A Little History

Today, as in the past, the argument of which is better to collect, mint unhinged or used, seems to never end. I still remember the '80s, when speculators invaded the collectible fields. And I am talking about any collectible including stamps. Investors had a lot of money and were looking to make profits and for reasons that I now forget, turned to collectibles. I still remember stamp dealers selling and creating "portfolios" of pristine mint, mostly news issues. Almost all of these were eagerly bought by investors who knew nothing of real stamp collecting and they didn't care. All they wanted was a return on their money. Well, just as in the recent real estate bubble, stamp prices rose rapidly and caused a lot of regular collectors to quit in disgust. I was one of them. As it turned out in the long run, most of the investors didn't make a lot of money as the bubble eventually burst. They always do. I see something similar now in the effort to "grade" and "certify" stamps. Don't fall for it. It is just designed to drive prices up. Stick to the good used stamps, study them and enjoy them, not to mention that they are a lot easier to handle than mint unhinged.

I collect for the fun of it. I collect MNH because I love them. I collect even damaged stamps. However I see no reason not to hope they become an investment someday.

If I had the money history has shown buying one of the top 100 stamps will certainly bring you a better return in the future. Now what I'm not going to say is if it would be 2 or 50 percent.

So in fact graded stamps hold a special place for collectors and will last far longer than my poor body walks the earth.

But for me simple low cost MNH and used stamps will always be my collection. But I'm certainly not going to knock those that enjoy the better quality of stamps.

Everything I collect is used, save for mint NH Americana Series plate blocks.

In some cases, like the small British Colonies I collect (of the KGVI reign), the postally used material is harder to get than that which is mint!

David

Well Said guys And thanks for the history lesson npfw70.

I prefer used because I find it give the stamps history and character. But I do have some mint of the ones I don't have used. If I do ever get used one I simply replace and use the mint for postage or if it's from another country I send it to a friend who can use it.

Dianne

Thanks for the comments everyone. I guess the point I wanted to make is that enjoyment of this king of hobbies ought to be the main consideration, not monetary gain. There is nothing wrong with the value of your stamps increasing in time, but if you only buy stamps that you think have a financial potential then you are missing out on an awful lot of stamps. I have discovered that cheap stamps are just as well designed, just as attractive and well printed as the more expensive rarities, so I don't want to exclude any of them when collecting.
npfw....

Thanks for the lesson. I myself as much as possible collect used stamps and rarely collect the prestine new ones unless it is part of a set etc...