Stanley Gibbons £1 Million Portfolio

Protect and Grow your wealth

The global finance markets are taking a battering, yet, just last month we sold our single most valuable rare stamp.

At a time when the financial & housing markets are in turmoil a Stanley Gibbons client has paid £250,000 ($450,000) for a single Penny Black. It's a world record for a single example of the world's first postage stamp.

It doesn't surprise us. After all, where would you put £1m in the current financial climate?

To ensure absolutely safety you'd need to open 20 bank accounts with £50,000 in each to qualify for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, remembering that you will not be afforded maximum protection twice for banks that are linked to each other.

Not the most practical solution...

It's why more and more astute investors are placing their money in the collectibles markets.

Just recently the Wall Street Journal reported:

"These days, wealthy people prize collectibles that are scarce since they tend to produce stronger (or "non-correlated") returns compared with more common assets such as stocks and bonds"

With that in mind Stanley Gibbons has created the Million Pound Portfolio.

A selection of the rarest stamps and autographs in the world today. It's your opportunity to invest in a solid and safe tangible asset with proven long-term historic returns. After all, what could be scarcer than:

Henry VIII - a 450 year old signed document
Edward IV - the earliest known British Royalty signature in private hands
Neil Armstrong - An Apollo 11 operation log signed by Armstrong

The New York Times has reported that this class of asset is becoming more popular among investors and:

"Yields a higher return when the stock market does poorly"

To find out why you should be diversifying into the world of collectibles read our FREE REPORT

www.stanleygibbons.com/freereport

Or have a look at the Million Pound Portfolio below...

