Stamp Investment Tip: Papua 1934 Declaration of British Protection (Scott #110-13)

In 1934, Australia issued a set of four stamps for Papua, which it was administering, commemorating the 50th anniversary of British protection (Scott #110-13). 60,000 sets were issued, and Scott '13 prices the unused set at $17.10 ($27.50 for NH) .

Most of the collectors of Papua New Guinea are British Commonwealth collectors or Australians, because the country was administered by Australia until 1975, and maintains close ties with that nation. I recommend purchase of the better stamps of Papua, New Guinea, and Papua New Guinea based on the probable growth in interest among Australian collectors, and collectors of British Commonwealth.

Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by the rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for most of the population of about 7 million. Annual GDP growth has increased dramatically over the last 5 years, from 1% in 2005 to about 7% in 2009. Still, the majority of the population is extremely poor, and I do not foresee the development of a significant collecting population within the country for some time.


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