Investors are being tempted by offbeat investments such as stamps, coins and Barbie dolls in a search for better returns than the stock market can offer.

Firms have reported a surge in interest in innovative schemes that turn what for many were childhood hobbies into money-making plans.

Mike Hall, chief executive of stamp firm Stanley Gibbons, said: “We’re seeing interest from City high-flyers with bonuses to spend. Investors are looking for an asset that is uncorrelated with shares and property, as well as buying into a piece of history.”

One in six collectors now views their rare books, wines or autographs as an alternative to shares or property, according to a survey by insurer Zurich.

Wealthy buyers from Russia, China and India are helping to fuel the boom, and internet auction sites such as eBay have provided an alternative to the established auction houses in London and New York.

This has sent the price of some collectables soaring. Coins and stamps are up 94 per cent and 82 per cent over the past five years, compared with 18 per cent for the FTSE 100 share index.

Last month, an investor splashed out £1.2m at an auction in America on a 1909 cigarette card featuring the baseball player Honus Wagner. On this side of the Atlantic a 1959 Barbie doll, clad in a zebra-print swimming costume, sold for £2,880 last year at Christie’s.

Like all investments, there are risks — prices can be volatile because investors are at the mercy of collecting fashions.

Scams are also rife as such investments are not regulated, so investors cannot complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Last week the US Department of Justice and the FBI launched an investigation into the sale of counterfeit wine after a collector complained he had been sold phoney bottles.

As many as 5 per cent of rare vintages sold privately or at auction are thought to be fake.

Here we assess the case for investing in popular collectables.

Stamps

As stamps are a perishable commodity and there has been a huge increase in interest, prices for rare examples should continue to rise — in the short term. A large orange stamp that cost £5 in 1882 and was used for posting heavy parcels to the furthest reaches of the British Empire recently set a record price at Bonhams auction house when it sold for £15,270.

According to the SG 100 Stamp Price index, which measures the performance of the most frequently traded items across the world, prices have risen 56 per cent over five years, with stamps from Britain 82 per cent higher.

Richard Ashton, stamp consultant at Sotheby’s, said: “Stamps are enjoying a very buoyant market as a new wave of high net-worth investors, whose wealth has been boosted by the strong global economy, take an interest.’’ However, experts worry that inexperienced investors will suffer if the market turns, as it is prone to do. In the 1970s, investors flooded the stamp market, sending prices soaring. Soon afterwards, collectors banked their profits and prices crashed.

Chris Harman, president of the Royal Philatelic Society in London, said: “The market has been buoyant, but prices will drop at some point. We have seen it many times before.”

The easiest way for nonspecialists to start is through a scheme run by Stanley Gibbons. For £5,000, it will assemble a portfolio of rare stamps. The firm also runs a guaranteed investment product that promises a return of 4 per cent to 6 per cent a year over four, five or ten years.

When you sell stamps you pay capital-gains tax on profits over the annual allowance — £8,800 in this tax year. Nonbusiness asset taper relief cuts your bill.

You should buy from a dealer who belongs to a professional body such as the Universal Dealers Protection Society or the ADPS Stamp Dealers Society.

Coins

IF history is a guide, gold, silver and bronze coins can be an excellent long-term investment. Over 50 years major coin collections have returned about 10 per cent a year, with less volatility than stocks.

Unless you are ready to do a lot of research, it is best left to experts as it is easy to be duped.

You can access the market through a firm on the Alternative Investment Market, Avarae Global Coins, managed by Noble Investments. It invests in a portfolio that includes coins struck in Macedonia, Crete and Egypt between the 3rd and 5th centuries BC.

The fund is the only way you can invest in coins through a self-invested personal pension, as coins cannot be held directly.

Wine

The bordeaux 2005 vintage, released for sale last year, has been called one of the finest, but it is not necessarily the best investment. Chateaux have near doubled their prices, making it more difficult to turn a profit.

Justin Gibbs at Liv-ex, an exchange, believes wines from previous exceptional vintages such as 1990, 1995 and 1996 offer better value. Prices have soared on the back of the interest generated by the 2005 crop, but Gibbs believes there is still room for growth. “A Latour 2005 will cost about £5,000 a case, whereas the 1996 vintage goes for about £4,000. The 1996 also benefits from its age. After 10 years, people are starting to drink it so it is becoming scarcer.”

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