Stamp Investment Tip: Cook Islands 1932-46 Scenes sets

Between 1932 and '46, New Zealand issued three similar Scenes sets for its dependency, the Cook Islands. I've listed these sets, along with printing quantity information and Scott '13 values for unused, below:

-1932 Scenes, Perf. 13, unwatermarked (Scott #84-90; 30,000 issued: Scott '13 CV = $63.25 )

- 1933-36 Scenes, Perf. 14, Wmk. 61 (Scott #91-97; 37,760 issued; Scott '13 CV = $ 37.45)

- 1944-46 Scenes, Perf. 14, diff. denominations and colors (Scott #116-24; 79,120 issued; Scott '13 CV= $ 61.00; $100.00 NH)

All of these attractive sets should do well based on their appeal to British Commonwealth collectors and demand from New Zealand.

While the population of the Cook Islands (about 20,000) is probably too low to sustain much of a stamp collecting population, there is significant demand for its stamps among collectors of British Commonwealth in general and in New Zealand in particular, because the islands were a dependency of New Zealand for many years, and still have strong links to that nation.


New Zealand is a modern, prosperous nation of about 4.3 million people, with a GDP of $115 billion. Over the last 10 years, annual GDP growth has averaged about 3%. The economy was hurt by the recent global financial crisis, and is beginning to recover. In 2005, the World Bank praised New Zealand as being the most business-friendly nation in the world. The nation has a stamp collecting demographic similar to Great Britain's, and the demand for better material should increase dramatically as population aging accelerates. The percentage of New Zealanders aged 60 and over will rise from 18% in 2009 to 29% in 2050.