The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1890-02-28
CANCELLED STAMPS.
If Any One Has Three or Four Millions He
Can Find a Good Market for Them.

If Any One Has Three or Four Millions He
Can Find a Good Market for Them.
Has any one 1 900, 900 stamps or 500, 900
or 100000? The man who has long been
wanted by people who have saved up
stamps and who have jealousy guarded
them for years has been found. He ac-
tually buys cancelled stamps by the mill
ion or hundred thousand. This cheerful
news is given for the benefit of those
who have cried out for information from
time to time. But the man who buys
them does not expect to see them re-
deemed, nor is he trying to relieve the
sufferings of those who have carefully
boarded the "green 'uns," the three cent
stamp and the five cent stamp and the
stamp of all kinds.
But the seekers of wealth by stamp
selling are not likely to acquire great
fortunes in this way. If they have only
collected a few thousand, or even 100,-
900, they would better become discour-
aged and give it up, for the wholesale
market price of cancelled postage stamps
(unless for some particular reason they
are extrinsically more valuable) is $100
a million. And that is $40 a hundred
thousand.
'Why do buy postage stamps?" said
G. B. Calman, of No. 229 Pearl street, to
Tribune reporter. "Why, to sell them,
of course"
"Who wants them?'
''If people did not want them Ger.
tainly should not buy them"
Give one instance of reasonable de-
mand for them"
"Well, there is big cigarette company
which has a cancelled stamp on picture
which is given away with every box Of
cigarettes. The company uses millions
of them"
Another"
ga certain publication gives a stamp
book for so many coupons, the coupons
going with the paper"
"What kind of stamps do you buyF'
"All kinds"
"But who wants common green two
cent stamps? They are not rare"
"Well, they are less common in West
ern Bulgaria than in New York city.
buy stamps in all parts of Europe and
bring them to America, and I ship
American stamps to all parts of Europe"
Chow many stamps do you buy
year?"
81 bought over 50,0OO,OOO last year.
For fifteen years have averaged about
2O,OOO,OOO."
"What becomes of themT'
"Think of all the shops where stamps
are sold. A great many people make
collections and the stamps are all gath
cred for them in this way"
"What do you pay for stamps?"
Zone hundred dollars for 100000 of
any kind. don't care what they are,
will take them. But pay great deal
more for rare ones, of course. Some
times people find old stamps which have
been lying around for years. Frequently
they are very valuable"
suppose you were to get an order to-
day for 5O,OOO,0OO could you fill it?"
eyes"
"Would you buy as many?"
eyes"
"How do you handle them?'
"Those packing cases there are full of
them. You see the stamps are assorted
and put up in envelopes and boxed for
shipment"
''1t would not pay, would it, to count
100000 two cent stamps; how do you
manage that?"
'We can estimate them almost pre-
cisely by weight"
$50 cancelled stamps really have a
market value?"
''lf they did not, as I said before, I
should not buy them. Bring round l.
100000 OF 100000 in boxes or bales,
and see for yourself. There are few
things in these days that are allowed TO
go to waste" And he picked up pack
age of foreign stamps and gave them to
the reporter as q nest egg.-New York
Tribune.