FEPA News

FEPA NEWS 45 45 Developments in Philately With the upcoming Bill Gross sale, several newspapers have picked up on the Z Grill potentially being a record setting stamp. So why is this important for getting non-collectors collecting? In today’s economic turmoil young members of society want to see either a return or stability with their purchases. It is a lovely idea that collecting is not about the money but frankly, for younger members of society, it is – this is clearly seen across the Trading Card and Art collectibles markets. Within my age group of 21-30, we are feeling the pinch and certainly don’t want our purchases to depreciate in value. In November 2023 Deloitte published their biennial Art and Finance Report. It notes that “younger collectors seem even more motivated by financial benefits surrounding ownership In the period after FN43, during which I was thinking about why the Inverted Mon hadn’t received an article, I saw that Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, had hired the young and energetic team of Charles Epting, Alison Sullivan and Alyssa Baumgardner. Speaking to Charles I learnt that Siegel seek to engage newer collectors with their sales. He commented: “I think the stigma surrounded extraordinary prices is a shame and is something that I haven’t seen in any other collectible field. Record-setting auction realizations are oftentimes the most newsworthy events in philately and can be a great way of letting people know that the hobby is not only alive but doing quite well in many respects. If somebody collects expensive cars or watches, we believe that an Inverted Jenny breaking the $2 million mark, or the sale of the 1-cent Z-Grill (with an estimate of $4-5 million) is a perfect way of introducing them to the highest echelons of stamp collecting.” Articles from nearly all major news outlets were published on the sale of the Inverted Jenny Block: