National Tide 1980

If we say that in the early 1980s, my country's antique market was like a seedling awakened by the spring rain of reform.

It must hibernate its fragile root system in the soil and can only absorb nutrients little by little to grow gradually.

On the contrary, the stamp market during this period was like Jack's magic beans.

It is full of vitality, develops unscrupulously, and grows rapidly.

In fact, anyone who has done a little research on collecting will know that it was the earliest collection variety that became popular across the country.

It's neither antiques or calligraphy and painting, nor ancient books or jade, but stamps.

Why does this happen? There's a reason for that, of course.

To sum up, it is simply because stamp collection requires a small amount of funds, many ways to obtain it, and a low threshold for entry into the market.

Moreover, this kind of valuable ticket is not only easy to carry, but also conducive to transactions.

From a public perspective, our country was culturally monotonous and economically underdeveloped.

Stamps are almost the cheapest and most convenient collecting hobby among all investment categories.

Because it costs at least a few yuan to buy a piece of porcelain, and more than ten yuan to buy a painting or calligraphy.

Seal stones, jades, bronzes, ancient books, mahogany furniture, and the four treasures of the study, all are expensive for collectors who want to be a plaything of any kind.

Only stamps can be purchased for pennies.

You can even have fun asking an acquaintance for a cancellation ticket that comes in the envelope.

Then this hobby naturally has people-friendly attributes.

Moreover, before the reform, my country's bank interest rates have always been very low, but you can also get excess returns by buying stamps.

Well-known outstanding ticket types such as "The Motherland's Mountains and Rivers Are Red", "Mei Lanfang's Souvenir Sheet", and "Huangshan", "Butterfly", "Goldfish", "Chrysanthemum" and "Peony" are all priced at all prices. It is rising all year round.

With continuous, stable and amazing returns, people have formed the idea that "you can make a fortune by buying stamps".

Therefore, stamp collecting could easily become an investment behavior that attracted people at that time.

However, this kind of investment is also because the stamps are small in size and carry a small amount of funds, which is not enough to arouse the vigilance of relevant departments.

Besides, stamps are not as related to the national economy and people's livelihood as grain, oil and industrial tickets.

Even considering the current national conditions, the increase in the value of stamps is not only not harmful, but also beneficial to the issuance of stamps.

Therefore, this kind of speculation is almost never subject to official intervention.

If the government wants to take control, it means to regulate public order and control the resulting incidents of cheating, abduction, and fights.

Maybe even a little disclosure here.

Even during the "movement", many commemorative stamps and special stamps issued in the past were considered to be "sealed, endowed, and repaired goods" and stopped being sold.

Stamp collecting was criticized as a "bourgeois activity".

The private exchange and purchase of stamps by a considerable number of stamp collectors in the capital has never stopped.

It's just a matter of the people not holding officials accountable, and the superiors turning a blind eye.

Therefore, stamps have such various favorable comprehensive factors.

As soon as the "Movement" ended, the private stamp trade in the capital was like a resurgence. It was the first to recover, which was a natural thing.

And when it comes to this, we have to mention a "holy place" in the minds of stamp collectors in the capital.

This is the National Philatelic Corporation established by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in January 1955 at No. 77 Donghua Gate in the east wing of the Forbidden City.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, this has been the most frequent place for private transactions among private collectors.

It closed for a time during the "Movement" and reopened in July 1978.

And when the place reopened, the enthusiasm of philatelic enthusiasts exploded like a blowout.

Whenever new stamps are issued, the business counters of philatelic companies will be crowded with people, triggering a rush to buy new stamps.

In addition to some newly issued stamps, the counter also displays some stamps that have been issued before the "Movement" and during the "Movement".

These stamps will also arouse stamp collectors' desire to buy.

Perhaps because the enthusiasm for stamp collecting has been suppressed for too long, people are reluctant to leave even if they walk out of the stamp company. They would gather in front of the philatelic company, in twos and threes, whispering in low voices, exchanging all information about stamps with each other.

Among these people are intellectuals, workers, cadres and students, as well as some idle members of society.

They come from different jobs and from all over the capital.

But here they all share a common identity, that is, they are stamp collectors.

As for these people gathering in front of the stamp company, they have two purposes.

The first is to exchange information and increase stamp knowledge.

The second is to exchange stamps and enrich your collection.

Some of them are fellow stamp collectors who have known each other for a long time, and some are new friends.

However, everyone's stamp collecting level is definitely different, and everyone's income level is even more different.

Some people are eager to buy some stamps to enrich their collections.

Others, by chance, have a surplus of stamps on their hands.

But in the early days of reform and opening up, people were ashamed to talk about money, and regarded stamp collecting as a purely cultural activity.

Exchanging stamps for stamps makes sense.

But if you hand over money and get goods at the same time, others will label you as "profit-seeking" and "vulgar philistine" on your forehead.

In fact, Ning Weimin did not have to worry about his livelihood last year.

In order to buy monkey tickets, he visited the National Philatelic Corporation many times.

