Stamp Prices 1972

At our recent club meeting one of the members brought in a crate of old stamp literature for people to pick from..being a history buff I took a 1972 copy of the American Philatelist...i like to look at the stamp prices from back in the day...theres an ad from Frank Warner..."one of the most complete stocks of the world-in the world" Hardly ever offered! I will put his price and the current scott catalog values....Columbia 421-436...price 545.00..current scott catalog $1350....Egypt 177-190 price 115.00 scott cat 552.00 ..heres probably the best..Iceland 140-143 price 145.00 current scott $900 !for catalog values I used the mint values..he does not specify but I imagine hes talking mint !!

I have a 27th edition of the Stanley Gibbons (established 1856) catalogue 1917. In that is has the following...

1840 penny black reconstructed plate of 240 stamps... £20 used.

These values need a historical context: In 1970 I was working in a factory for $1.65 and hour. That includes a $0.10 per hour shift differential for working second shift. If you look at it relative to that we may be getting some bargains nowdays!

Karen

Checkout the US Inflation Calculator and you will see that 2 out of 3 of those prices from 1972 didn't even keep up with inflation. For example:

Columbia 421-426
1972 value: $ 545
2012 value: $1350
Value of 1972's $545 in 2012 = $2991.

Egypt 177-190
1972 value: $115
2012 value: $552
Value of 1972's $115 in 2012 = $631

Iceland 140-143
1972 value: $145
2012 value: $900
Value of 1972's $145 in 2012 = $796

Even considering the $104 "profit" that the Iceland example would have in 2012 (when adjusted for inflation) one must also consider that there are better vehicles in which to gain that kind of interest over 40 years (less than 2% per annum). Further, the 1972 stamp prices were likely based on a lesser condition than in 2012 that typically use valuations in VF condition. Finally, one must consider that the 1972 ad was for material that even back then had a higher catalog value than the offer shown in the ad, all of which would affect the numbers.

Indeed!

Here's a random thought on prices.

Does anyone watch "Antiques Roadshow"? I know there's a UK version of it, but not sure about Australia or elsewhere.

Anyways, I frequently watch it and am often amazed at how relatively little items have appreciated over the years (as a matter of percentage). 19th century silver, furniture, or decor that may have cost hundreds of dollars in their day are now worth 10, 20, or 30 times the original price and more!

But take $1 from any of those items and strategically purchase a single, uncommon stamp and you would have gained 1000, 5000, even 10,000 times the original price!

Take $1 and purchase a block of a common definitive from that era (let's say US # 26 as an example). Your dollar would have purchased 33 stamps. 33 mint singles are worth roughly $2500 today ... 2500x the original investment!

My point? None, really except to say I love stamp collecting as both a hobby and as an investment into future generations of the Rileysan clan.

I wouldn't trade it for any other hobby ...

Brian

Oh how I wish I could buy that re-constructed sheet of Penny Blacks for 20 Pounds lol

Chimo

Bujutsu

But why are we talking interest like its a Certificate of Deposit ? I can understand the inflation point...

Darn right, philb! The 'interest' comes in the enjoyment collectors have had with those stamps over the years!

K

Stamps (and most collectibles) provide a ROTTEN rate of return. Enjoy stamp collecting, but don't expect to make money, or even break even with it!

So much is a matter of good luck, or good foresight. If you'd been buying Chinese new issues, as they came out, for some years up to and after 1970, you'd be doing very nicely now.

The Indian States that I collect are starting to move, too. Prices in 2000 would barely have kept pace with inflation since the 1970s, but over the last 10 or 12 years, they've started to take off. I liked these comments in the latest issue of the house journal by the George VI specialist dealers in the UK, Murray Paine:

'When my grandfather collected, he had no interest in the Indian States, which were regarded as 'fringe' items at best. My father held the same views. It was the rise of the printed album, with a space for every stamp issued during the reign, which began to fuel demand for these issues; now there is a growing demand from India itself, mostly for Indian stamps proper but this demand must inevitably spill over into the States material as the market becomes more sophisticated. The Convention States are relatively straightforward (unless you collect used - beware of 'bargains' in this field, which are invariably provided with faked cancels), but the Feudatory States are complex, fascinating and fraught with complications. One caveat; if you collect this area you must buy only from reputable sources, or you can lose a fortune - we have seen it happen. You must be prepared to spend money on Expertising fees, unless you know more about the subject than the dealer/auction house from whom you are buying. You have also to cultivate patience - some of this material is available so rarely that when it does appear on the market, catalogue price can go out of the window.'

Back in 1972 there was still a stamp shop on every street corner!

You could cash in your Australian mint stamps at face value at the Post Office.

Tonymacg it amazes me the prices asked for covers...i have a friend who scours the world for mail from small prisoner of war camps and he can pick up what he needs for a hundred dollars or so....and yet when I look at excuse the expression ebay I see common Argentina covers from the turn of the century that I would pay a dollar or two dollars for and they are asking $150 ! I guess you have to go to the right source and forget about the junk !!

Philb, I think collecting on cover has been one of the big growth areas since 1972. It's still rather patchy, though: a country by country, case by case, proposition. I know that, here in Australia, collecting relatively recent (1960s to 1980s) issues on cover is very popular, and some items command hair-curling prices. Yet, a century ago and more, Sir David Masson, a banker in India, was accumulating covers of Jammu & Kashmir - so effectively that, even today, many of them are relatively common, at least given their exotic nature. (You can get run-of-the-mill covers from the 1890s for $10-$20. That from a 'country' with a population at the time of a million or so.)

tony, I understand...look at our USA first day covers from the 1950's you can get them now for less than the cachet envelope cost a collector back then !!

I don't know how things are over there, but in Australia, it's rare indeed to receive a non-philatelic letter with a current commemorative on it. Even rarer to find it properly cancelled. I certainly save the odd one that comes my way, for posterity. FDCs, on the other hand ...