	EDWARD IV -- Royalty & Aristocracy A remarkable original engrossed royal proclamation of the conclusion of a treaty of peace for thirty years with Francis Duke of Brittany. Signed by the King at the close as 'EdowardR' (thought to be the French form of his signature) and with stated warranty of Parliament . The document is dated 8th June 1468 (in fact 1467), written in French and is accompanied by a full translation. It is in superb condition and measures 15.25x23.25 inches. Documents written by Edward IV are the earliest royal ones that a collector can ever realistically expect to obtain. Price: £150,000.00
	GREAT BRITAIN 1902 SG: O87 1902 1s Dull green & carmine (Board of Education). The magnificent and unique unmounted o.g. corner marginal example of this rare departmental issue and one of the great rarities of GB philately. Light vertical gum bend nevertheless one of the finest examples of which only four or five are believed to exist. 1922 RPS and 2007 BPA Certificates. Price: £145,000.00
	VAN GOGH, VINCENT -- Art An extremely rare handwritten poem on a portion of a leaf cut from an album (with pre-printed parallel red lines at the left margin), approx. 5.5x10.7 cm. The leaf was originally included in an album containing about sixty entries (approx. 180 pages) written during Van Gogh's residence in England in 1876. While there, Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo of his love for English hymns, especially "Tell Me the Old, Old Story". The four verses of this poem are neatly penned in tiny script, while the verso contains 32 partial lines of Dutch religious verse, also in Van Gogh's hand. The handwritten entry has been documented and verified by the Van Gogh Museum.. Handwritten material of Vincent Van Gogh is exceedingly rare and desirable. The few letters that have come onto the market in the last ten years have all sold in the six-figure range. Price: £50,000.00
	GREAT BRITAIN 1882 SG: 157/170var 1882 ½d-1s Temporary Unified Series Essays (Set TL). The superb unused o.g. set of ten comb perforated 14 essays (½d, 4d& 1s Imperf) printed in purple on Crown watermarked paper without surcharge. This magnificent exhibition item is one of the great rarities of GB philately, only eight sets were originally produced, seven of them overprinted in black with their respective face values. Unique Ex. Maximus, Latto. Price: £120,000.00
	HENRY VIII -- Royalty & Aristocracy Document Signed, Henry R, one page, oblong folio, on vellum, Hampton Court, March 9, 1543. To Sir Richard Rich, First Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, referring to future payment schedules for a debt incurred by Edward North, Crown Treasurer, for lands received from the King. The Court of Augmentations was established by Henry VIII to try cases affecting the suppression of monasteries. Fine condition. Framed with a handsome engraved portrait after Holbein, in ivory silk with silver-gilt bevels and a beaded silver-gilt frame. Framed dimensions: 24 inches wide by 13½ inches high. Price: £45,000.00
	GREAT BRITAIN 1854 SG: 57 1854 10d Brown (Die 4). A magnificent unused o.g. block of eight from the top two rows of the sheet, just touched at lower right with a couple of minor creases as is to be expected with such a multiple. A stunning exhibition piece of the highest rarity accompanied by 1982 Holcombe and 2001 BPA Certificates. Ex. Burras, Fraser. Price: £110,000.00
	ELIZABETH I -- Royalty & Aristocracy Important and impressive document, signed Elizabeth R, approving the list of the twenty members of the Order of the Knights of the Garter for 1589, including Philip II of Spain, who the year before had launched the Spanish Armada against England. 11 by 11 inches, on vellum. Very fine condition, framed in gilt with an exceptional engraved portrait. Framed dimensions: 25 inches wide by 19 inches high. Price: £45,000.00
	GREAT BRITAIN 1840 SG: 2 1840 1d Black Pl.4. A magnificent unused o.g. four margin horizontal strip of five lettered KA-KE accompanied by a clear 2006 BPA Certificate. A stunning exhibition piece of the highest rarity. Ex. De Worms (1938). Price: £95,000.00
	EDWARD VI -- Royalty & Aristocracy A magnificent letter to the dean and chapter of Exeter, forwarding a grant by the Bishop of Exeter to Sir William Paget and asking him to confirm it under the cathedral chapter's seal. The document is dated at 10th February 1548 and is countersigned by Lord Protector Somerset. The document is in very fine condition. There is some expected paper loss to the right which has been professionally repaired and did not affect the writing. Letters by Edward VI are very scarce as the King only ruled the country from 1547 until 1553). This example is presented in a fine buckram box with leather label, gilt to the lid, accompanied by a full transcription. Price: £37,500.00
	GREAT BRITAIN 1882 SG: 132var 1882 £1 Brown lilac Pl.1 (Wmk. Anchor). Superb unused o.g. right hand marginal vertical pair of imperforate imprimaturs lettered AH-BH (lower stamp unmounted o.g.), overprinted "SPECIMEN" type 9. Very rare only 7 possible examples, many of which are in institutionalised collections. Price: £80,000.00
	FALKLANDS WAR - SOUTH GEORGIA -- Military The note that began the countdown to the Falklands War - one page, original message dictated by Rex Hunt, Governor of the Falkland Islands, over the radio to Trevor Edwards of the British Antarctic Survey, and to him by the Argentine expedition that had landed on South Georgia, headed 'Sat March 20th 1982 from the Governor of the Falklands Islands’. The piece begins ‘You Have Landed illegally at Leith without obtaining proper clearance’ and is written in green ballpoint pen on lightweight paper. It was recently displayed at the National Army Museum to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the war. Price: £29,950.00
	ARMSTRONG, NEIL -- Space & Aviation Rare and historic NASA/ Apollo XI document signed six times, a one page document on partly printed 8½ x 11 in. leaf, dated June 16, 1969 - just one month prior to the historic flight of Apollo XI. This is the operation log for the Lunar Landing Test Vehicle, an earth-bound Lunar Lander designed to train the astronauts of the Apollo Program, with twelve NASA stamps and sixteen Bell Aerosystem stamps. The vehicle was flown by Armstrong as part of his training prior to the historic Apollo XI lunar landing on July 20, 1969. This report contains a wealth of information including vehicle flight times, engine time, inspection status, vehicle condition, etc. This historic Neil Armstrong document is one of the most important space-related signed document ever offered to collectors. In exceptional condition and accompanied by text related to document. Price: £29,500.00
	BEATLES, THE -- Music Vintage illustrated souvenir programme from 'Another Beatles Christmas Show', Hammersmith Odeon, December 1964-January 1965. This complete 20-page programme features printed images by John Lennon from the Christmas edition of 'In His Own Write'. Signed on the front cover in blue ink, 'Best wishes from the Beatles, 'George Harrison', 'John Lennon', 'Paul McCartney', and 'Ringo Starr.' In very good condition, with signatures a few shades light but completely legible. The program, itself a collector's item, is scarcely seen with the Beatles’ signatures. Price: £22,500.00
	NELSON, VISCOUNT ADMIRAL HORATIO -- Military A fantastic full letter in his hand and signed by him Nelson & Bronte (dated Aug.4th 1804 on board "Victory") to "My dear Sir" [his friend William Marsh] about his prize money and stating "a few months quiet will set me up for a campaign again" and that he is taking "asses milk" to build up his strength. Amazing quality. In clear fresh condition. During 1804 Nelson, as Commander in the Mediterranean, was engaged in watching the French Mediterranean ports and trying to draw the French fleet out into battle. At the beginning of August he was in Gulf in Panama, off Sardinia. From other letters written the same day, 4the August, it seems he was expecting a renewal of the Peace of Amiens and was hoping to be granted home leave to restore his "shattered carcase". However this proved a false hope and he did not return to England until a year later, when he had only 25 days at home before setting off for what turned out to be the Trafalgar campaign. Price: £14,500.00
	KENNEDY, JOHN F -- Politics Typed letter signed as 'John Kennedy', one page, dated November 14, 1961 on mint green White House stationery. The letter is addressed to Norman Thomas regarding nuclear testing and the arms race. Six-time Socialist Party Presidential candidate Norman Thomas was often called 'America’s Conscience' and campaigned aggressively against the dangers of nuclear proliferation. In this letter, Kennedy responds to the issue of atmospheric testing, stating that ‘this Administration has no intention of conducting nuclear tests in the atmosphere unless such tests are absolutely essential for our military security’. Price: £12,500.00
	CROMWELL, OLIVER -- Military An order to pay Phillipe Twistleton the sum of one thousand three hundred and seventy nine pounds and fourteen shillings for payment to the officers and soldiers in his regiment of horse, addressed to Sir John Woollaston, Treasurer at War and signed 'O Cromwell'. One page folio, receipted at the foot by Philippe Twistleton, n.p., 14 February 1650. The first three lines of the document have faded somewhat, but the remainder remains clear and legible throughout. Price: £12,500.00
	DIANA - PRINCESS OF WALES -- Royalty & Aristocracy Stunning oversized color satin-finish 9.75 x 12 photograph (affixed to a 10.5 x 14 mount) of Lady Diana Frances Spencer (1961-1997) in a purple velvet off-the-shoulder dress, her hands in her lap, signed on the mount in green ballpoint "Diana 1989." The gown in the photo was designed by Bruce Oldfield and worn by Diana to the second Bruce Oldfield Gala held at Grosvenor House. The dress later sold for $26,450 at Christie's 1997 charity auction of Diana’s clothing. Mounted, framed and glazed. Price: £9,500.00