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The year was a millennium year and we had one of the most spectacular years in stamp collecting history. Machin new issues came fast and furious and we as Machinites lined up at post office counters, stamp shops and dealers tables to take advantage of the bargains that were then on offer.
Stamp shows were attended by record numbers and millions of £s were passed over in gusto. Lots of new issues to buy and accumulate, we were in our element. I as a collector at the time wanted everything Royal Mail could trow at me. My cash was swallowed up by the hundreds of bargains that were on offer, spending got out of hand.
Millennium booklets by different printers, special issues, miniature sheets and prestige booklets were just the tip of the iceberg.
I remember one new issue in particular, which I was told at the time would be a fantastic investment. I am referring to The 2000 Stamp Show Miniature Sheet, Her Magestys Stamps. This issue was just one issue produced on the occasion of the Stamp Show 2000. The sheet contains 4 first class stamps and one special £1 stamp. Date Issued: 23 May 2000.
Would it surprise you if I told you that today if you search the web this miniature sheet can still be obtained for £5 - £6. The presentation pack listed by gibbons is still priced at £100 plus, but even this can picked up for less than £25.00 if you shop around.
I know taht this at £25.00 is still a good profit on my original investment, but the problem is with all the other stuff in my 2000 portfolio I could only afford one.
The moral of my story do not collect for investment, this is what I mean when I say conned again. I spent hundreds on all the other worthless stuff so much so I could hardly give it away and to break even ended up using it as postage.
So where was (is) the investment here?
2 comments:
On the other hand - I ran a quick check the other day on 9 scarce booklets in my collection - counter and machine-vended items from DB7,8,9,11 - and found that, in terms of their sales value offered by a leading dealer, they had increased in value by over £300 over the past couple of years. So investment is still a possibility!
If you bought any of the packs containing the Matthews souvenir sheet, you have a nice profit on them. There's the red "souvenir pack" that contains a mint and used one, plus a hanger pack that contains a mint one. Both of these show up frequently on eBay but go for hefty prices. In fact, I currently see one of these red ones for less than US$50, and I'm tempted.
--Larry
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