Looking for a simple way to make a sound investment this Summer? Then you could do a lot worse than checking out the celebrations to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in the UK.
As
usual the streets of London
- and the rest of England,
Wales,
Scotland
and Northern
Ireland
- will be draped in Union
Jack
flags as the country celebrates Queen
Elizabeth's
sixty years on the throne.
And
- as normal - the country's shops will be drowned in memorabilia. For
the smart investor, it's a diamond opportunity.
The range of items for sale this Summer will include teddy bears, shirts, fridge magnets and spoons. But even though 90 per cent of the memorabilia on sale will be worthless junk, experts are certain that a few items could become valuable. So the trick will be to spot what is going to be a solid investment for the future.
‘Strictly
limited editions are the best buys. Values could rise ten per cent
due to a patriotic wave of interest this year alone. Mugs are the
most collectable because of their aesthetic appeal, but it is
important to find a good make,' leading antiques trader and Royal
collector
Ann
Parker,
of Hungerford,
Berkshire,
told the
Daily Mail
recently.
The
most prestigious items will be released by the aptly-named Royal
Collection,
which sells merchandise personally approved by the
Queen.
They are releasing a Diamond
Jubilee
Limited
Edition
range of fine bone china pieces finished with 22-carat gold leaf.
A
Royal
Collection
spokeswoman says: ‘We expect our £250
teapots to be in demand. There is an international market for such
quintessentially English items. With a limited edition of only 500
pots being made they could have investment appeal.’
Another
smart investment might be a limited edition Diamond
Jubilee Loving Cup
costing £175.
The two-handled loving cup have always been popular with Royal
collectors and, because they are easily broken, tend to become rare.
Other
investments worth looking at include the Royal
Mint’s Official Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
£5
coin,
which are currently selling for £12.99
plus £2.95
postage. A number of Jubilee postage stamp sets will also be released
- but, as always with stamps, these won’t be worth much unless they
contain mistakes.
The
last mistake was made in the run up to the wedding of Edward
and Sophie
in 1999, when the perforation machine stopped working for a handful
of stamps. These unperforated 52p stamps are now worth around £1,500.