THE KING WHO SOLD HIS QUEEN SO HE COULD MARRY HIS MISTRESS.


King Carol II of Romania was exiled in 1940. He left in a train laden with Royal Treasure: paintings by Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, plus jewels and even the ceremonial armour. And of course, his prized stamp collection. A Nazi-fi nanced death squad fi red on the Royal Train, but failed to stop it. The King and his mistress lay on the fl oor and escaped injury from the bullets. Later, when exiled in Mexico, he sold part of his famous stamp collection to raise funds for his marriage to his mistress. Among them was this fi ne example of a ‘frame inverted’ error. Queen Victoria’s statue is the right way up, but her name and the rest of the stamp’s frame is upside down. Unsurprisingly, given its pedigree, the investment performance is very strong. An example of this stamp sold at auction for £19,000 in 2005; the most recent example sold in 2012 for £30,000. That’s a rise of 57% in just 7 years. A paper by Elroy Dimson (London Business School and Cambridge Judge Business School) and Christophe Spaenjers (HEC Paris) showed that, last century, British stamps recorded an annualised growth of 7%, outperforming bonds and even gold*. Although past performance does not necessarily give a guide for the future, rare stamps can offer you a store of wealth unlike many other investments. And, as King Carol II knew, the right stamps can make you money.


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The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you put in. Stamps and certain other collectibles are not designated investments for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 and as such are not subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or otherwise. *Elroy Dimson and Christophe Spaenjers, “Ex post: The investment performance of collectible stamps”, Journal of Financial Economics, Volume 100, issue 2, May 2011, pages 443–458. Prices quoted are as sold where stated. Auction prices exclude any premiums. Please note: Past performance does not necessarily give a guide for the future.


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