2006年VOA标准英语-Interest Grows in Rare Stamps as Investments

By Mil Arcega
Washington, DC
12 June 2006
 
watch Stamp Collecting report

Stamp collecting is a popular hobby that also can pay off financially. Stamps and related postal¹ objects can be beautiful and exotic, plus they often have historical value.   And as VOA's Mil Arcega reports, the stamp trade is beginning to attract serious investors².

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Stamp show  
  

It's the world's largest stamp show.  Held only once every 10 years - the World Philatelic Exhibition opened earlier this month in Washington D.C.

The show attracts stamp afficionados, dealers⁴ and postal organizations from all over the world.  Some come here to buy, sell, or trade -- but most come simply to admire the variety of stamps on display, including some of the world's rarest.   

 
Bob Prager
  
Whatever the reasons, stamp dealer³ Bob Prager says an increasing number of collectors are seeing stamps as commodities. "The first reason for collecting anything is for the love of the item or the stamp. But there are more people coming in, looking for ways of investing money, and hopefully getting a return on their investment. "

But investing in stamps is not a game for amateurs; Prager says it’s like a business. "It is like any business. You have to know a lot about what you do."

And Prager says even professionals make mistakes. He admits he's lost money on some stamps but says he's also had his share of winners. He offers as an example, an inverted⁵ U.S. stamp, known as "121-B".

"My collector purchased this probably about six, seven years ago, probably for about $40,000. It is now worth about $60,000."

British-based philatelic firm Stanley Gibbons, which specializes in alternative investments, says rare stamps were among the top four investments of the 20th century, with an average annual return of about 10 percent.

  
  
Prager says the secret to making money is patience -- waiting for the right stamp to come along and knowing when to sell it. That's where professionals come in.

"I don't hold a stamp very long. I buy and sell and buy and sell. So it is different. I am in and out of a stamp but I like to place it with a collector so that one day when they get tired of their stamp collecting and they want to sell their collection they will come to me to buy it from them, so I try to sell them the right things to begin with. I want to buy my own stamps back."

Stamp collecting is among the world's most popular hobbies.  Philately organizations say more than 30 million stamp collectors help fuel the estimated $10 billion a year industry

1 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

4 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

5 inverted   

adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。
• Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》