Stamp collectors looking to make a quick buck have reportedly fixed their eyes on soon-to-be-phased out “Taiwan” stamps after the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ (MOTC) announcement on Wednesday that future stamps would carry the words “Republic of China (Taiwan)” instead.
However, a Taiwan Post official surnamed Yen yesterday suggested that enthusiasts not get overly excited as the value of “Taiwan” stamps may not appreciate as much as some have predicted.
Since last year, Taiwan Post has printed 33 sets of stamps — seven of which are yet to be issued — bearing “Taiwan” as the nation of issuance.
On Wednesday, the MOTC said that after the release of the last of these stamps scheduled on Aug. 1, all future stamps would state “Republic of China (Taiwan).”
Addressing Chinese-language media speculation yesterday that after the name change, the “Taiwan” stamps would be worth as much as 20 times their face value, Yen said “the stamp collection market is determined by supply and demand — since millions of copies were printed for each set of the ‘Taiwan’ stamps, a drastic increase in value is highly unlikely.”
In the past, stamps that have become expensive are those that are extremely rare, Yen said.
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