When he first came for a "pilgrimage" in June, the situation at the spontaneous market in front of the Philatelic Corporation was almost the same.

At that time, most stamp collectors were still quite pure in their dealings.

The unspoken rule of communication is to bring two "mobile" stamp albums with you to the philatelic company.

One contains stamps that show the level of appreciation, and the other contains stamps that can be exchanged or transferred with others.

It really only exchanges tickets, not sells them.

He just curiously asked about the prices of several types of tickets, but he was given the cold shoulder everywhere. No one was willing to pay attention to him.

But precisely because of the limitations of exchanging stamps for stamps.

It is becoming more and more difficult to satisfy the desire of stamp collectors to improve their stamp collection.

In particular, it cannot satisfy the desire of some relatively wealthy people to own rare stamps.

So later on, some people began to separate from these stamp collecting enthusiasts.

They specialize in hoarding some stamps that are particularly needed by stamp collectors, and are also good at understanding the psychology of stamp collectors.

Do some small business where you can sell at a low price and sell at a high price to earn the difference.

Of course, such people have a bad reputation in the postal market, and they are given the nickname "stamp dealer"

Real stamp collectors are most resistant to such speculative activities, which will be considered to be exploitative and get something for nothing, and at the same time it will tarnish the spirit of stamp collecting.

But nothing has a single attribute, and stamp collectors sometimes cannot do without these "stamp dealers."

Because "stamp dealers" can indeed make the flow of stamps more efficient, and also allow stamp collectors to exchange their needs more conveniently.

This fully demonstrates that these “stamp dealers” are actually the backbone that can truly expand the market.

So when Ning Weimin rounded up all the monkey stamps from the Philatelic Corporation, he left here for only two months.

When he came back after the New Year, he found that the place had completely changed.

The number of people at the entrance of the head office suddenly increased several times, and the informal small market was extremely prosperous.

Especially on Sundays, the place is packed with people, just like a farmer's market.

There are many "stamp dealers" who are no longer satisfied with just holding a stamp album and walking through the crowd, looking for trading opportunities, as they did in the past.

Some people simply spread newspapers, set up street stalls, and became farmers waiting for the harvest.

As soon as those stamp albums are opened, colorful stamps will come into view, and stamp collectors can't help but salivate and immediately pay for them.

Faced with such a situation, others may be indifferent and only focus on the transaction content inside.

But it was different for Ning Weimin.

To put it bluntly, just like when Kang Shude saw the ghost market again, he was absolutely excited.

For no other reason than because his previous job in his previous life was to eat stamps and work as a postal dealer.

He still remembered the winter in his previous life, with the cold wind howling and the dust flying.

In the Madian stamp trading market, only the stall owners are suffering.

At that time, he made a living by selling tape in the postal market, and he decided that this place was his journey in life.

He still remembered the spring in his previous life, with the spring scenery full of sunshine, the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers.

At that time, the Madian stamp and coin market was like an erupting volcano.

Countless bags, countless people, countless wads of money.

He had already started working as a scalper and learned to attract customers from others. He decided that stamps were a turning point in his life.

He still remembers that in the autumn of that year, the currency market soared.

The high-end luxury cars parked at the entrance of the market stretch as far as the eye can see, as if they were at an international auto show.

Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi are lined up, as are Cheetah, Bentley, Ferrari, and Maserati.

During that time, a large amount of hot money poured in like flies, and the Madian Postal Market was like a giant cash machine that never stopped.

Because every day I can see the deposit numbers in my bank card rising almost crazily.

After making a huge profit of 1.2 million, he decided that stamps were the highlight of his life.

That's it, I eat clear soup noodles when I have no money, and whole abalone and lobster when I'm rich.

He is really a relatively lucky person.

In the postal market, it took only five years to clear away the fog of life and find my career direction.

He went through many obstacles from a tape vendor, a street guerrilla, and a stamp merchant to become a businessman with his own business.

It was stamps and the postal market that made him truly reborn, escape poverty, and become a small business owner with few assets.

That’s why he loves the stamp industry. It’s an emotion that comes from his heart and is caused by the DNA in his bones.

No one misses such a chaotic and noisy environment more than he does, and no one is more at ease with it than he is.

No one knows better than him that no matter how big a postal dealer is, it has grown up from such a small fish and shrimp "stamp dealer".

No one knows better than him that our republic will grow into the largest stamp collection and distribution center in the world in the future.

Whether it is the number of philatelists or the number of people who have devoted themselves to the stamp profession.

Whether it is the scale of stamp business premises or the scale of stamp transactions, it ranks first in the world and stands out from the rest.

And he will not only witness the evolution of this entire process, but will also become an important participant in this market, even a leader!

So even though it started in 1981, it has made great achievements in antique calligraphy and painting.

But in comparison, what makes Ning Weimin even more happy is that the small market in front of the stamp company has already taken shape and is about to become a truly free trading stamp market.

This is the big stage where he can show off his talents to the fullest.

It was the first step for him to start writing the legend of his life.