Canada among top 10 countries collected worldwide

All prices in USD

With the highest mint-to-used price ratio in the international philatelic market, Canada is among the top 10 countries being collected by philatelists and investors around the world.

This according to a May 26 Forbes column authored by Richard Lehmann, publisher of the Forbes/Lehmann Income Securities Advisor newsletter and a long-time investor in stamps.

Canada’s mint-to-used price ratio is 1.68, which topped Australia (1.60); France (1.40); and Great Britain (1.27), all of which place a premium on mint condition.

“Note that Germans seem to prefer used stamps,” Lehmann wrote, of Germany’s mint-to-used price ratio of 0.54. “India also shows an affinity for used stamps, but this appears to be due a relative shortage of used Indian states issues or large remainder stocks.”

HOW MANY & HOW MUCH

Lehmann’s listing of countries is ordered by market size and shows how many stamps—and the dollar amount using mint or used examples catalogued between $25 and $1,000—would be needed to assemble “a fairly complete collection” of each country.

The cost to build a “fairly complete collection” of Canada, which is listed with 655 stamps, is $200,460 mint and $47,712 used. In mint condition, Canada is the third most expensive country; its dollar value of $200,460 is behind only to the U.S., which has 1,473 stamps with a total value of $348,873, and Australia, which has 1,023 stamps with a total value of $287,001. In used condition, Canada is the third least expensive country; its dollar value of $47,712 is behind only Russia (with 208 stamps at $34,778); France (with 182 stamps at $36,049); and Britain (with 214 stamps at $46,899).

“The stamp market reflects the securities market in many respects and therefor, can be analyzed in a similar fashion,” wrote Lehmann. “If I am going to invest a significant amount in stamps there are a variety of metrics for comparing countries not the least of which is how big is the demand for each. Demand, in turn, is a complex variable that is influenced by how many collectors, stamp volume issuance, frequency of issues, period of use and stamp sales policy for remainders. Added to this are more nuanced elements such as economic conditions, population, emigration and immigration history and political history.”

TOP 10 BY MARKET SIZE

COUNTRY
NUMBER OF STAMPS
FROM $25-$1,000
DOLLAR VALUE
AVERAGE
APRC (2005-18)
AVERAGE
DOLLAR VALUE
MINT/USED
PRICE RATIO
(1) U.S. MINT 1,473 $348,873 7.3% $237 1.19
U.S. USED 925 $183,999 23.4% $199
(2) CHINA MINT 549 $155,765 53.9% $284 1.14
CHINA USED 406 $101,219 64.5% $249
(3) GERMANY MINT 751 $150,496 22.7% $200 0.54
GERMANY USED 643 $238,152 123.3% $370
(4) BRITAIN MINT 230 $64,152 36.8% $279 1.27
BRITAIN USED 214 $46,899 44.0% $219
(5) FRANCE MINT 345 $96,010 33.2% $278 1.40
FRANCE USED 182 $36,049 17.7% $198
(6) CANADA MINT 655 $200,460 59.0% $306 1.68
CANADA USED 262 $47,712 48.1% $182
(7) AUSTRALIA MINT 1,023 $287,001 90.2% $281 1.60
AUSTRALIA USED 838 $146,900 70.0% $175
(8) ITALY MINT 352 $95,207 32.1% $270 1.08
ITALY USED 397 $99,604 85.9% $251
(9) RUSSIA MINT 426 $87,887 93.2% $206 1.23
RUSSIA USED 208 $34,778 48.8% $167
(10) INDIA MINT 401 $115,998 81.8% $289 0.94
INDIA USED 247 $75,808 41.1% $307

 

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