In June 2007, Bill Gross, a US moneyman, auctioned part of his Great Britain stamp collection for a little over $10m.
It was written in the press at the time that he purchased the majority of it in 2000 for approx $2.5m.
The world's press picked up on the story and you could read about Bill's rare stamp collection from Hong Kong to Hawaii.
But in the Stanley Gibbons offices it left us in a bit of a quandary. We had a dilemma and we had to put our thinking caps on.
You see...the prices of the rarest items at auction were now outstripping our Catalogue Prices.
The Catalogue Prices can of course be updated. They'll need to be to reflect the goings on in New York in June.
But what in the meantime?
We have in our vault some of the rarest British stamps available, unique stamps from Ceylon, unique stamps from Gibraltar that were once held in the famous 'Kayfetz' collection...
There is also a letter from 1840 with both the Penny Black and the Two Penny Blue attached, the world's first two stamps on a letter...together! This cover is believed to be unique and has a superb provenance.
But it's not just the stamp prices that have gone through the roof...
Auction results for the rarest autographs have too...
Elizabeth I for £33,000 ($66,000) 18% more than our latest valuation, Gauguin for £22,000 ($44,000) over 45% higher than our latest valuation.
It got us thinking...
We are potentially selling the rarest items we have, world rarities we will struggle to replace, for less than their true market value.
Up to 45% less in some cases...
You can imagine...we weren't going to let that happen for long.
So we devised the 'ultimate auction'...
The 'Ultimate Auction'
Our experts have been in our vault for the last week. They've taken their time and have selected our finest items.
From millions of pounds worth of stock tucked away in our world famous vault they have selected JUST 11 items of the highest investment grade...
And we are offering them to you in an auction.
Highest bid wins, simple as that.
Imagine owning a letter from 1816, written and signed, by Ludwig Van Beethoven, the world's greatest composer...
A Van Gogh hand written poem, verified authentic by the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam.
A signed album page, including all four signatures of The Beatles, the most successful band of all time.
_ _ _ _ _
Why invest in The Beatles?
The Beatles newsletter
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Or how about Harry Potter? - one for the future, a very rare signing by J K Rowling considering the many millions of books that have been published.
But this is our dilemma: Our current retail price on these 11 items is £250,000.
However you can see from recent auction valuations that we may be undervaluing these items by as much as 45%.
So we plan to hold our own auction for these items. It's that simple. To ensure we do not knowingly sell at a price the market says is too low we are going to auction the items instead.
And the starting price is 20% less than our current market value.
Bidding starts at £200,000. That's a 20% reduction on what we think they are worth.
For the right person, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own the ultimate 'trophy asset'.
But you only have 7 days to act. Once it's sold it's sold.
This is a world class portfolio of 'investment grade' collectibles...probably the most portable investment you will ever hold.
It can take years to build such a collection...we are offering the opportunity to purchase now...we've taken the work out for you.
These 11 items are among the finest in our inventory.
Bidding starts today.
By telephone and email only...
And you have my contact details:
+44 (0) 1481 708 270
Toll free from the USA on 1 866 644 6146
aroose@stanleygibbons.co.uk
That's another thing...this offer is being made to a very limited database. We are not making the offer to everyone on our database, just a select few.
We are opening bidding at a huge 20% discount on what we initially thought these items were worth. Recent auction valuations suggest we are pricing these rarities too low.
Bidding will close after 7 days when a full 24 hours
elapses without a bid.
We know it will take many years to assemble another collection of this calibre, so make sure you don't miss out.
Bids start at £200,000. We're putting our necks on the line here. We could be facing a 20% hit. But we are very confident an astute investor will see the value.
After all these items are proven mid to long term investments.
Imagine them on your office wall, or even at home at your next dinner party. Quite a talking point...and an excellent diversification when the stock markets wobble.
We would be pleased to arrange free delivery to the successful bidder, or offer free insurance and storage in our vault.
If you can see the value in a collectable investment of the finest items available then you need to contact me within the next 7 days.
+44 (0) 1481 708 270
Toll free from the USA on 1 866 644 6146
aroose@stanleygibbons.co.uk
The 'ultimate auction' starts today, for 7 days only. The highest bid wins, simple as that.
Call me and register your bid today...
Don't delay...this unique portfolio will be gone forever in 7 days time.
We think this will turn out to be an unbelievable deal.
+44 (0) 1481 708 270
Toll free from the USA on 1 866 644 6146
aroose@stanleygibbons.co.uk
Regards
Adrian Roose
+44 (0) 1481 708 277
aroose@stanleygibbons.co.uk
www.stanleygibbons.com/investment
P.S. This is available for 7 days only. The Highest bid wins.
+44 (0) 1481 708 270
Toll free from the USA on 1 866 644 6146