Stanley Gibbons Buys British Guiana 1c Magenta

I would have bought the British Guiana 1c Magenta, but didn't want to seem too flashy and put on airs.

GeoffHa; as an official representative of the Grumpy Old Men League, our official statement is: We don't care if anyone's tested our marketability... We tested it and passes.

Interesting concept but it could be a financial minefield .

There was a story written in Linn's Stamp News a few years ago maybe 20 years ago . The article was about investing in classic stamps . The author knew about investments and he stated that it would take 200 million dollars to control this market . So I am guessing today it would be like 300 million dollars . Understand controlling is not owning everything ,all that needs is 10 to 20% to control it . Maybe 5% to influence it .

With the vast expand of Money Funds thru out the world ,the above mentioned 300 million dollars is a drop in the bucket Then you add into this buying all the small investors and you can have a "Dutch tulip " situation .

We seen a small example of this with the Europa stamps and Asfina of Spain ,that was a small example of what could happen ,they were getting money faster than they could buy stamps to fill their buyers needs .

Agree with everything you wrote floor trader.
The really interesting thought is can you make the jump from sellin to "knowledgeable " collectors to the general investor public. That would be money. I am sure S.G. has already determined their strategy.
Interesting to see how it works out. If this is successful I am sure you will see other consortiums put together.
My own opinion is that stamps are too esoteric, but then again the rise in NFT's was not intuitive to me.
Interesting, M

Updating this thread with some info and a very brief survey received from Stanley Gibbons by email this morning. Summary items below:

Body of email:

We are building something special with the goal of making this iconic piece of history available to everybody. With your help, we want to make sure the experience is as amazing as possible.

Therefore, our initial offering of pieces of the 1c Magenta will be limited in number and only available to a select audience, who we hope will help us develop this experience further.

The huge amount of excitement, comments and opinions we have received so far have been extremely insightful and we want to build on this by giving those who have registered their interest the opportunity to shape it further still.

As part of this, you will have early access to the offering itself prior to it being made available to everybody.

Our intention is that this first phase will take place within the next few months, with subsequent offerings following on thereafter.

If you are interested in further influencing what comes next, and having the opportunity to acquire part of the world's most famous stamp in this preliminary offering, please complete the following – very short – survey:

Survey:

The ONE CENT Magenta

We are looking to gauge interest in ownership of the ONE CENT Magenta prior to our limited launch later this year. Those who purchase their piece of the world's most valuable stamp will receive:

Full legal and economic ownership of the stamp
Voting rights to decide on the future of the stamp
Secure, fully insured custody of the stamp provided by Stanley Gibbons
A lifetime guarantee of authenticity provided by Stanley Gibbons
Further benefits of ownership yet to be announced

At launch, each piece of the ONE CENT Magenta costs £400. The stamp will be split into 20,000 pieces.

1. How many pieces of the ONE CENT Magenta would you consider purchasing? Please enter using numerical digits e.g. 12 and NOT twelve.

2. We are considering entering all future owners of the ONE CENT Magenta into a sweepstake for the chance to win the opportunity to sign their own name on the back of the stamp. How do you feel about the possibility of having your name permanently placed upon the world's most famous stamp?

Extremely excited
Very excited
Not so excited
Indifferent
Unhappy
Disgusted

3. Thank you for answering. Please note that the detail within the survey varies between participants and is not necessarily reflective of the structure or price which will be used. We very much look forward to sharing more with you shortly. Please leave any further comments below:

Sold for $8.3 million now valued at $11 million.

Maybe they hope that U.S. "investors" will confuse pounds with dollars. It's also a bit curious that they state that the detail within the survey varies among participants.

Extremely interesting. Aren't you "lucky" to be able to get in early.
In my opinion they have the right idea, I don't know if the execution is optimal. I'm sure they know more about their business than I do. In the country there is a great idiom "I'll mind my book, you mind yours"
m

Edit for punctuation

The wording of question 2 is a bit poor. Perhaps, "How do you feel about the likelihood someone other than you will get to sign their (likely) non-famous name on the back of a stamp you partially own, adding risk that it will sell for lower than we paid, thus leading to potential financial loss to you". But OK...

