Theft of rare stamps and collector's items

The thrill of the theft?
Knowing he/she is the only person in the world with that particular item?
Attempting to sell it back in some way...holding it ranson perhaps...

Good luck!

aruna said:

I'm working on a novel that has a rare stamp as part of the story, worth millions. Why would people want to get hold of that stamp illegally? Surely if it is stolen it can't ever be put on the market? Would people want to have it, just to possess it? This goes of course for other collector's items, one of a kind items of value such as jewellery and paintings. Who steals these unique things, and why? What happens to them?
I am still figuring out the storyline and need some input as to what could be done with such a thing.
Thanks!

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I've read stories of the thefts of rare books. The usual motive does appear to be to sell for money, but the thieves tend to not be knowledgable enough about the books and the market to get away with it, or more accurately they don't know enough that they can't get away with it. Word of a theft travel fast over the Internet through email lists and forum sites for dealers and collectors.

If a dealer has someone show up off the street trying to sell a particularly rare and valuable item, the dealer can look it up online and in reference books of book sales (which he would do anyway to find comparable copies for sale, to get a value), seeing none for sale in decades, he might look on Worldcat and find that only four copies are listed worldwide in the rare book sections of university libraries, and become suspicious that the person trying to sell it doesn't know HOW rare it is nor much else about it, and so likely can't be a legitimate owner. The dealer would then contact the four libraries asking if they've had their copy stolen and would they check their shelves to make sure they still have the copy they list in the catalog. I've heard of an intern working at such a library being caught as a book thief because the library recieved such a query and their copy was missing, and an inventory turned up several other misssing items as well.

I believe Jonathan Gash deals with this very scenario (maybe not stamps but antiques) in his Lovejoy novels. Good excuse for me to re-read them!

I seem to recall a few scenarios, but my terminology is likely more faulty than my memory:

- Ransom. People in the legit world might be willing to pay to get the item back.

- Commission. More amoral sorts -- who aren't fussed about provenance -- might pay just to have the item and never have it acknowledged, just for pride of ownership. Rabid collectors

- Cooling-off, then recovering. Depending on how valuable or famous something is, if it's out of circulation for a sufficient length of time, eventually it can be slipped back on the market. What's more, if there's a deft hand about, forgeries can be made, and the copies can be sold too. I seem to remember one story where Lovejoy asserts that it doesn't matter how valuable, rare, or famous something is; eventually, it can slip back into view, and people can be fooled into buying good fakes. He's a pretty cynical character regarding the world of antiques.

Significant works do get stolen; cases that come to mind immediately are the recent Munch paintings and the thefts from the Gardiner Museum in Boston. There must be money in it, otherwise it wouldn't happen!

In any case, if you're looking for a good read at the same time, try a Gash's Lovejoy novels. They're funny, gripping, and full of insight into antiques, forgery, and crimes related to them.

In the...

philatelist's world there are some collectors who will acquire, by any means, any other copies of their rare stamp and destroy them. This way theirs becomes the only stamp. Apparently this is done so that they are the only one with xyz stamp. More mercenary collectors have done this to make theirs more valuable. I can't remember details but there have been real people who have done both these things.

aruna said:

I'm working on a novel that has a rare stamp as part of the story, worth millions. Why would people want to get hold of that stamp illegally? Surely if it is stolen it can't ever be put on the market? Would people want to have it, just to possess it? This goes of course for other collector's items, one of a kind items of value such as jewellery and paintings. Who steals these unique things, and why? What happens to them?
I am still figuring out the storyline and need some input as to what could be done with such a thing.
Thanks!

Click to expand...

Never heard of the black market?

DuPont is also a trade name, if the stamp I'm thinking of is the one you're using. You might be able to get by without a lawsuit.

Depending on the situation, a "copy" would be the smart way to go.

I use the word "copy" very specifically. Seems that it's only a "fake" when it's sold/discovered to be not genuine.

I would also recomment the Lovejoy series.

As to the why a theft would take place.

- If the thing is so rare, there is the professional kudos of pulling that job. Doesn't matter what happens to the item, it's the job. And it could well be that the right people KNOW who did it and it's like a "sample" just to show what a thief can do.
- Something specific and rare will likely be stolen to order. So dealers and markets are not an issue. Someone wants it, they can't/won't buy it legally, so they arrange to get it another way.
- I heard or read something a while back that actaully said blackmarket items, those stolen paintings that just disappear, actually become the currency of other illegal enterprises. A million dollar painting is easier and safer to use to buy drugs that a million dollars in currency. I woud have thought a stamp would serve the same purpose and be even easier to transport and use as payment.

