Rare stamps are an accepted alternative investment
- Proven appreciation over many decades for rare stamps from throughout the world.
- The rate of return for premium stamps over the last 40 years (annual 10.1%) has out-performed stocks, real estate, and nearly all other assets; the rarest of stamps have done even better, according to several independent surveys.
- The world auction market provides a degree of liquidity when selling and confidentiality in buying, with inherent or explicit guarantees for authenticity and condition.
- A global renaissance for premium tangible assets, especially those seen as among “the best of the best.”
- Potential for price enhancement through research and promotion, which can lead to increased demand for specific items in the global marketplace.
- Increasing affluence among the top stamp collectors, coupled with “local scarcity” (i.e. unequal dispersal) of specific philatelic items, leading to intense competition when an important item is promoted and offered widely.
- Rare stamps can be considered the last “bearer bonds,” easily stored and transported through frontiers in troubled times (as proven from World War II onwards), invisible to metal detectors and nearly weightless.
- Extremely limited supply of scarce and rare items, which means a fund could control key stamps from every corner of the world and take advantage of cycles in popularity and demand.
- Alternative investments have become increasingly popular over the last few years as confidence in traditional markets and instruments have been hit by both the down-turn in the economy and a reduction in fixed income returns.
But what is a rare Stamp?
Since the first adhesive postage stamp was issued in 1840, hundreds of thousands of different postage stamps have been released around the world. The vast majority of these have a nominal value of less than $1 each, and about 95% can be obtained for less than a maximum of $100 each. When we write about “Rare stamps” we are concentrating on an entirely different class of material .
“Rarities” by definition are stamps (including those used on original letters where the usage, i.e. rate, origin or destination may be an additional “plus”) which exist in extremely limited quantities, from one to perhaps 100 examples, and are usually considered the most important issues of their respective countries. While most have a steady and solid “track record,” some true rarities are less well known and may benefit from further promotion, including publication in scholarly journals, extensive advertising, exhibition in “Courts of Honor” at major exhibitions, etc. which all serve to increase public recognition and awareness and thereby potentially increase demand and price.
David Feldman has a track record of forty years of successful and profitable trading, limited only by the company’s financial resources available at any given time. Upon instruction from an investor, David Feldman can both provide guidance on, and if desired, purchase virtually any philatelic property that it considers profitable at an acceptable level of risk (based on its current and past experience).