Sticky times for the UAE’s stamp enthusiasts

Philately or stamp collecting has always been associated with kings. Farouk I of Egypt, for example, left behind him a great treasure of rare stamps. This is because anyone with a passion for stamp collecting must be rich, to be able to satisfy his hobby, as well as having the patience of Job – attributes most easily associated with royalty.

In the UAE, about 225 stamp collectors of various nationalities are members of the Emirates Philatelic Association (EPA), which was established in 2001. The value of stamps which they own worth tens of millions of dollars, according to the EPA.

The global financial crisis, which hit the world in 2007, did not impact the trade of rare stamps, which has seen a growth of 10 per cent, according to specialised sources. Experts attribute this growth to the intrinsic value of rare stamps, the general intellectual appreciation for stamps and the high awareness of the hobby among young people.

“The history of philately goes back to the 1950s. While the trade was not professionally organised, it was based on the initiatives of individuals and depended on the assembly of random stamps,” said  Abdullah Al-Mutairi, Executive Director of Heritage Sites in Dubai’s Al Shandagha area and a member of the EPA.

After the UAE was founded in 1971, philately saw an exponential leap where individual traders combined their efforts into an organised format, led Abdullah Khoury, head of the EPA, Al-Mutairi added. These efforts have attracted enthusiasts and collectors from around the Arab world.

Lack of financial support

Al Mutairi said the UAE body fares badly in financial terms when compared with other associations around the Gulf, particularly Qatar’s philatelic association, which pays its members higher salaries than government employees.

He said the EPA relies on members’ subscriptions and negligible government support, adding: “The solution to this problem requires a decision from the authorities – or a philatelist who is a key decision-maker in the UAE.”

The interests of collectors of stamps in the UAE are varied, Al Mutairi said, with some members only collecting used stamps, while others acquire unused ones.

Some of them are keen to acquire the first version of a rare stamp, others are interested in stamps that contain errors, and yet others only want stamps that are both beautiful and special.

The UAE writer Mohammad Al Murr, for example, has acquired a rare collection of award-winning stamps related to the postal history of the Sultanate of Oman since the reign of Sultan Faisal bin Turki the third grandfather of the Sultan Qaboos.

And the head of the EPA, Abdullah Khoury and Khalid Ali Al Omaira, a judge at international exhibitions, both have very rare stamps related to the postal history of the UAE, particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“The value of these stamps depends on quality, the printing and paper used, the occasion the stamp commemorates, scarcity and whether it includes including errors, Al-Mutairi said.

The value of a stamp can multiply ten times its original value when errors occur and when the issuing authority decides to withdraw it from circulation and destroys the print run.

One such error occurred on the sixth national day of the UAE, when Emirates Post issued a group of stamps featuring the seven emirates of the federation. “Because of a  mistake in the design, Fujairah Castle was printed on the Umm Al Quwain stamp,” Al-Mutairi said, “So the stamps were withdrawn from the market and destroyed, which led to a rise in the financial value of the group and in particular, the value of the stamp that carries the error.”

Stamps from Saudi Arabia are of particular interest in the region and can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars because of the multiplicity and diversity of designs issued by Saudi Post. With stamps going back to the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd, it can be difficult for the hobbyist to collect them all, thus pushing up the value.

Happy paradoxes

“Philatelic history is associated with many paradoxes that turned the lives of amateurs from poverty to wealth, as happened with one of the Egyptians, who found a very rare stamp in a warehouse belonging to an Egyptian prince. It had been destroyed by Egyptian postal authorities during the monarchy because of the presence of error,” Al Mutairi said.

In another instance, an Englishman found a stamp with a picture of Queen Victoria dating back to 1847 in a book belonging to his father, who had inherited it from his own father. When he subsequently sold the stamp, it went for about £1.5 million (Dh8.79m). 

But beginners, he said, must be both careful and patient when dealing with stamps. Contrary to the practice of dipping envelopes in hot water to remove stamps, he advised leaving them stuck onto the paper so as not to degrade and devalue them.

When it comes to modern stamps, though, Al-Mutairi said most differences come down the business side of their manufacture. Cheap printing quality today as compared to an emphasis on high-end paper and fine design and printing in times gone by has led to a decline in collectability.

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