New York Corners The Stamp Market

Press, Volume C, Issue 29469, 22 March 1961, Page 7

New York Corners The Stamp Market

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.)

(Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, March 21. Britain's stamp dealers have uncovered a million pound racket which threatens collectors all over the world, says the "Daily Mail.’’ The system, it adds, is operated by a handful of international agents based in New York, who buy up whole consignments of new stamps. The agents work under- Government contracts for countries such as Afganistan, Ghana, Somaliland and even the tiny Maidive Islands. The only way ordinary dealers can buy new sets of new issues, often vital for a collection, is from New York at as much as 100 times their face value. The agents also promote new issues to increase their own turnover. Hundreds of London dealers and collectors, frightened of being priced out of their business and hobbies, will shortly meet to discuss their problem. They will consider! drafting objections to the Governments which have given monopoly rights to agents. Mr Edgar Lewy, secretary of the Philatelic Traders’ Society. told the “Daily Mail:” "Millions of pounds are involved in this. Certain post offices have sold their stamp issue contracts, lock, stock and barrel to wholesale interests in New York. “Others put issues in the hands of sales promoters. That is reasonable as 95 per cent, of all new issues are for collectors, but the promoters persuade countries to produce more issues than necessary because they get a 25 per cent, split. Several countries tied up with agents and promoters produced issues to commemorate the Olympic Games. And one New York agent demanded eight and a half dollars for an Afghan Olympic stamp worth six cents, in which he held a complete monopoly. "When you think there are about 15,000 collectors of Olympics who just had to have the stamp for their collections, you realise how strong a monopoly can be. To leading dealers, the pur-

chase of a new issue can involve more than £lO,OOO in direct deals with the country concerned. . Through New York, it may be considerably more. “Business depends on stamps keeping or increasing their values, but as the market is flooded with new issues, values can drop. Even the Maidive Islands recently produced three new issues, one of them a 100 rupii (about 150 s) stamp. These kind of stamps are fairly obviously the sort we can do without and what earthly use can a 150 s stamp be to a fisherman of the Maldives?”