Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-25
FORTUNES In STAMPS
BIG AMOUNTS PAID BY WELL
KNOWN COLLECTORS.
Craze for Collecting Postage Stamps
Has Grown Amazingly in
Last Few Years.
From the London Express.

phitatelists have any idea OF the enormous
growth Of the postage-stamp collecting
craze during recent years. 1t Is story fnli
Of romance, the financial side OF which
bristles with figures representing huge for
tunes sunk in the tiny scraps of paper
which speed the worlds correspondence.
Both as hobby and as a business stamp
collecting has reached proportions which
give 1t very important place among mum
dane pursuits. There are many private
collections worth from $4,000 to s2oo.ooo.
and the capital sunk in the stamp traffic
Is estimated to be well over Ell 100000.
The financial Importance of the trade is
illustrated by Stanley Gibbons. Limited.
which. by It's amalgamation last February
with the firm. of Glendining. Limited. has
a capital of over E117,O00. 1t was the auc-
pioneering department of this firm which
sold Mr.. Smith Ryland's small private col
lection few days ago for about E2,500,
price which was considered to be very good
for an auction sale. especially as the col
lection offered contained comparatively rev
great rarit!es.
But even here there We're one or two
prices obtained for particular stamps which
at once show the keenness of the collector
and the business Importance of the traffic.
For instance a SaXony stamp of 1851, with
an error of paper, realized Go8: penny
red and blue British Central Africa stamp
sold for SAT, and penny blue Cape OF
Good Hope for E3S
Very often far higher prices than these
are obtained for single stamps, though 1t
anything like a1.450, paid by the Prince of
Wales last year for a two-penny blue Maui
ritiuS.
The Princes Speciality.
The Prince of Wales is we'll known to be
very enthusiastic philateist. but it Is not
common knowledge that he is a specialist,
collecting only the stamps of Great Britain
and her colonies. His stamps are worth
many thousands of pounds. AS president
of the Philatelic Society of London. the
prince is regarded as one of the most Gull
tured followers of the science of stamps,
| and has cleared up several doubtful points
through information gathered in his phila-
telical researches during his colonial tour.
Two of his sons-Prince Edward and
Prince George-have already caught the
stamp fascination. Prince Edward is spe-
cially interested in the Prince Edward
Island stamps of which he owns a complete
set.
Recently a philatelic journal asked its
readers their chief reasons for collecting
stamps, offering a prize for the best
reply. A large majority gave las an in
vestment" as their first answer, and 1t Is,
indeed, true that postage stamps are not
only safe but also highly profitable
investment.
Experts say that British colonial stamps
are the best from the investors point of
view, especially those of colonies which
have small populations, ana therefore PRINT
comparatively few stamps.
Ten Per Cent.
1t is stated to be only a moderate. estimate
that the earning value of stamps is 10 per
cent. AS instances of this earning value
may be mentioned the los. Lagos, which
was sold In 1903 for rs. 3D.. and Is now
worth ga, and the Ell Southern Nigeria,
whose market price three years ago was
Dos, but is now Es.
Mr. W. Hughes Hughes collection. made
during thirty seven years, at cost alto
Another collection. that of the late MT.
Pauwels of Torquay, which originally cost
ESQ, was sold. after lying on one side for
twenty-seven years, for G4 COO
No collection Of vaiuables occupies such
little space as postage stamps. The small
strong room at one representative firms
headquarters contains more than E75,OOO
worth of stamps pasted into stock books
and numbered Some of these stock books,
OF which there are $50, worth over e.,
600. The Newfoundland stamps alone IN
this apartment are valued at Ell. $50 las Sd.
There are 10000 names of customers in
all parts of the world on the books Of the
firm, the Prince Of Wales, with standing
order for all new colonial issues, being
among the most important. For these GUS
toners about 1900 catalogues of British
and 10000 of foreign stamps are prepared
annually. The stamps sold in year run
into millions, and the albums to at least
10000
Rare stamps, such as some of the Sand
witch Islands, Nautilus and Australian
issues, valued at about G500 each, are con-
stantly coming into the market, and are
never kept for more than week.