FACE VALUE

Brexit and Trump characterised 201 and 2017 is turning into a world of post-truth and fake news. Both create uncertainty as people speculate on what is real: in politics, media, and business. Emotions and personal beliefs take over from facts, as ‘esteemed’ sources lose their polish and people don’t know what to do, or who to trust.

Thankfully, for anyone prepared to use reason to guide emotion, and evidence to taper supposition, the outlook isn’t so bleak. Investing in a time of turbulence isn’t easy, but there are still ways to balance your portfolios.

Keith Heddle, managing director of investments at Stanley Gibbons, says: “Investing in tangible, heritage assets such as rare stamps and coins can be one way of diversifying your portfolio – transferring some of your capital away from mainstream assets and into something real, and uncorrelated to the stock market.

“While interest rates are so low, cash struggles to stay ahead of inflation, so once again many people are looking for alternatives to broaden their asset allocation.”

Of course, it’s not possible to predict what the value of an individual rare stamp or coin may be in the future, but when it comes to past performance, selected investment-grade stamps and coins have outperformed many other markets in terms of their consistency and lack of volatility – and these are assets that have stood the test of time – some for thousands of years.

Thesaleroom.com works with Europe’s leading auction houses and regularly hosts more than 5,000 auctions per year for a wide range of clients. Richard Lewis is their chief operating o cer, and believes coins and banknotes will always remain a huge part of the collecting market: “The one big change in the numismatic marketplace over the past decade has been the contribution of banknotes and other forms of scripophily such as cheques and share certificates.

“Collecting banknotes is all about rarity and condition. It is also, to an extent, about national collecting – there has been a big rise in prices of far eastern

“Investing in tangible, heritage assets such as rare stamps and coins can be one way of diversifying your portfolio - transferring some of your capital away from mainstream assets banknotes as the Chinese have made their presence felt.”

Banknote collecting, in particular, has recently captured the imagination of the British public with the release of the new £5 note last year – the buzz around fi nding a note with an early serial number, and just how much that could be worth, fi lled the national papers and social media platforms, exposing the potential of banknote collecting to a far wider audience.

“Our data shows a steady rise over the last year with searches for banknotes increasing

CONTINUED ON PAGE 40 ▶

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INVESTORS CONTINUE TO PUT THEIR FAITH IN GOLD COINS!

T ERE AS BEEN an upsurge in the number of bullion investors putting their money into gold coins as a way of protecting their wealth.

BullionByPost, the UK’s number one online bullion dealer, believe the uncertainty produced by the Brexit vote has led to the demand for gold in the UK increasing by almost 40% last year. Commentators say whilst the uncertainty continues the demand for gold, and specific collectable coins, shows no sign of abating.

Rob Halliday-Stein, managing director and founder of bullionbypost.co.uk, says: “There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world and gold is a good thing to hold during those times. Specific coins might not earn more than the spot price but investors are increasingly aware that, in the future, individual coins may become three or four times more valuable as demand increases.” bullionbypost.co.uk stocks the UK’s widest range of gold proof coins and box sets, including a wide range of limited edition sets and coins. bullionbypost.co.uk

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◀ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 by nearly 10%,” says Richard Lewis. “To coincide, thesaleroom.com saw a sale of one of these new £5 notes, with an AA01 serial number, sell for 4,150 at a Spink charity auction on 3rd October 201 . There has also been a 32 % rise in searches on our website for the ‘British Banknote’.”

10 years, with the best performing coin, a

1 3 Charles II old uinea, increasing in price from ,250- 55,000.”

With the number of wealthy people in the world growing, demand for sophisticated, cultural assets, from fi ne art and wine, to classic cars, stamps and coins is growing too.

Welcoming entries for our

Antiques, Furnishings, Silver & Jewellery

auction on

Thursday 8th June

Closing date for entries

26th May

Free Auction Valuations

Every Monday & Friday 10am to 5pm at:The Old Brewery, Baynton Road, Ashton, Bristol BS3 2EB

Upcoming Auctions

Antiques, Furnishings & Collectors’ Items

11th May

Antiques, Furnishings, Silver & Jewellery

8th June

Antiques & Furnishings

6th July

Antiques, Furnishings & Collectors’ Items

3rd August

Antiques & Furnishings

31st August

Tel: 0117 953 1603

Free home visits for large furniture/consignments. Also, formal valuations for probate, family division & insurance. the-saleroom.com different regions vary vastly, with 91% of growth expected in Asia compared to 12% in Europe. haven for capital was the least important factor for UHWNIs in Australasia.”

Stamps have remained stable investments

It is often said that assets from history endure the test of time, and when interest rates are low, or even plain stagnant, it can often be more interesting and profitable to invest in something that you not only have a personal interest in, but that has some history attached. Coins and stamps have been a collector’s item for centuries, and to this day still remain a huge part of the collecting and investment market.

“Over the past 10 years, the value of the Stanley Gibbons 250 Index, which charts the price of Britain’s top investment-grade stamps, has risen by 133.5%, a compound annual growth rate of 8.8%,” says eddle.