Lucrative Investment

Investment in stamps better than stocks: Rajesh

By PRABEER SIKDAR

DEHRADUN, 9 Apr 2009:

Invest in postal stamps – this is what Rajesh Varma, President of the Uttaranchal Philatelists Association (UPA), suggests to those who are wary of investing in the stock market in the present economic crisis.

“The reason is that, unlike the ups and downs witnessed in the share market, there is never a downfall in the price of a postage stamp, as its value keeps on increasing with the passage of time,” he explains.

Elaborating further, he clarifies that even without an increase in the valuation of a stamp, ‘one can always use it, as it would always retain its face value’.

A winner of a host of philately awards including a ‘Doon Ratna’ after his successful work for the Republic of Nauru (an island state near New Zealand) as a designer of postal stamps for that country, Varma’s love for philately has not faded for the last 30 years.

King of Hobbies

“Though traditional hobbies like philately and numismatics have been taken over by others, the former has still managed to retain its position as the ‘King of Hobbies’,” he says, pointing out that one needed to put in a lot of money to pursue it.

“If one wants to be a professional philatelist, one would have to set aside a lot of money. Though the money can be recovered at a later stage, good investment is a must initially for making gains later.”

In defence of his statement, Varma cites numerous examples from philatelic history to prove his point.

“For instance, a postal stamp released by Department of Posts on Brigadier Rajinder Singh (first Indian recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra) on 27 October, 1997, had a face value of Rs 3. But its present market value stands at Rs 21,” he points out.

Citing some other Indian examples, Varma points out that a commemorative postal stamp of the first anniversary of Indian Independence (with an image of Mahatma Gandhi) released on 15 August, 1948 (face value Rs 10 then) now is priced at 100 pounds!

Valuation Basics

What remains common knowledge among professional philatelists is that the price of a postal stamp ‘is determined by two major factors: stamps with printing errors and stamps released in small number’.

“A philatelist spotting an error in a stamp is sure to make a lot of money,” says Varma, while showing from a philately book the picture of a postal stamp on Henri Dunant (Founder of the International Red Cross), which was released by the Department of Posts on 8 May, 1963.

“For the Red Cross, the + sign is of paramount significance. But due to a printing error by the Department, which prints postal stamps in Nasik, seven stamps came out without the + signs.”

“The face value (stamps with the printing error), which stood at 15 paise in 1963, now stands at Rs 2 lakhs,” he adds.

Citing another instance of the short supply of stamps going on to command record price at a later stage, he cites the example of another commemorative postal stamp of the first anniversary of Indian Independence (with Gandhi’s image), which was released on 15 August, 1948. “Priced at Rs 10, this particular stamp was issued for the official use of C Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor General of India. It had SERVICE written in black over the image of Gandhi,” he says, adding that due to change of political circumstances, its actual sale could not take off.

However, C Rajagopalachari is said to have distributed 17 such stamps to his friends/ relatives, later. “It now commands a price of Rs 25 lakhs in the international philately market,” he reveals.

Valuation Gurus

According to Varma, pricing/ valuation of stamps at the international level is done by Stanley Gibbons, a company that is also involved in the business of selling/ buying stamps. “In India, most philatelists follow the valuation standards set by Phila India, a Kolkata based company.

”Interestingly, according to Varma, a separate department of the English Royalty (known in philatelic circle as Crown’s Agent) reportedly buys 5000 stamps in bulk from all the British Commonwealth Countries (53 countries including India), every time a new stamp is released in the market.

Postal care

“Philatelic collections, which comprise stamps, covers, information brochures, miniature sheets, thematic sheetlets, maxim cards, etc., need special care,” explains Varma, adding that almost all members of UPA (total 70 members in the state) buy German made Stock Books (a type of album for keeping stamps) and Hawids (a glue based polythene strip for keeping stamps).

‘One can also buy Indian made Stock Books, which come at a price ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 500.”

How to collect

“The easiest way to start collecting postal stamps is to open a Philatelic Deposit Account in any of the 30 major post offices in Uttarakhand by paying Rs 200,” he says, adding that by becoming a member, the Dept of Posts would send all postal stamps/ covers released by it.

“However, amateur philatelists, who want to turn professional, should remember that there would not be instant money in it as one never knows when a stamp’s value would increase,” he cautions.

http://www.garhwalpost.com/index.php?mod=article&cat=Interview&article=234