Armand Rousso in The Canton Repository

Rousso, who lives in Palm Beach, Fla., is hoping to get even more people interested in the $470 million-a-year business, but not through trades in small shops, auction houses or other traditional means. He wants to bring stamp collecting into the computer age with his International Stock Exchange.

The company, which is modeled after the stock market, will allow collectors worldwide to buy and sell stamps through personal computers using a special password. The service also will be available via MCI Internationals Inc.’s “Insight,” a 24-hour news and information computer service.

Each stamp sent to the Stamp Exchange is stored in one of 2,800 vaults, he said. They are appraised and graded by experts employed by Rousso according to a system similar to coin classification. That information, along with the asking price, in entered into the computer.

Rousso said he has several brokers worldwide who will make deals through the exchange and 14 independent floor brokers with offices in the Stamp Exchange, who represent big-time stamp dealers.

“It’s like buying stocks and bonds, but stamps can never go bankrupt. They’ll always be worth money (because),,,you have a limited supply,” Rousso said.

While many dealers say they are intrigued by Rousso’s new business, the first of its kind in the world, others question the benefit of a computerized system.

“Organized philately does not look with great favor on what Mr. Rousso is doing, “ said Peter Robertson, curator of the Philatelic Foundation in New York. “Stamp collecting is a hobby. It can be a money-making hobby. But basically, it is a hobby.”