Stamp Investment Tip: Turkmenistan 2000 UN Declaration Souvenir Sheet (Scott #72)

  In 2000, Turkmenistan issued a souvenir sheet of 24 stamps picturing flags of various nations, and celebrating the United Nations' Declaration of the country's neutrality (Scott # 72). 5,500 were issued, and Scott '14 prices the unused sheet at $70.00.

   The set has multiple appeal to UN and Flag topicalists, and I believe that focusing on scarce popular topicals is a prudent means of speculating on stamps of the newly independent nations of Central Asia. Whether or not demand develops within these countries for the stamps that they issue, there will always be worldwide demand for their most popular topicals.

A nation of 5.1 million, Turkmenistan is a largely desert country with nomadic cattle raising, intensive agriculture in irrigated oases, and huge gas and oil resources. It possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas, and is also the world's tenth largest producer of cotton. As in the Soviet era, central planning and state control pervade the system, although there is gradual progress toward greater privatization. Annual GDP growth has averaged over 8% over the last 5 years, mostly due to increasing demand for the country's oil.

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.

South Korea 1951-52 Participating Countries' Flags Issue (Scott #132-73)

In 1951 and '52, Korea issued a set of stamps honoring the countries which fought for it in the Korean War (Scott #132-73). Each stamp pictured the participating country's flag, the Statue of Liberty, and the flag of the Republic of Korea. 7,000 sets were issued, and Scott '10 prices the set at $ 351.00 ($ 600.00 for NH). In addition, 2,000 sets of twenty-two imperforate souvenir sheets (Scott #173Note; Michel Block #27-48; Scott '10 Catalog Value of $ 800.00) containing the green and blue stamps for each participating country were also issued.


I view both sets as prime targets for philatelic investors who wish to profit from South Korea's future economic growth, and the probable substantial increase in the number of Korean stamp collectors over the next few decades due to its rapidly aging population. Despite the impact of the recent global financial crisis, I believe that Korea will return to 4%-6% GDP annual growth over the next few years. Should re-unification with the North occur within the next decade or two, it will provide an additional economic shot in the arm, in the form of a youthful labor force and a vastly expanded natural resource base.


Many of the stamps of the South Korea's first ten years are quite scarce, and I intend to tip some of them in the future. It should be noted that most from the first five years were produced rather primitively, and rough perforations and uneven gum are normal for these issues.