Danish West Indies, 1872, | | | | | | | | 4 c., blue, unused. |0 6 |0 6 |1 6 |3 6 |5 0 |17 6 |25 0 | Danish West Indies, 1873, | | | | | | | | 14 c., unused |1 0 |1 0 |2 6 |3 6 |5 6 |24 0 |32 0 | Egypt, 1866, 5 piastres, | | | | | | | | unused |2 0 |2 0 |5 0 |8 6 |16 0 |22 6 |25 0 | " " 10 " |2 6 |1 6 |6 0 |12 0 |20 0 |26 0 |27 6 | Gambia, 4d., imperf., | | | | | | | | unused |0 8 |0 8 |2 6 |5 0 |6 0 |20 0 |32 0 | Gibraltar, 1886, 1s. |-- |-- |1 9 |3 6 |7 6 |70 0 |75 0 | Hayti, 1881, 20 c., unused |-- |-- |2 0 |2 0 |2 6 |7 6 |20 0 | Hungary, 1871, 3 k., litho., | | | | | | | | used |0 2 |0 2 |1 6 |3 6 |6 6 |30 0 |40 0 | Newfoundland, 1866, 5 c., | | | | | | | | brown, used. |1 0 |2 6 |3 6 |7 6 |12 6 |28 0 |25 0 | New South Wales, 1d., Sydney | | | | | | | | Views, used. |2 6 |4 0 |17 6 |30 0 |35 0 |40 0 |40 0 | Orange River Colony, 1877, 4 | | | | | | | | on 6d., unused |-- |1 0 |1 0 |3 0 |3 0 |5 0 |30 0 | Tonga, 1892, 8d. |-- |-- |-- |-- |2 0 |5 0 |10 0 | " " 1s. |-- |-- |-- |-- |3 0 |4 0 |15 0 | Transvaal, 1878-9, 4d., | | | | | | | | unused |-- |0 8 |1 0 |1 0 |0 9 |1 6 |20 0 | " " 1s. " |-- |1 9 |2 0 |2 0 |4 6 |15 0 |40 0 | Trinidad, 1896, 10s. |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |14 0 |70 0 | Turks Islands, 1879, 1s., | | | | | | | | blue, unused |-- |1 9 |2 6 |3 0 |5 0 |20 0 |25 0 | Zululand, 1888, 9d. |-- |-- |-- |1 6 |1 6 |12 0 |17 6 |

Of foolish investors there will always be a generous supply, who will ever be ready to offer themselves as evidence of the worthlessness of any and every form of investment, forgetful of the fact that the shoe is more often on the other foot.  In stamps, as in every other class of investment, the foolish may buy what is worthless instead of what is valuable.  There are stamps specially manufactured and issued to catch such flats, and they are easily hooked by the thousand every year, despite the continual warnings of experienced collectors.

But if we turn to the result of experienced collecting we find abundant evidence of the fact that the stamp collector may enjoy his stamps and, when the force of circumstances compels him to abandon them, he may retire without regret for having put so much money into a mere hobby.