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Sampler Issue of Stamp News Online Magazine

Stamp Market Tips:
STAMPS Magazine, May 5, 1979

By John G. Ross, with updates by John F. Dunn

In bringing back the old "Stamp Market Tips" feature, there are some qualifications we need to keep in mind. First the past is not necessarily a predictor of the future. Also, we need to factor in inflation. For example, in comparing prices Scott or other prices quoted by Ross, the U.S. $ inflation factor from 1979 to 2012 is 3.16, so a stamp valued at $1 in 1979 would have to be valued at $3.16 today in order to have just kept up with inflation.

There also is the matter of Scott's own valuation policy changes. Examples are the change from FVF to VF as a standard, the expansion of NH prices as well as separate NH prices, and the controversial reduction of almost all Scott prices in the 1980s (to bring them closer to reality). Essentially, the purpose of these "Stamp Market Tips Revisited" is not to come up with a precise comparison, but to…

Continue reading "STAMPS Magazine, May 5, 1979" [PDF Document]

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