Though our blog has lay dormant for some time, it is an excellent forum for putting up useful or interesting information for our friends and clients from time to time. This posting is inspired by the recent fluctuations in the world currency markets, which have had some impact on pricing in the stamp trade.
Until very recently pricing trends have been going upward for British Commonwealth stamps, thanks in part to the long upward trajectory of the British pound. Suddenly the pound is significantly down relative to the US dollar, and so prices in the US have been adjusted. This is entirely as it should be, since the valuation of British stamps is based in large part on Stanley Gibbons catalogue values.
Prices on our recently updated price list have also been adjusted. As an example, consider our copy of the Kenya (K.U.T.) £4 stamp SG 98. The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value for a mint copy of this stamp is £1900 pounds, which would have been about $3800 a few months ago. At that time, our retail price would have been about $2280, but we have just added an exceptionally nice copy of this stamp for $1850. View it HERE.
We also want to emphasize to active collectors that the market for quality stamps remains strong despite the downturn in other parts of the economy. In fact, historically stamps have proven to be quite a resilient commodity during difficult times and otherwise volatile periods. So, while we do not advocate or recommend buying stamps as an investment, we remain very confident in the material we sell, both in terms of its quality and its ability to hold much of its value over time.
For our many overseas clients, we hope that the pricing shift taking place now will help to offset the new currency valuations, so that you can continue to develop your collections as in the past.
Expect more blog posts in the near future, as we work on a new regular feature highlighting interesting recent additions to our online inventory.
Regards to all,
Aron