Home Insurance and Stamp Collections

The UK has a wide range of home insurance providers so you may decide to compare quotes online. Whilst this can provide you with cheap home insurance options, it is always worth investigating the full extent of the contents cover offered. This is especially important if you have a treasured collection of stamps that you want to insure.

Most of us have a collection of some sort or another, whether it is an impressive assortment of handbags or recipes, or an array of toy owls or brass doorknobs. More often than not the value of these collections is more emotional than economic. Nevertheless, you may be shocked by the prices that some collectors’ items fetch, especially if you have been collecting stamps for some time.

The “Treskilling” yellow is the most valuable postage stamp in the world. In 1996 it sold for 2,500,000 Swiss francs. Each successive sale has produced a world record price for a postage stamp. Even a used Penny Black can fetch between £10 and £110 depending on its condition and if you’re lucky enough to have an unused penny black in your collection, you’re looking at a price tag of around £1,600!

In the 1860s and 1870s when stamp collecting began, it was mainly done by children and teenagers and was generally thought of as a childish pursuit. However, when these youngsters grew up, they became the founders of what is still one of the world’s most popular indoor hobbies. Even today when the popularity of stamp collecting has dwindled somewhat, there are still an estimated 200 million stamp collectors world wide.

Throughout history, some impressive figures have been keen on this hobby including Freddie Mercury and John Lennon who both enjoyed stamp collecting as children. Their collections are now held by postal museums; the British Postal Museum and Archive and the National Postal Museum respectively.

If you’ve spent years building up a valuable stamp collection, it can be reassuring to know that it’s covered in your buildings and contents insurance policy.

With suitable home insurance in place, you can get back to scouring archives for the elusive missing piece that will complete your collection