Vladimir Kozlov

In times of economic uncertainty, people look for unconventional investment vehicles. Investment in postage stamps can bring you a return of 15 to 20 percent a year, but you have to be careful, as philately involves many subtleties.

"Philately is an interesting kind of investment because it allows you to combine business and pleasure," Sergei Yevtushenko, executive director of the Russian Union of Philatelists, said in an interview at the union's office on Tverskaya Ulitsa.

"This is a nice way to invest your money," Alexei Zubov, head of the Gelos auction house's antique book and philately department, said in a telephone interview. He added that the value of "truly valuable stamps" can appreciate by 15 to 20 percent per annum.

Yevtushenko said that even the current economic crisis hadn't had a negative impact on the postal stamp market. "Postal stamps don't normally become cheaper, their prices can only go up," he said.

Still, choosing the right stamps to invest in is not as easy as it might seem, even though numerous catalogues of stamps have been issued.

"It's difficult for an ordinary person with little or no knowledge of philately to understand all the nuances and see if a stamp is really worth the price listed in a catalogue," Yevtushenko said. "A stamp could look the same but be made of different paper, or it could have an adhesive layer of a different type or a different kind of perforation, and that could have a large impact on its value."

According to Zubov, there are enough experts around who could give opinions on the value of stamps, but it is always good to get opinions from several connoisseurs. "Philately involves a huge amount of information, and there are no pundits that would know all kinds of stamps equally well," he said. "You should try to find experts on exactly the same type of period you are looking at."

And another consideration for potential investors is the fact that postage stamps are a low-liquidity investment. "Finding a collector who would give you the right price for a stamp could take a long time," Zubov said. "Of course, you can always sell it to a dealer but it would be a dealer's price," he said, adding that the dealer's price would be significantly lower.

Those planning to make their first investment in Russian postage stamps should look at those issued before the 1950s or, more preferably, before 1917, according to Zubov. Yevtushenko disagreed: "There is no point looking at a particular period. Stamps have been issued in huge quantities, and even not every stamp from the first batch that went into circulation in Russia in 1858 is valuable. On the other hand, even a recently issued stamp could become valuable if it is unique in any way, if for instance, it differs from the entire batch. Also, to be valuable, a stamp should be in pristine condition."

In Moscow, stamps are sold at many antique and philately stores, but Zubov insists that at an auction you can still get a better deal. Incidentally, some stamps issued in Russia could be bought abroad at a lower price than inside Russia, according to Yevtushenko. "There was a time when the Russian market was nearly empty, everything went abroad, and now, stamps sometimes come back at a lower price than they have here."

To enter the postal stamp market, one should be prepared to spend serious money. "There is no particular figure for the initial investment", Zubov said. "It all depends upon what people could afford, but it's clear that very small investments would never pay off, you should be prepared to part with at least a few thousand dollars."