Iran, Argentina, Venezuela - What They Have In Common

An even earlier-stage opportunity may lie with Venezuela.  This country has a repressive political environment , economic chaos, flight of population, strict exchange controls, high inflation and a seriously debased currency.  In short, it is the perfect environment for stamp appreciation.  Best of all, spectacular appreciation has not yet begun.  My universe of investment grade Venezuelan stamps shows only 8.5% appreciation in the last five years and 5.5% in the previous five.  This amounts to only $65,000 for some 167 mint stamps.  Used stamps have done even worse in terms of appreciation, rising only 4.2% and 1.2% in the same time periods.  They do, however, represent a higher value, totaling $110,000.  These are not numbers that would normally attract investors, however, their lack of appreciation in the face of a compelling need makes them a low risk, high reward speculation. More…