No idea if these help any.

Stamp

There are private collectors all over the world who will gladly buy stolen stamps or artwork for their private collections, and they'll often pay more than market value for the item.

Read up on art theft. People steal one-of-a-kind paintings that can NEVER EVER be sold (how could you steal the Mona Lisa and then sell it?!?!). The motivation behind art thefts has got to be very similar to the motivation behind thefts of any other one-of-a-kind unsellable item, so read up on art theft.

And also, a stamp isn't nearly as hard to sell as a famous painting, because by definition stamps are NOT one of a kind; when they were manufactured, many copies were made. Incredibly rare stamps are... well... incredibly rare, but still not one of a kind. I think there are stamps worth millions that aren't one of a kind; they may be one of only a handful of surviving copies, but still. So in most cases, an extremely valuable stamp probably could be sold; it would be very hard for the original owner to prove that the stamp for sale was stolen from her--it's not as if stamps have serial numbers. And if it IS one of a kind, refer to your readings on art theft to understand the motive.

poetinahat said:

I believe Jonathan Gash deals with this very scenario (maybe not stamps but antiques) in his Lovejoy novels. Good excuse for me to re-read them!

I seem to recall a few scenarios, but my terminology is likely more faulty than my memory:

- Ransom. People in the legit world might be willing to pay to get the item back.

- Commission. More amoral sorts -- who aren't fussed about provenance -- might pay just to have the item and never have it acknowledged, just for pride of ownership. Rabid collectors

- Cooling-off, then recovering. Depending on how valuable or famous something is, if it's out of circulation for a sufficient length of time, eventually it can be slipped back on the market. What's more, if there's a deft hand about, forgeries can be made, and the copies can be sold too. I seem to remember one story where Lovejoy asserts that it doesn't matter how valuable, rare, or famous something is; eventually, it can slip back into view, and people can be fooled into buying good fakes. He's a pretty cynical character regarding the world of antiques.

Significant works do get stolen; cases that come to mind immediately are the recent Munch paintings and the thefts from the Gardiner Museum in Boston. There must be money in it, otherwise it wouldn't happen!

In any case, if you're looking for a good read at the same time, try a Gash's Lovejoy novels. They're funny, gripping, and full of insight into antiques, forgery, and crimes related to them.

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Some novels in the rare book area (dunno if these are helpful, but they should at least be entertaining) are John Dunning's series starting with "Booked to Die" and "The Bookman's Wake" (and several others since, I haven't kept up) I recall reading one of those, I'm not a big mystery fan but it had everything in the book world, a bookscout running out of luck, down to change in his pocket going into a thrift store, paying 25 cents for a book that he takes to the local rare book dealer and sells for enough to pay his meals and motel room for the week, a private publisher who makes his own typefaces, and lots of stuff about the book trade. The author has many years as a dealer himself.

aruna said:

Thanks to everyone! That' some good stuff to work with.

pdr: Destruction of the stamp (or the attempt) is actually an option I'd love to use; I've already thought of it and it would make a great plot development. But I can't. There is already ONE stamp of the kind my character has in the real world, and I do want to use this particular stamp in the novel because of its fascinating history.

It's the fact that a SECOND of these stamps turns up unexpectedly, after decades, and the circumstances of its discovery, that make the story (which I've had in the back of my mind for years).

The trouble is, the person who owns the real stamp will sue me if I put anything like that in it. It's risky even to mention him at all: he is an American Olympic gold medalist (in boxing I think), who is serving a life sentence for murder! The stamp is in a vault somewhere, and is not for sale. I am sure this guy would NOT want another of these stamps in the world but I daren't even suggest he'd destroy it.

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I thought this sounded familiar, and when someone mentioned DuPont it rang a bell - he had spent money on a gym/camp for training olympic wrestlers(?), and it was in his involvement in that that he murdered. I wasn't aware that he had anything to do with stamps, but it's certainly not surprising that someone with so much money would own high-priced collectibles.

aruna said:

Yes it is DuPont (did you know or did you google?). And it is this stamp. And the E. D. Wight mentioned in this article, the guy who practically "created" the stamp, happens to be my great-grandfather (or great-great), so I can conjure up a nice little family story about the second one turning up.
I don't quite get what you mean about DuPont being a trade name though. Can you explain it for Dummies?

Yes, black market, stealing to order - that's the kind of thing I want to work into the plot. Not to mention family members trying to murder the owner...

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ideagirl said:

Read up on art theft. People steal one-of-a-kind paintings that can NEVER EVER be sold (how could you steal the Mona Lisa and then sell it?!?!). The motivation behind art thefts has got to be very similar to the motivation behind thefts of any other one-of-a-kind unsellable item, so read up on art theft.

