With global financial markets troubled by the spectre of volatility, the demand for rare stamps and coins has remained resilient. Last month one of Britain's rarest coins sold for 250,000 pounds to an investor in Asia.
The draw of real tangible assets as opposed to financial products scored another win last week in London when one of Britain's most iconic rare stamps, a «Plate 77 Penny Red» was sold by stamp and coins specialist Stanley Gibbons, for almost half a million pounds to a private collector.
The 495,000 pounds stamp is only one of five used examples known to the world of philately, including one that sits in the British Museum.
A Wise Investment?
«Plate 77 Penny Reds» are viewed by collectors and sophisticated investors as the «Holy Grail» of philately because Plate 77 stamps should simply not exist. But a tiny handful made their way into circulation, despite the original printing plate being destroyed.
«This is one of the most desirable and iconic of British stamps for collectors worldwide, highly sought after for more than 100 years. It is testament to the strength of the market for rare stamps,» said Keith Heddle, Managing Director of Investments at Stanley Gibbons.
A Long Way Behind
However that stamp is still a long way behind the value of the world's most expensive stamp which is the «British Guiana One-Cent Black on Magenta,» a stamp that was sold in 2014, in New York, for 6.6 million pounds.
