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
|
DOLLAR VALUE |
AVERAGE
|
AVERAGE
|
MINT/USED
|
| (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 |