I suppose the word "scam" is a bit harsh, but both philatically and numismatically, the 1970s and 1980s appears to have been the heyday for overpriced collector garbage... aesthetically beautiful material with no intrinsic value whatsoever, sold at ginormous premiums, frequently on a subscription basis.
The coin and stamp markets were at their peak. First day cover subscription clubs were flourishing, as were a myriad of "commemorative societies".
I frequently run across gold embossed vinyl binders and folders of stamps, covers, coins, and medals in bulk lots I purchase or evaluate.
"Gold plated" stamps on first-day covers, sold at $4-10 per cover (plus inflated shipping and handling), now worth perhaps 20-50 cents each on the secondary market... how did that "investment" work out even before time and inflation are factored in?
Well, I've come across some that at least in terms of a per-unit cost, take the cake. Large format first day covers from the United Kingdom from 1978 and 1980 featuring UK's souvenir sheets.
A multi-carton lot of covers I purchased had 2 binders of these. I'm guessing some entrepreneur wannabe bought these at "wholesale" rates of $10-20 per cover (which in the late 1970s was a large amount of money) given the claimed values and went about reselling them.
And based on what was in the binders, people actually bought these at $40+ per cover.
Now, in all fairness, these are some of the most attractive large-format FDCs I have seen. Based on pure aesthetics, these are wonderful, featuring both the souvenir sheet and singles of the stamps on the same cover.
I have been unable to find examples of either cover offered on
ebay, either current or completed auctions. There were a lot of private offerings of this sort of stuff.
Gotta love the puffery accompanying each sheet (and yes, every page in the binder has the sales schtick enclosed with each cover).
First, UK's first miniateure sheet issued in 1978, promoting the 1980 London International Stamp Exhibition. Accompanying text:
Quote:
The most important investment opprtunity in many years..... the first Souvenir Sheet of Great Britain is rising daily and already twelve times the opening price. This remarkable double First Day Cover with the Architect stamps cancelled First Day Britain's Royal Heritage and the Sheet First Day at the Stampex Silver Jubilee Exhibition Combination..... only one hundred are available in the United States and the Crown Agents have supplied this limited amount to the U.S.
Crown agents, eh?
I've found FDCs on
ebay of the sheet and of the individual stamps, but no covers with both.
Accompanying each of the above covers was also an FDC of UK's second miniature sheet from 1979, commemorating the death of Sir Rowland Hill. I'm not including pictures of that cover here, because it is a commonly found FDC and had no accompanying marketing material or price. I'm guessing it was a "bonus" throw-in for anyone paying for the above cover.
The other cover that I cannot find comparable examples of: UK's third miniature sheet, commemorating the 1980 London International Stamp Exhibition, containing the souvenir sheet, the individual stamp from the sheet, and a set of 5 London Landmark stamps, along with a red exhibition label (not sure if official/legitimate or manufactured).
The language on the back of each page:
Quote:
MAJOR WORLD RARITY - This is Britain's Third Miniature sheet - London 1980 on first day cover plus the complete set May 7, 1980 at the Exhibition PLUS THE FIRST DAY OF THE LONDON 1980 PRE-STAMP FOR THE EXHIBITION FROM THE PHILATELIC BUREAU IN EDINBURGH Apr 9, 1980 (only 100 such covers exist) $49.90
So... did people actually pay these insane prices? Well, apparently they did.
Tucked into one of the binders was some related paperwork. First an advertisement from the July 7, 1980 issue of Linn's Stamp News, where a dealer was advertising this second cover using the exact language and price above. Also included was a handwritten tally sheet for the first cover above, with people's names, what they paid for the cover and when they paid.
Oy.
Posted 12/24/2017 10:35 pm
