May the force be with you, stamp collectors
As the new Star Wars movie heralds Darth Vader special issue...
STAR Wars blazes back on to cinema screens this December with The Force Awakens. To mark the occasion, Royal Mail will be issuing a set of Darth Vader stamps. A dozen 63p Star Wars First Class stamps – featuring characters such as Princess Leia and the Dark Lord himself – will go on sale in nine days’ time. But despite their huge collectable appeal, modern stamp issues usually fall in value after release as so many get printed.
Yet stamp collectors – known as philatelists – can turn modern stamps into investments if they buy first day covers. These are special envelopes or cards that are adorned with the stamps and issued on release day. They are also often given i nteresting postmarks unique to the event. There is a bewildering array of first day options from which to choose. For example, a first day cover for Star Wars can cost anything from £7.56 for a set stamped with a Galactic Empire ‘Imperial Crest’ to a limited edition set displayed in a specially designed album for £44.95.
Collector and trader Tracy Gosling, 51, from Hampton, South-West London, says: ‘It’s not just about the stamps with first day covers. You must consider the style of the envelope, the unique handstamp and how it is presented, all of which combine to increase appeal, rarity and value.’
Tracy, who runs enthusiasts’ website FD Covers with husband Mark, 54, says new first day cover releases such as Star Wars are likely to go up in price because of the huge fan base which stretches across generations. They have employed local artist Neil Bulpitt who illustrates and designs the first day covers and albums.
But for those wishing to buy first day covers as a serious investment – and not just as a sci-fi enthusiast – earlier stamp issues are more likely to increase in value as fewer have survived over time.
Tracy says: ‘Royal Mail now issues 13 special sets a year – so to avoid it becoming an expensive hobby find a subject of personal interest and buy covers related to it.’
First day covers were originally pieces of folded paper – covers – that went over written letters and were sealed with wax or occasionally bread dough. The earliest example is a Penny Black first day cover from 1840 – the first adhesive postage stamp. It sold for £44,000 in 2010. It was dated May 6, 1840 – the first day the Penny Black was in circulation.
Among Tracy and Mark’s favourites is a 1929 first day cover with five stamps ranging from half a penny to £1 – which is now worth at least £13,000. The couple own a 1966 World Cup Winners first day cover when England beat West Germany. The stamps were reissued after the initial commemorative launch to celebrate the World Cup being won. The reissue had an ‘England Winners’ stamp franked on the cover – and this once modest 4p cover is now worth more than £60.
Tracy says: ‘The £1 stamp was more than the average month’s salary at the time so it is no surprise it is now so rare and valuable.’
The Post Office only officially started providing ‘first day of issue’ postmarks for collectors in 1963. Though collectors need to have the cards franked as a first day cover, modern examples tend not to have an address on them or have been posted because they are more valuable unused. You can buy covers at most post offices or you can order them direct from Royal Mail.
Victoria Lajer, a manager for stamp trader Stanley Gibbons in London, says enthusiasts who want to make good returns from stamp collecting are better off buying stamp ‘errors’ rather than first day covers.
Examples include a 1963 Red Cross Centenary stamp costing just threepence when sold. A handful somehow managed to escape without the Red Cross being printed – these are now worth £18,500 each as so few are around. Despite its dusty reputation, stamp collecting is still one of the most popular hobbies in the world – with 50million enthusiasts.
Stanley Gibbons says annual returns averaging 10 per cent over the past decade would have been enjoyed from anyone investing in the top 250 ‘investment-grade’ collectable stamps of Great Britain. It allows customers to buy into investment grade stamps for a minimum £15,000 via a ‘fund’. Collectors must keep the investment at least five years and Stanley Gibbons gets a 20 per cent cut of any growth in value over time.
For further details on first day covers and stamps contact The Great Britain Philatelic Society at gbps.org. uk. Or British First Day Covers at bfdc.co.uk.