And also, a stamp isn't nearly as hard to sell as a famous painting, because by definition stamps are NOT one of a kind; when they were manufactured, many copies were made. Incredibly rare stamps are... well... incredibly rare, but still not one of a kind. I think there are stamps worth millions that aren't one of a kind; they may be one of only a handful of surviving copies, but still. So in most cases, an extremely valuable stamp probably could be sold; it would be very hard for the original owner to prove that the stamp for sale was stolen from her--it's not as if stamps have serial numbers. And if it IS one of a kind, refer to your readings on art theft to understand the motive.

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There are varied ways that scarcity can happen. I recall the story of a book (perhaps not particularly valuable in itself, but this serves to make the point) that was newly published, but the warehouse where the copies were stored burned down. There were perhaps less than a dozen copies in existence that were NOT in the warehouse at the time.

It seems to me that ransom might also be a motive for stealing - especially something as famous as the Mona Lisa, it would be considered a public treasure, there would be a lot of pressure to get it back in its original condition and pay whatever price (and perhaps to then find the criminals and make them pay, but that's the risk the criminals choose to take).

aruna said:

Thanks, and I intend to research a little more thoroughly as I move into the story.
The stamps in question ARE actually one of a kind in a way, due to the fact that each one had to be hand-initialized to be validated; it is that signature that made them so special, and no two were exactly the same.

There was only one of them in known existence, though it seems a second one has turned up. In my story, that would then be the third. It is the rarest stamp in the world.

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On the topic of fakery in the art world, it's mentioned in the recently popular nonfiction book "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell. I think the author overstates his case, but there is an instance of experts looking at an ancient statue and stating almost immediately that it's a fake, and indeed deeper analysis finds it to be made hundreds of years more recently than the alleged style would indicate.

Aruna, it looks like you have a fascinating WIP, I look forward to when it's published! You're not going to use the same publisher as "Crack of Death," are you?

Aruna, I used to work for some antiques dealers, years ago, bidding at auctions on thier behalf. They had a reputation for spotting the rare and unusual and snapping up a bargain and so when ever they bid, other dealers would join in, driving the price up. So I'd go in, bid for items, pay with cash, and take the stuff away without anyone knowing who had bought it. I once bought a diamond brooch in the shape of a lizard for £7,200 which a week later sold at Sotheby's for £38,000. Lovely thing!

Now. There's a huge black market in antiques. There are some very wealthy collectors out there who will happily pay over the odds for something rare, or famous. They then have the pleasure of keeping these things at home and being able to look at them when ever they want. And that's what they do it for. I can quite imagine someone buying a rare stamp and keeping quiet about it; enjoying the knowledge that only a couple of people in the world know about it's existance. I've heard that paintings especially are stolen to order--it's a bit more difficult to steal a good settle, after all--and I can see how a stamp could also find itself stolen, bought by a rich collector, and then hidden away for years.

They'd have to care an awful lot about stamps, though. Hmm.

As for keeping them in good condition in a tropical climate: the problems would be moisture, mould and insect damage, I suspect. Could it be stored in an album, but with some sort of dessicant alongside it? Would grains of rice work (I remember salt-cellars in Greece always having a few grains of rice in them, to keep the salt dry), or would that not be sufficient in the climate? You'd probably need several pounds of rice for it to last over decades!

There is another possibility - a forger steals the stamp to make a forgery.

However instead of making a single forgery he makes a few dozen. Each forgery would be sold to a dishonest collector, who would believe it to be the stolen original. The collector would never be able to show it publically, so the forger could sell duplicates to dozens of collectors ... each not knowing about the others.

Because there is only one stamp, it could never be compared to another copy .. so the forgery might escape notice.

The forger could use another stamp of the same era and bleach it to get the paper .. which would even pass carbon dating.

Mac

How about the owner has sold it quietly, and now has some one act like they are stealing it so that he can get the insurance money?

What if it is part of a block of four, and an unscrouplous collector will do anything to get the last part of the set?

Lastly, what if someone really, really needs to send a letter?

I can see a development where the thief actually pastes it onto a letter underneath a larger stamp and then mails it out of the building!
Cool!

If it were stored, accidentally, alongside things which were obviously valuable that might help. So perhaps an envelope, with stamp attached, slips down behind a bench where it could remain for years (well, in my house it could...!), and as there are valuable other-things in that room, the atmosphere is controlled. Not much specific help, I know, Sharon, but at least I'm trying!