Stamp Investment Tip: New Guinea 1931 Airmail Overprint (Scott #C1-13)

 
In 1931, New Guinea issued its first airmail by applying a pictorial overprint to its1925-28 Native Huts issue (Scott #C1-13). A total of 4,020 sets were issued, and Scott '14 prices the unused set at $311.70.

While it's often wise to purchase expensive overprinted stamps conditional on obtaining expertization, such caution is unnecessary because in this case  the basic non-overprinted set is actually more expensive.

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.

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.

Those interested in becoming part of an international community of stamp collectors, dealers, and investors are encouraged to join the "Stampselectors" group at Facebook. The group hosts lively discussions concerning stamp investment and practical aspects of collecting, and provides a useful venue for those who wish to buy, sell, or trade stamps.   

Stamp Investment Tip: New Guinea 1931 Officials (Scott #O12-22)

   In 1931, New Guinea issued a set of Officials by overprinting eleven stamps from its Bird of Paradise series  "OS" for Official Service (Scott #O12-22). Only 4,500 sets were issued, and Scott '14 prices the unused set at $266.50 .

   I believe the set to be grossly undervalued because it's been neglected as an obscure back-of-book issue, as is often the case with Officials. 

   While I sometimes recommend obtaining expertization when purchasing overprinted issues, it's not necessary in this case because the Officials set is not sufficiently more costly than the basic stamps to justify faking the overprint.

 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 averaged an impressive 7% over the last 5 years. 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.

  Those interested in viewing a list of scarce stamps with printing quantities of 100,000 or fewer may wish to check out the StampSelector Scarce Stamp Quantities Issued List, which currently contains over 9,700 entries. Researching quantities issued data is vital to determining in which stamps to invest.   
 

Stamp Investment Tip: Papua 1916-31 Lakatoi (Scott #60-73)

 

 From 1916-31, Papua issued a colorful set of fourteen stamps picturing a lakatoi, a native boat of Papua (Scott # 60-73). Printing quantity information is unavailable for this issue, but I estimate that fewer than 10,000 sets were issued. Scott '13 prices the unused set at $311.75.

   It is likely that most of the sets were used as postage and discarded. It was issued piecemeal over a decade and a half, and the high values were expensive for the time it was in use, especially during the Great Depression. Also, it has the added appeal of being a Transportation/Ship topical.
     

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.

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.

 Those interested in learning more about investing in stamps are encouraged to read the Philatelic Investment Guide ($5), available on Kindle, and accessible from any computer.           

Stamp Investment Tip: Papua 1906-07 Overprints

In 1905, the British transferred the administration of British New Guinea to Australia, which changed the name of the territory to "Papua." In 1906 and '07, the Australians overprinted the original British New Guinea 1901 Lakatoi stamps with the territory's new name. Two different overprints were used, creating two sets - the 1906 set with the large overprint (Scott #11-18), and the 1907 set with the small overprint (Scott #19-26). Both are scarce, and in my opinion, grossly undervalued, as only 2,730 of #11-18 and 5,135 of #19-26 were issued, and Scott '11 prices them unused at $604.50 and $242.00, respectively.

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.


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.


Those interested in becoming part of an international community of stamp collectors, dealers, and investors are welcome to join the "Stampselectors" group and organization page at Facebook. The group and page host lively discussions concerning stamp investment and practical aspects of collecting, and provide a useful venue for those who wish to buy, sell, or trade stamps.

Stamp Investment Tip: New Guinea 1925-28 Native Huts (Scott #1-13)

Initiating coverage of New Guinea, it seems appropriate to begin with its first stamps, a set issued from 1925 through 1928 picturing Native Huts (Scott #1-13). Only 2,520 were issued, and Scott '11 values it unused at $479.50.

New Guinea occupies the northeastern part of the island of Papua New Guinea and was later incorporated into the nation of that name. 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.

Most of the collectors of New Guinea are British Commonwealth collectors or Australians, because the the island of Papua New Guinea was administered by Australia until 1975, and maintains close ties with that nation. I recommend accumulation 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.

Stamp Investment Tips: Papua New Guinea 1960 Postage Dues (Scott #J1-14)

In 1960, Papua New Guinea issued two sets of postage due stamps, as well as an individual stamp which collectors consider separate (Scott #J1-5, J6, and J7-14). The quantities issued and Scott '10 values are given below:

J1-5 1960 Surcharge (15,165; $ 74.75)
J6 1960 6p on 7 1/2p Red Surcharge (800;$1,100.00)
J7-14 1960 Numeral (55,696; $ 15.70 )

All of these dues are worthwhile investments. I believe that they have been ignored because they are back-of-book issues.

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.

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 the Postage Due issues on the basis of the prospect of growth in those two collecting areas.

As forged overprints exist of #J6, I advise requiring expertizaton as a condition for purchase.