I received it and answered it, if only because it would be cool to have a member of this community who owns a few pieces.

Email received from Stanley Gibbons on fractional ownership plans -

<<Introducing Showpiece

We are delighted to announce our technology partner in our quest to deliver fractional ownership of the One Cent Magenta…

Who are Showpiece?
Showpiece are launching a platform to enable ownership of the world's rarest and most valuable treasures. Stanley Gibbons will be Showpiece's launch partner where together we will make ownership of the One Cent Magenta available for all.

Why are we using Showpiece?
Showpiece has invested heavily in the customer offering and will continue to do so. This gives us confidence that our customers will receive the best experience possible while we have been able to concentrate on getting the display ready at 399 Strand.

Are Stanley Gibbons not selling the One Cent Magenta?
We are, we are simply using the Showpiece platform in order to do so. The One Cent Magenta will continue to be kept in the vault and displayed at Stanley Gibbons.

What is so complicated about fractional ownership?
The concept is simple, but building a digital experience that is enjoyable, secure – both legally and technically – and user friendly requires a lot of work. We will continue to release more information about the offering in the coming weeks but further details about all of these elements are available at www.showpiece.com

In addition, Showpiece plan to continue adding features and improving the platform over time so that the customer experience continuously develops.

How can I purchase ownership in the One Cent Magenta?
As you have already registered your interest in the One Cent Magenta, you will be invited to do so during the first, early access period. This will be at a cheaper price than subsequent offerings. We will contact you prior to it going live with instructions on how to complete your purchase at www.showpiece.com

We currently expect this to happen in November 2021. For now, there's nothing else you need to do.>>

Further details from the Showpiece site - under 100,000 pieces will be offered, price under 100 pounds per piece for "early access".

Well, if nothing else, this is quite a publicity stunt for SG.

Stanley Gibbons has announced the start of their sale:
http://stanleygibbons.activehosted....d4becb0ca8e0

We are delighted to announce that fractional ownership of the world's most valuable stamp will go live to the general public on Thursday November 11th.

As you have registered for early access, you will be able to be one of the very first to purchase your pieces from Monday November 8th.

The Offer
The beneficial title to the stamp has been legally split into 80,000 equal pieces.
Once on general sale, they will be priced at £100 each but during the early access period you will receive a 10% discount.
There are no transaction, credit card, account management or custody fees.

How Early Access Works
On Monday 8th, the new website will go live at www.showpiece.com.
On the same day you will receive an email from our technology partner, Showpiece, with a link to create your account.
When trying to purchase at www.showpiece.com prior to November 11th, you must use this link. You will then be able to purchase at the discounted price.

If you have not received this by Monday evening, please check your spam folder.
Upon successful completion of your purchase, you will receive a confirmation email which will include the legal paperwork pertaining to your purchase. An example of the legal documentation and related terms and conditions will also be available at www.showpiece.com. You will immediately be able to access the owner only functionality on the www.showpiece.com website.


Those purchasing 10 or more pieces will also receive:
A £75 Stanley Gibbons gift voucher (sent separately).
Early access to future offers.

Those purchasing 100 or more pieces will additionally receive:
A limited edition, framed replica which will not be available for purchase (sent separately).

Those purchasing 250 or more pieces will additionally receive:
First access to future offers.
An invitation to a private viewing of the 1c. Magenta, hosted by one of the Stanley Gibbons team.

Anybody intending to make a purchase of over £10,000 will automatically be redirected through our legally required Know Your Customer process. We have made this as efficient as possible; you can read more about it at the bottom of this email.*

We look forward to welcoming you to the new Showpiece site from Monday 8th. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at *** Private information removed by Staff. Please do not post your address/email/phone number etc. ***or 1c-magenta@stanleygibbons.com.


Graham Shircore
CEO Stanley Gibbons

I received the same email. Future offers? How many times over are they going to sell this stamp?

80k times, I think.