2020 is a year that many of us will be happy to see only in the rear-view mirror. Between Covid-19, a divisive election and racial unrest, 2020 has been less than stellar. Normally, the punctuation at the end of any year would be Christmas and the variety of welcome holiday cards arriving right now. This year, I’m afraid the pandemic and quarantining will even affect the number of those cards sent.
Be it a Christmas card or regular letter, what’s inside the envelope is what people want. Invariably the envelopes get tossed. Ironically, for collectors, it’s the envelopes that are of the most interest....
Last month, one of those envelopes crossed the block at the Robert Siegel Auction Galleries. Admittedly, it was old. It was mailed in Philadelphia in 1848 destined for Paris. Its railroad and steamship journey took two weeks. Postage for the trip wasn’t cheap requiring a strip of six ten-cent stamps to pay for it. The stamps used were six of the very first stamps printed in the US.
The recipient decided to keep the letter and the envelope. Over the last 172 years, others also kept the envelope covered in strange markings and squiggles. That proved to be a wise move. The envelope is the only known example bearing those stamps. It was hammered down for $510,000.
The same is true for a Roman gold coin that also just sold. Struck in 42 B.C., it honored the rule of Brutus – one of the men who murdered Julius Caesar. The coin celebrated the murder by including the image of two knives and the words “EID MAR” for the Ides of March. A number of rare silver versions exist, but only three gold strikings are known. That coin just sold for a little over $4 million.
The operative word in both cases is “known.” Each rarity is the type of thing for which others may well be squirreled away in a chest or drawer but haven’t yet been uncovered.
Because of Covid, coin and stamp collecting are pastimes that have experienced a robust resurgence. With the Christmas clock quickly ticking down, and with brick-and-mortar hobby shops temporarily shuttered, finding a good gift for collectors can be tricky. That’s where the two premier hobby publications that feature stories of valuable collectibles can easily save the day.
Linn’s Stamp News and Coin World are the two leading hobby newspapers published weekly. Each also has a monthly magazine version. For well over 75 years, each has chronicled the exciting finds in rare stamps and coins. Just as important, both Linn’s and Coin World feature the new releases from the USPS and US Mint.
The latter are the issues collectors can get at face value or original issue price. If that sounds pedestrian, consider the gold Eagle just released saluting WWII. With just 1,945 struck, the issue price was a bit over $2,000. Overnight, the value of those coins shot to between $6,000 and $10,000 each. Details of the release were featured in Coin World. So too for special cancels on philatelic releases and ideas for increasing the collectible value of many postal items.
Of equal interest is the included information for selling collectibles and maximizing the return. Far and away, that is the question I am asked most – where to sell and get the most for a single item or collection. Plus, there are the classifieds with additional offers to sell and buy as well as a calendar of upcoming coin and stamp shows and expositions in cities and towns around the country. Best of all, the tone of the copy is clear, conversational and non-technical.
Each periodical costs $79.99 for a full year and is printed by Amos Publishing. That subscription includes the weekly newspaper as well as the more comprehensive monthly magazine.
For more information, log onto www.amosadvantage.com/subscriptions. Or, phone toll-free 800-448-7293 (Linn’s) or 800-253-4555 (Coin World). If ordered quickly, the first copies should easily arrive before New Year’s.
For more collecting advice, visit www.peterexford.blogspot.com