While 2007 was an excellent year for Canadian stamp auctions, it was not able to match 2006. The likely reason is that, in 2006, a greater number of outstanding Canadian collections were offered. One only has to think of some of the well known names, Sir Gawaine Baillie, Dr. Choi-Loc Tang and Michael Roberts. These three collections alone produced 140 new record prices, an amazing achievement.

Nonetheless, the number of new record prices in 2007 did reach 160, greatly outstripping all previous years other than 2006. The pace of strong prices continued throughout the year and actually gained momentum in the final months.

Here are the numbers

Once again, it is our pleasure to offer some of the finest stamps offered by the auction houses whose sales we covered in 2007:

Maresch

Scott 9ii 23 October, 2007 $6,250	Scott 21vi 19 June, 2007 $165

Scott 39b 23 October, 2007 $4,250	Scott 47i 23 October, 2007 $8,500

Eastern

Scott 20i 23 June, 2007 $1,150	Scott 42 21 February, 2007 $665

Scott 39 12 December, 2007 $1,400	Scott 83 24 March, 2007 $2,200

Vance

Scott 4a 9 May, 2007 $3,340	Scott 20a 24 January, 2007 $730

Scott 22a 24 January, 2007 $2,575	Scott 53 21 March, 2007 $34

Firby

Scott 9xxxv 9 March, 2007 $8,775	Scott 25a 9 March, 2007 $702

Scott 4iii,9a 14 June, 2007 $150,000

Matthew Bennett

Scott 1 21 February, 2007 $23,200	Scott 25iii 21 February, 2007 $2,668

Scott 42i 16 December, 2007 $6,060

Shreves

Scott 29 12 April, 2007 $1,661	Scott 35i 12 April, 2007 $917

Scott 38 12 April, 2007 $4,011	Scott 75 12 April, 2007 $458

Schuyler

Scott 12 27 April, 2007 $3,024	Scott E1a 27April, 2007 $392

Spink

Scott 21b 9 June, 2007 $8,820	Scott 33 9 June, 2007 $1,785

Scott 36f 9 June, 2007 $6,720

Sparks

Scott 26a 8 November, 2007 $3,800

Scott 53 8 November, 2007 $55	Scott 24iv 8 November, 2007 $325

Driving the market was a lot of cash resources in a few hands. Our viewers will be aware of the large bonuses received by corporate executives, the substantial amounts of cash received by shareholders and senior officers on corporate takeovers here and abroad, the huge amount of wealth associated with the oil industry. What happens with all that money? Some of it is often is invested in real estate, art, gold, coins, fine furniture and other collectibles. One only has to look at the amazing prices mentioned at an average Antiques Road Show. There seems to be no limit.

While there may be no limit today, this may not be the case tomorrow. Problems in the US housing market are a good example of investments that have not fared well. Foreign holders of US dollars haven’t done much better. The stamp field is an unregulated market which makes it all the more prone to ups and downs. And as we have mentioned before, when the stamp market goes down, it usually stays down for a long time, sometimes as much as a decade.

What does all this mean? For some it can mean, be sure to get good advice when buying a valuable stamp. Make sure of the quality and make sure of the price. For others it can mean, don’t hang onto your stamps forever. You may be missing a golden opportunity to sell at a time when prices are high.

In closing, we would like to salute a man who used his stamps for the benefit of others. Mr.Bill Gross, Chief Investment Officer of PIMCO in the US and his wife, sold their outstanding collection of British stamps and donated the proceeds of $9.1 million to Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières. What an example they are!