When the famous artist, Francis Picabia, was 15 years old he copied his father’s collection of Spanish paintings which he then swapped for the originals. Without his father knowing, Picabia then sold the original paintings to fund his stamp collection.
- Stamp collecting has been thriving for over 150 years.
- Approximately £5 billion worth of rare stamps are traded every year.
- There are approximately 50 million philatelists globally, 18 million in China alone. There is growing interest in Brazil, India and Russia.
- Stamps are the 3rd most traded category on Ebay.
Source: Stanley Gibbons
