The Philatelic Foundation was granted a Charter by the University of the State of New York on March 16, 1945, as a Non-Profit Educational Institution. Since it’s inception, the Foundation has issued over 500,000 expertizing certificates and now averages 12,000-15,000 certificates annually. The Foundation has become renowned for their expertize, especially in the field of United States philately, with access to the foremost in technological advances and one of the best reference collections in the industry. That’s why renowned collectors rely on their stamps being certified by the Philatelic Foundation. For more information, please visit the History of the Philatelic Foundation.

The expertization process provides confidence in the identification, condition, quality, and genuineness of a philatelic item based on it being “reviewed” by a leading team of philatelic experts. This can have a significant impact on the potential value of an item.

Identification: Some stamps may look identical to one another – a common variety with a value of 5c and a rare variety with a value of many thousands. The difference may lie in the watermark, perforation or subtle design difference which is not instantly visible or noticeable.

Condition: This is a crucial aspect to collecting and a key indicator of value. Stamps can be plagued with a number of condition issues which effect the value to a collector. For instance, thins in the paper can occur over time – most often from collector error. The difference in value for the same stamp – one with condition issues and one completely sound – can be astronomical.

Genuineness: Over the years since production, stamps have been faked, forged and counterfeited. At times, this may be noticeable to a seasoned philatelist but may not be to trained eyes. The Philatelic Foundation can detect problems from outright fakes all the way to stamps that are genuine but have been altered.

Further in depth explanations and examples can be found on this page.

The Philatelic Foundation expertizes nearly everything related to stamps. This includes stamps from both the United States and abroad. This includes stamps of any form (singles, blocks, plate blocks, etc.) and stamps on documents including postal history (envelopes).

– Standard Service: Approximate turnaround 30-35 business days for US. Fee is 5.5% of submitted value with a minimum fee of $27.00 (maximum $1,000.00).
– Priority Service: Approximate turnaround 20 business days for US. Fee is 5.5% of submitted value + $10.00 per item with a minimum fee of $37.00 (maximum $1,000.00).
– Express Service: Approximate turnaround 15 business days for US. Fee is 5.5% of submitted value + $20.00 per item with a minimum fee of $47.00 (maximum $1,000.00).
– Covers (Envelopes): Approximate turnaround 30-35 days. Fee is 5.5% of submitted value with a minimum fee of $40.00 (maximum $1,000.00). Only US covers can be submitted for Priority or Express Service.

Foreign Stamps and Covers

– Standard Service: Approximate turnaround 30-35 business days. This may increase to 90-150 business for exceptionally difficult items. Fee is 5.5% of submitted value with a minimum fee of $35.00 (maximum of $1,000.00). This is with the exception of a) overprints (including those not found genuine) and b) used examples in which the value is in the cancellation in which the minimum fee will be $50.00. Unfortunately, there is no Priority or Express service with foreign stamps and covers.

The Philatelic Foundation is often asked to re-examine stamps and covers that have received prior certificates. Prior opinions may change for a variety of reasons including changes in technology, new research and scholarship, and the presence of new flaws (such as thins and creases) that were not present when the item was previously examined by our Expert Committee. In addition, the perceived importance of condition characteristics within the philatelic community (and the corresponding impact on value) has evolved over time, particularly in recent years. As such, older certificates focused primarily on genuineness with condition being of secondary importance.  Notwithstanding these factors, the number of stamps and covers that receive a new opinion that is less favorable than the prior opinion is small (approximately 1% of newly issued certificates) and, occasionally, a stamp or cover once thought to be fraudulent is determined to be genuine based on new information that was not available at the time of a prior submission. The Philatelic Foundation understands that overturning a prior opinion changes the potential market value of the item in question, and we therefore recognize the importance of the accuracy of our opinions.  Revisions to prior opinions are reviewed by a committee of our Trustees and the Executive Director, who also serves as the chairman of the Expert Committee, prior to being processed and finalized.

If you submit an item and is found to be either a forgery, counterfeit or simply misidentified, the Philatelic Foundation will adjust the cost of the submission. For forgery and counterfeits, the cost will be the minimum charge of $27.00. Misidentified stamps will be based on the value of the correctly identified stamp with the minimum charge being $27.00.

The application for submitting items can be found here.

– Standard Service: Offered for both United States and Worldwide items. Approximate turnaround time is 30-35 business days. The fee is 5.5% of the submitted value with the minimum being $27.00 and maximum of $1,000.00.

– Priority Service: Offered for only United States. Approximate turnaround time is 20 business days. The fee is 5.5% of the submitted value, plus $10.00 per item, with the minimum being $37.00 and maximum of $1,000.00.

