Armand Rousso in the San Francisco Chronicle

Rousso is shaking up the world of stamp collecting.

The 35-year-old French financier has started an international stamp exchange in Miami Beach so collectors can buy and sell rare postage stamps like stocks, by computer.

The International Stamp Exchange opened with a stash of 25,000 stamps worth $3 million to $4 million. The stamps are stored in 2,800 safe deposit boxes in a locked vault at the exchange headquarters.
In a year, Rousso said he expects to have $50 million worth of stamps in inventory, and have $300 million worth of stamps in three years.

He said his personal stamp collection is worth about $1 million, and he did $35 million in stamp deals last year.

The stamp network will work something like a computerized stock exchange. It will have representatives in all 50 sates and in Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Although the business is organized something like a stock exchange, there is one significant difference. It is not regulated by the federal government. The Securities and Exchange Commission says stamps are tangible, not a security.