Stamp Investment Tip: Syria 1938 Nogues Flight Anniversary (Scott #C88, C88a)

 In 1938, Syria issued a stamp and souvenir sheet celebrating the tenth anniversary of pilot Maurice Nogues' first flight from Marseilles to Beirut (Scott #C88, C88a). 30,000 of the stamp and 10,000 of the souvenir sheet were issued, and Scott '14 prices them unused at $ 5.00  and $50.00, respectively.

   The issue has multiple market appeal among collectors of Syria, French Colonies/Possessions, and Transportation/Aerophilately Topicals.

It is unclear how the current turmoil in Syria will be resolved. Nevertheless, there are many scarce issues from the period of French Administration which should do well based on the growth of French Colonies/Area collecting alone. Should the country wind up with a more democratic government and more fully compete in the global marketplace, all of the stamps of Syria with low printings will skyrocket, including many of the modern issues with printings of 50,000 or fewer, which are dirt-cheap.

Before the current civil war, the Syrian Arab Republic, a nation of 22.5 million people, was a middle-income country, with an economy based on agriculture, oil, industry, and tourism. It had low rates of foreign investment, and low levels of industrial and agricultural productivity. Until the recent revolt, the somewhat corrupt and authoritarian government was slowly reforming its centrally planned economy in hopes of attracting new investment in the tourism, natural gas, and service sectors. Average annual GDP growth was a little over 4%, but the extent to which that growth benefited the population as a whole was unclear.

Those interested in learning about investing in stamps should read the Guide to Philatelic Investing ($5), available on Kindle and easily accessible from any computer.