Postal History Gaining Popularity

Reporter Jason Chow writes in the Wall Street Journal, "In the rarified world of stamp collecting, there’s an even smaller niche for collectors focused on used envelopes with rare stamps on the covers. This subgenre is called postal history, and the collectors are among the most dedicated philatelists."

 Louis Mangin, director at stamp-auctioneer Zurich Asia is quoted in the piece as saying, "I find collecting postal history more interesting than collecting just regular stamps and the demand for this kind of material is going up substantially as Chinese collectors are getting more sophisticated.”

Mangin went on to say, "While stamps have fallen in value or remained stagnant in Western countries as the hobby has declined, the Chinese market has exploded in the past five years, thanks to both genuine collectors and investors who see the stamp market as a better place for their money than equities."

Shown above, 1931 registered first flight cover from Manchuria with special cachet ‘Commemorating Inauguratiion of International Air Mail Service’ Valued at $300 on Geoffrey Hack's Fine Stamps and Postal History website.

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