Stamp Investment Tip: Paraguay 1939 Peace Conference (Scott #355-61, C113-21)

In 1939, Paraguay issued a compound set of sixteen stamps commemorating the First Buenos Aires Peace Conference (Scott #355-61, C113-21). This set was issued in the aftermath of the Chaco War, a pointless and bloody territorial conflict between Paraguay and Bolivia, ignited in part by the issuance of postage stamps by these countries showing maps with different boundaries. Only 5,000 sets were issued, and Scott '11 prices the unused set at $42.30.

The set should do well based on the growth of stamp collecting in Paraguay as well as interest in Latin American stamps in general. It is a memorial to the tens of thousands of soldiers who died needlessly in the war, and brings to mind Voltaire's comment: "The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity."


With about 6 1/2 million people, Paraguay is an emerging market nation with the potential to become a major agricultural exporter. Its subtropical climate allows for 5 harvests every 24 months, and it has vast tracts of virgin arable land. In addition, manufacturing has shown strong growth in the production of edible oils, garments, organic sugar, meat processing, and steel. Annual GDP growth has averaged 4.5% over the past 5 years, and was steadily increasing until it experienced a recent slight decline due to the global financial crisis.

I have begun a new blog, "The Stamp Specialist", which will feature my buy prices for stamps which I am interested in purchasing. I've just posted a buy list for Paraguay, including the souvenir sheet recommended in this article. Viewing dealers' buy lists every now and then is an excellent way to keep current on the vagaries of the stamp market.

Phila-Trivia: Stamps That Began a War

Wars have sometimes been started for rather trivial reasons, but it's hard to come up with a more petty one than a postage stamp. Yet, postal propaganda was one of the factors leading to the Chaco War (1932-35), the bloodiest military conflict fought in the Americas in the 20th century.

Both Paraguay and Bolivia claimed an uninhabited desert region known as the Gran Chaco. Bolivia, landlocked after war with Chile, wanted the territory in order to give it river access to the Atlantic. Paraguay, having lost most of its territory to its neighbors during the War of the Triple Alliance, needed the Gran Chaco just to stay on the map. Both sides believed that there were rich oil reserves in region as well.

The dispute heated up considerably when Bolivia issued a stamp featuring a map of Bolivia that included the Gran Chaco, now marked as "Chaco Boliviano." Paraguay soon issued even bigger stamps than Bolivia, with an even bigger map of the Gran Chaco, but this time marked as "Chaco Paraguayo."

Bolivia then forcefully asserted its claim by moving troops into the Gran Chaco. Paraguay responded by doing the same. In 1932, philatelic warfare gave way to the real thing.

The Chaco War saw the use of armor and aircraft on both sides. British, American, French, and Italian arms makers took the opportunity to profit from the carnage by exporting some of their newest weapons to the combatants. German and Russian veterans of the First World War served as staff members and mercenaries on both sides, advising the armies of Bolivia and Paraguay on how to butcher one another more efficiently.

In the end, after casualties and losses numbering about 100,000 were sustained by both countries, the Paraguayans won. The Paraguayans got the Gran Chaco, but it turned out that the oil that everyone had thought was there didn't exist.

Funereal Paraguayan stamp honoring the Chaco Peace, a truce negotiated in 1938