Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-23
FACTS ABOUT STAMPS.
Talk with an Enthusiastic Collsctor--
Rare and valuable specimens.
Fr1m ire Ftto York Tribune.
-. $50. IN Op0 e+ov,,, collectors

Talk with an Enthusiastic Collector
Rare and Valuable specimens
Prom ire Ytte York Tribune.
"Thero are 10000 stamp collectors in
New York" said an enthusiast on the su b
ject, ''and the number is constantly in
creasing. They call themselves philatel-
ists-a word that you will not ina in any
but the newes editions OF the ictonaries.
This has been my hobby for three years.
] got started on it in a purely accidental
way. IN tell Won how 10 was. one day
about three years ago ] was waking
along Broadway n1t far from Fourteenth
street. 1t was raining very bard' ana
my umbrella wasn't OF much service.
30 I stoned under an awning TO wait Tor
the rain 70 hold up. / happened TO stop
bv the stand OF dealer IN oid DOCKS.
While waiting there I naturally glanced
at some Of the books. one OF those
opened was a large album OF stamps. l
had no particular knowledge of stamps
then. bur | saw at once that such a cQis,
lection must have considerable value.
asked the dealer carelessly what ne Would-
take for the album. He said 81. / tooh
out 81 at once and handed IL TO him. Inc
book was carefully wrapped up and put
thunder nv arm and carried II to we'll
known dealer in stamps, CONS, etc. had
an idea that the album was worth per-
haps S25. The dealer looked at tue book
and then looked at me. He evidently
thought that / didn't KNOW the value OF
what was Offering. He SAID he would
give $40 for il. l at once made up my
mind that II was worth 500, and Of course
lold him | wouldn't take $40. Finally he
offered me 500, but / told him the book
was not for sale.
Then [ got stamp catalogues, and set
about determining the value OF the cOlec-
fiOn that l had picked up for a mere trife.
] found that had a treasure worth $500.
] have kept il. and have added to il from
time TO time. until I have valuable col
lection. You may call the philatelist
crank. or a mOnOmaniac, if you please,
but it is Just as legitimate to collect old
stamps as old paintings. or old armOr or
weapons. Their value depends upon their
rarity, and the difficulty OF collecting
them. Every collection Of stamps IS con-
stantly growing more valuable, because
the number of collectors Is constantly in
creasng, and the number Of stamps is
limited. The law Of supply and demand
Is controlling. Sometimes we come upon
valuable stamps in quite uneXpect-
ed ways. Not long ago | went
TO a friend Of mine, cigar dealer, and
asked him il be had any old letters that
might look at to see If ! could find some
stamps be said be had no letters that
he knew OF, but his wife suggested that
there was a box up in the garrett that
she thought contained letters. The box
was got out and On the letters, which
were covered with dust and yellow by
time, ] found some excellent stamps.
One was an odd one; ! could find nothing
like II in any OF the catalogues. ] took it
TO the dealer mentioned before. He at
once asked If it was for sale. told him
no, but ] wished to learn its value. He
SAID IL was rare stamp and was worth
SIS. BE offered me $40 for it, but L kept
it, thinking it might be worth 500 in a
year.
Il went into a store one day kept by
Turk, and after buying a triie | asked
him If be had any Turkish stamps on
hand. He said he had, and gave me
handful. Among them was one that, /
found by the catalogue, was worth 81; l
got It fer nothing. Some Of the Turkish
stamps are very fine. but they are not
rare, as a rule, because there is so much
trade in rurkls b tobacco and other things.
The East India stamps used for dOmes-
tic purposes are fiicult 10 obtain.
s'The best stamps are those made in this
country. The drawings are fine and the
workin anship Is perfect. The govern
ment departments used stamps for official
documents ana letters until Is .. when
the present envelope was introduced.
The stamps for the Executive Department
were carmine in color, the War Depart
ment blood red, the Treasury green, and
so on. Full sets OF these stamps are now
OF considerable value. Then there are
stamps which the public never see. They
are used for newspapers and periodicals,
and newspapers in bulk. When a news
paper, for instance, pays the postage on
all copies sent by mail, the official who
receives the money takes stamps TO that
amount out Of a book aud cancels them
the Cancelled stamps are sent to W ashing-
ton and there burned. The law forbiGs any
other disposition OF them. These stamps
run from one cent TO $50, so that any
amount can be made exactly. They are
valuable 70 collectors because Of the diff
Guilty OF procuring them. There are col
lectors VINO have iull sets. or course the
stamps have TO be stolen by somebody. /
myself have all these stamps below SD.
They are cancelled with an iron instru-
ment that tears them. got them from a
man in Washington. / know he didn't
steal them, and feel sure that the mau
be got them from didn't; but the third, OF
fourth or fifth one did. The most valua.
ble stamp known is one that was issued
by the postmaster Of Brattleboro, VI, in
1sf1, aud was only in circulation for few
months. That stamp is now worth 500
The first STAMP ever made was made in
England in f940o