Chinese Stamps a Good Investment

The New York Times reports, "Once banned by Mao Zedong as a bourgeois activity, stamp collecting has become increasingly popular in China in recent years. While early collectors were from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the international Chinese diaspora, some important Mainland Chinese collectors are today 'repatriating' stamps, in the same way that others are bringing back Chinese artworks."

Louis Mangin, owner of the auction house Zurich Asia, is quoted in the piece by reporter Sonia Kolenikov-Jessop as saying, "“I would say presently that half of my buyers are from Mainland China and half are from outside China. Many Westerners also buy Chinese stamps. It is seen as a diversification and investment into China.”

He went on to say, "“The 1960s and 1970s issues have risen on average between 150 percent and 200 percent over the last two years. On the other hand, 1930s and 1940s issues have probably risen 50 percent on average over the same period.”

“I estimate that the market capitalization of the older issues is 1 percent of the modern issues and they therefore have the potential to rise tenfold very easily,” according to Mangin.

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