– Express Service: Offered for only United States. Approximate turnaround time is 15 business days. The fee is 5.5% of the submitted value, plus $20.00 per item, with the minimum being $47.00 and maximum of $1,000.00.

– Covers: Offered for both United States and Worldwide items. Approximate turnaround time is 30-35 business days. The fee is 5.5% of the submitted value with the minimum being $40.00 and maximum of $1,000.00. Only United States covers can be submitted for Priority or Express Service (with additional fee).

Foreign Stamps and Covers

– Standard Service: Approximate turnaround 30-35 business days. This may increase to 90-150 business for exceptionally difficult items. Fee is 5.5% of submitted value with a minimum fee of $35.00 (maximum of $1,000.00). This is with the exception of a) overprints (including those not found genuine) and b) used examples in which the value is in the cancellation in which the minimum fee will be $50.00. Unfortunately, there is no Priority or Express service with foreign stamps and covers.

Other Services:

– Plating: When possible, requests for plating will incur an extra fee of $25.00.
– High Volume Discount Program: Discounts of up to 20% are available for high volume. Please contact the office directly for more information.
– Duplicate certificates: Offered at $6.00 each if they are requested at the same time as submission.

No. Please use the application for stamps or covers – whether it is a United States item or Worldwide. If you have more than 10 items, then you can use multiple forms.

If you are unsure of the correct Scott identification number, fill in what you believe it to be. Part of the expertizing process is to identify the correct number.

On the application form, it mentions “Value: Higher of Cat. Or Market”. This refers to items which have recently sold. For example, if you have a United States Scott #7 in used condition (catalog value is $150.00) but it recently sold due to it being Extremely Fine for $300.00, then the latter price should be used.

Grading is optional. It is a numerical grade which is assigned to a stamp based on it’s condition. The scale ranges from a minimum of 70 to a maximum grade of 100. Often times, grading can add significant value to a stamp dependent on factors including the market for that specific stamp and how many examples share the same grade. The numerical grade is heavily dependent on the centering of the stamp. The presence of faults and their severity will reduce the grade given to a stamp. Further information on grading can be found here.

Absolutely. As long as all the items are accompanied by application forms, all items can be sent at once. Alternatively, we allow applications and stamps to be dropped off in-person at our office at 341 West 38th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

For carbon copy applications, please do not remove any of the attached copies. Once the stamps are received and initially processed, you will receive a copy along with your submission number (what will become your certificate number).
For online printed applications, please download the application, enter the relevant details and print out two copies to send to the Philatelic Foundation.

With stamps, placing them in stiff stock cards and then in glassines work well. For covers, a plastic pouchette is sufficient. Adding additional stiffener when packing is always recommended. Please make sure not to tape stamps or covers directly to the application form. Please take care in safely packing your stamps and make sure they are easy to open for when they arrive at the Philatelic Foundation.

Terms and conditions can be found on the application form page here. Also, they are listed on the back of the application as well.

The process currently takes approximately 30-35 business days to expertize. Although, for specialized or unusual items, the process may take a bit longer. In keeping with the integrity that the Philatelic Foundation has become synonymous with, the Philatelic Foundation seeks to only issue the most accurate opinions possible. If you wish for an expedited process, please choose our Priority or Express Services offered (at an additional fee).

Here is a brief overview of what occurs. Once your items arrive at the Philatelic Foundation, they are recorded and assigned by the Office Manager and then given a unique identification number. This keeps your personal information confidential from expertizers and consultants. The items are then scanned and will be used on the final certificate as well as be placed in our reference files. After a worksheet is completed, the items go to the experts and visiting consultants who examine it carefully – each giving their individual opinion. For particularly challenging items, the PF will send out the item to the top experts on the subject for their opinion. The final opinion is then determined and printed on a certificate. It is then signed by the Chairman of the Expert Committee and returned to the owner.

The Philatelic Foundation has an in-house staff of philatelic experts who initially view your items and make their opinion. Additional opinions are sought by visiting consultants to our office. Items which need further research or are too specialized, may be sent out to the leading experts in that specific field of study.

Numerous state-of-the-art scientific equipment are available to the experts who examine your material. This helps them determine the genuineness of your stamp, the cancellation, perforations, paper thickness, size and color, among much more.

On a traditional note, the reference library contains a vast storehouse of information including notes, publications, and past certificates. This includes plenty of unique sources of information and even a repository of notes and research documents donated over the years by some of the leading philatelists of the past. Moreover, the reference collections contain many thousands of volumes of stamps and important auction catalogs – much of which is not limited to the United States but also to worldwide stamps.
This coupled by consulting the leading individuals in their fields of study, allow the Philatelic Foundation to provide the best possible opinion for your certificate.