Betsy & Chuck: What Are My Seals Worth?

1. Quick Rule of Thumb: Christmas Seals issued by the American Lung Association and its predecessor organizations break into three groups with sharp price breaks in between.
A. 1927 to now:
1. Single seals - almost worthless

2. Full sheets - a few cents each, but a few are worth $1.00 or more

B. 1917 to 1926:

1. Single seals - you can sell these for a little bit if they're in nice condition

2. Full sheets - you can sell these $5.00 to $20.00 each

C. 1907 to 1916:

1. Single seals - you can sell these for $1.00 to $10.00 each

2. Full sheets - Except for 1909, these are definitely a big deal!



2. Exceptions: The list above should give you a general idea what your seals are worth. If you want to get a more accurate estimate, here are some of the exceptions you'll want to learn more about:

• Condition: Seals which have no gum or are stuck together, badly separated sheets, and older seals with straight edges or which are printed badly off center are worth a lot less.
• Printers: If you look near the center of most sheets, there's one seal which includes a tiny letter which indicates who printed the sheet. As many as eight different printers were used in some years, and some of them are scarce.
• Test Designs: Since 1979, the American Lung Association has test marketed a few designs each year to determine the design of the national seal for the following year. If you were lucky enough to be involved in one of the early tests, you might have seals worth a few dollars or even several dollars rather than a few cents per sheet.
• Spring/Summer Seals: Non-Christmas fund-raising seals issued by the ALA (and usually including the double-barred cross) have been around since 1987. Like the test designs, some of these are scarce.
• "Tied-ons": Some collectors save seals which were near the top right corner of cards or envelopes and happened to get "tied" by the cancellation. Please don't tear or soak them off! Those from the late 1920's and early 1930's, and of course the earliest years, are worth several dollars apiece. So are some tied-on Test Designs and Spring/Summer seals.
1. How Can I Learn More? If your seals might be worth enough to bother with :

    

   • Get our Price List. Look at our On-Line Price List .
   • Send us your seals. No matter what kinds of Christmas Seals (or other kinds of seals ) you have, if you just want to get rid of them and have enough to be worth bothering with (say, 10 or more full sheets or 1927 or later, or several older seals), simply mail them to us. We'll pay you at least your postage costs, and send you a bonus if we discover anything good. To minimize shipping costs:
     • Priority Mail is only $3.95 for up to 2 pounds, which works out to less than First Class for a fat envelope.
     • Parcel Post (maybe "Printed Matter" - talk to the people at your post office) is best for larger cartons.
     • UPS (United Parcel Service) is also a good bet for large packages.
   
   
2. What if my seals aren't worth anything?
Even if they're not worth enough to bother getting the cash value out of them, please don't throw them away! They still have entertainment and aesthetic value to someone:

Save them and use them for arts and crafts, or dress up next year's Christmas Cards.

Give them to someone else interested in collecting them.

Or keep them and start collecting them yourself . . . if you tell your friends, neighbors, and relatives that you're starting a collection, they'll probably give you those they have tucked away with their wrapping paper.

3. Other Questions? Send us an e-mail message BetsyChuck@att.net

4. See Also

   • Our Price List
   • Information on Other Types of Seals
   • So You Inherited a Stamp Collection
   • Back to Top
   • Back to Christmas Seals