Contrarian Investor: What is the value of an illiquid asset?

There is a sad corner of hell reserved for those investors (me included) who spend a large amount of their time scrutinising the tables showing 52-week lows and highs for individual share prices.

Occasionally, you will find an amazing stock that has been unfairly beaten up by the market, and that might end up being a legendary ten bagger. Unfortunately, a rather more common appearance is of businesses that you once knew very well that have now received a well-deserved kicking from the market. I realise we do not tend to talk too much about individual stocks on these pages, but the travails of Britain's pre-eminent collectables business Stanley Gibbons is worth looking at. It tells us about illiquid alternative investments and the things investors should watch out for. Democrat...