dollar brown, 2.60 dollar blue; set mint about $1,000-2,500 |
| Commemoratives, 1935 onward | various | under face | face or less | Sold by the pound; worth more as postage |
A 19th century album full of 3 cent Washingtons, Banknote issues and small Columbians has a few hundred dollars in it at most, while one sound 1847 stamp or a dollar-value Columbian in the same album is worth more than everything around it. Our guide to how to tell if a stamp is valuable explains the catalog, grading and faults side, and what an inherited stamp collection is worth covers whole collections and how dealers price them.
How to check a candidate, step by step
- Identify the design and the denomination. Match the portrait, frame and face value to a catalog image. The Scott catalog, at most libraries, is the standard and its numbers are what dealers use.
- Measure the perforations. A perforation gauge, about $5, counts the holes per 2 centimeters. The same design was often issued with different perforations in different years, and that is where the value differences live: a 1 cent Franklin perforated 11 is worth cents from the flat press and five figures from the rotary press.
- Measure the stamp. Rotary press stamps are stretched slightly in one direction compared with flat plate stamps of the same design: about 19 by 22.5 mm against 18.5 by 22 mm. A millimeter ruler and a steady hand separate them.
- Look for a watermark. Hold the stamp face down in a black tray with a few drops of watermark fluid. Stamps from 1895 to 1910 show a double-line USPS, from 1910 to 1916 a single-line USPS, and from 1916 onward nothing. A design that exists both watermarked and not can differ in value a hundredfold.
- Look for a grill. Hold an 1867 to 1871 stamp at an angle to the light. A grill is a small rectangle of embossed points pressed into the paper to help the cancel ink soak in. The size of the rectangle and the direction of the ridges on the points name the grill type, and the Z grill, 11 by 14 mm with horizontal ridges, is the one worth millions. The common F grill, 9 by 13 mm, is worth dollars.
- Check for reprints and reproductions. The 1875 reprints of the 1847 issue are on different paper with a different shade and were never valid for postage. Jenny reproductions are everywhere; most are printed on the wrong paper, with the wrong colors, or in the 2013 size. Official reproductions often carry a small printed word such as facsimile or reproduction along the edge.
- Check the cancel and the gum. Faked cancels, regummed backs and reperforated edges are common in the market. Original 19th century gum has a crackled look under magnification, and a cancel that sits on top of a tear was added after the damage.
- Send it out if it passes. Anything on the first table, and anything on the second over about $500, sells only with an opinion from an expertizing service.
How WorthPic reads stamp photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. Scan or photograph the stamp face up against a black background, then the back, and if you have a gauge, the gauge laid over the perforations, and it names the issue, the denomination and the likely Scott number, reads the color shade and the design type, counts the perforations when the gauge is visible, looks for a grill impression, a watermark showing through, the cancel style and any thins, tears or creases, and then gives an honest value range for that stamp in that condition, and says what moves it. Where the photo cannot show the deciding detail, which for the expensive varieties is usually the exact perforation, the watermark or the grill type, it says so and names the shot or the measurement that would settle it instead of guessing in your favor. It identifies and estimates. It never authenticates or vouches; a philatelic expertizing service, with the stamp in hand, is what settles anything worth hundreds of dollars or more.
Common mistakes
- Thinking a 1962 Hammarskjöld invert is valuable. The Post Office reprinted the error in the tens of millions on purpose. It is worth about 25 cents.
- Treating the 2013 Jenny sheet as a find. It is a $2 stamp on a souvenir sheet worth about $12 at face. Only the 100 upright-plane sheets are rare.
- Pricing mint sheets from the 1930s to 1990s at catalog. Dealers buy them at a discount to face value.
- Assuming a cancelled stamp is worth less than a mint one. For the 1847 issue and the 1860 90 cent, a genuine cancel is the whole value question, and for many 19th century stamps the used copy is the only affordable one.
- Trimming perforations off a stamp to make an imperforate or a coil. It fools no one with a gauge and ruins a stamp.
What to photograph
- The front, flat, against a black background, in daylight, with the camera straight above so the perforations are not foreshortened.
- The back, same setup, so thins, hinge remnants, gum and the watermark show.
- A perforation gauge laid along one edge with the stamp on it, if you have one.
- A millimeter ruler alongside the stamp for the rotary measurement.
- The stamp at a low angle to a lamp if you think it has a grill.
- The album page or envelope it came from, since a cover or a dated page sometimes settles the issue.
When to get it looked at in person
- An expertizing service such as the Philatelic Foundation, the American Philatelic Expertizing Service (run by the American Philatelic Society) or Professional Stamp Experts examines the stamp and issues a written opinion naming the Scott number, the genuineness and any faults. Fees start at about $30-60 and rise with the value; turnaround is weeks to months. No stamp on the first table above trades without one.
- A philatelic society meeting or a stamp show gives you a room of people who will look at a stamp for nothing and tell you honestly whether it is worth sending out.
- A specialist auction house for anything on the first table and for sound 1847s, dollar Columbians and Zeppelin sets, where the buyers who pay full prices are.
The same route applies to envelopes and cards, covered in whether old postcards are worth anything.