Forty-Nine Years as a Stamp Dealer

The Malaysia Star reports Steven Tan became a stamp dealer in 1960 because he had a fascination for stamps and to help finance the arrival of his first child.

Reporter Grace Chen writes, "Tan revealed that he had started with almost zero capital as his early collection of stamps had been salvaged from rubbish bins which he sold on consignment to bookstores and via mail order."

In the article, Tan recalled how having pen pals also helped to encourage stamp collecting among his friends.

He's quoted as saying, “Those days I would send 50 stamps to an overseas pen pal in exchange for other stamps. There was a great deal of trust back then as I have never lost anything."

His advice to people wanting to invest in stamps, "...it all boils down to scarcity. The harder the stamp or the currency is to find, the higher the price."

Shown above, Steven Tan looking over his inventory.

To read the entire article, click here.