Stock Market

Stamp collecting is a hobby that is enjoyed by young and old alike all over the world. It is very simple to start collecting stamps as all that is needed is a stamp album where stamps (Briefmarken) can be mounted with hinges or a stock book with clear plastic pockets.  Many people may first start collecting stamps as a child at school and build up quite a collection by swopping duplicate stamps with their friends. Stamp collecting is worldwide and many stamp dealers trade over the Internet. Stamp markets called “Bourses” are often set up in different regions at weekends and collectors also meet at stamp shows and regional exhibitions. Philipp von Ferrary a French man assembled probably the biggest worldwide collection of stamps ever with some very rare stamps including the Tre Skilling Yellow of Sweden and the Black on Magenta of British Guiana. Another very rare stamp the Inverted Jenny a postage stamp of the United States was sold at a Robert A Siegel auction for US $825,000 in November 2007. The Inverted Jenny was first issued in 1918 with the image of the Curtiss JN-4 airplane in the middle accidentally pictured up-side-down.  In October 2005 a block of four Inverted Jenny’s was sold by auction for US$2.7 million.

Very rare stamps are sold at stamp auctions (Briefmarkenauktion) on the stock market and attract a huge amount of interest from serious stamp collectors. Stamp auctions are very common with dealers sometimes doing business over the phone so as to remain anonymous. Rare stamps are often over a century old and can be found in postage systems in most countries. Share prices for rare stamps are always high and stamp collectors acquiring such stamps will keep their eye on the share price. Collectables are also sold at Stamp auctions and can fetch millions of pounds. Organizations are often advertised in stamp magazines and in most countries a national collectors’ organization can be found. The Internet has also made it easier to obtain information and stamps also stamp clubs with international membership are available on the web.