The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-05-07
RARE POSTAGE STAMPS.
Enthusiastic Collectors Who Pay
Fabulous Sums for Them.
Worthless Looking Bits of Paper That
Are Worth q Mint of Money
The Most Valuable Stamp
FxiStence.

least three hundred thousand dollars OF
incorporated capital engaged in the
business in THE country alone and about
one hundred and fifty publications de-
voted to it, and several hundred thou
sand people engaged in it. Germany
has not so many publications or SO
many collectors as America, but the
subject is approached even more Sc
riously there than here. Their papers
are more historical and exhaustive than
ours. Great Britain numbers her col
lectors by the hundreds of thousands,
too, and France is not far behind.
"Boys no longer outnumber the
others, but clergymen, lawyers, doctors,
business men and women engage in it
heartily One of the most earnest col
lectors in this city is clergyman, who,
when he attends an auction sale OF
stamps, gets genuinely excited over the
bargains. ! expect to see him active
purchaser at our next auction at the
Knickerbocker conservatory, No. a
West Fourteenth street. The market
for stamps is so lively just now that sew
eral dealers are holding auction sales of
their accumulated stock
The prices paid by collectors for
stamps are OF course regulated by the
scarcity of the stamp, not by it's age,
size, beauty Or appearance. Probably
che highest-priced stamp in existence
is the conznon-l looking one penny Of
Mauritias, issued in 1s47. a single one
of these is valued at one thousand dol
lars, because there are only six Or eight
Of them known to be in existence.
There is probably no genuine one in
this country, but as the field for forgery
is wide there are q good many bogus
ones in existence In order to be val"
uable, proof Of che genuine character OF
the stamp must be hand. Each Of
these six or eight recognized Mauritius
stamps has q tiEulated record OF differ
ent owners who have possessed it, cor
responding to the pedigree Of a blooded
horse.
One thousand dollars is a good deal Of
money to pay for d little bit Of paper,
and many people cannot be convinced
that tn; stamp would soil for anything
like that figure. There are wealthy
collectors Of stamps, however, just as
there are wealthy men who pay enor~
znors prices, for gems. a diamond as
big us a. walnut has little more intrinsic
ralr1e than Il number of smaller ones;
yet it's rarity puts an enor'noaf price on
it, aad so with stamps The British
museum is not likely to place an exag~
gerated value OF, these things; yet not
long ago Mr.. TOPPING, an English mem
Der of parliament, Left his collection Of
stamps to the museum. and the gov
erument exa.cted an inheritance tax of
four thousand pounds sterling on the
collection, reckoning this to be four per
cent. Of it's value This is considered to
be tho second best collection in the
world. The pos, SCISSOR of tie best col
lection is generally conceded to be NJ.
Ferra,,i. OF Paris.
Something new in postal cards has
inst been issued by the country Of Sal
vador. in Centr;,E America, in honor Of
tiic anniversary Of the discovery OF
America. It is a pictorial ;nd a geo
graphical one On the side where the
address Is to be written appears II map
showing the route Of Columbus from
Spain to Salvador. Adjacent islands
and the whole IS printed In light blue
and brown The stamp. too, bears a
scene in the career OF the great dis
ce,yercr AS this Columbian series will
be limited to this year, they no doubt
will be extremely valuable about the
time OF the FIVE hundreilth anniversary
Of Columbus landing F'ar-sighted PEG
pie might get them cheap now and
leave them to their children.
Another remarkable postage stamp is
the tiger head Of Afghanistan, and al
other more rare, the OK head Of Mol
davia, issued IN 1854. One of these
sold not long ago for f,rty-nine pounds.
Many people in this land are not
aware that some stamps of their own
country have become pretty valuable
already; especially those issued before
the war. These were all called i'll
shortly after the war broke out, SO that
the large quantity of them held III
southern states should do the confed-
eracy no good. Some Of these have
been sold for sixty-fve and even seven
ty-five dollars in this city, Many
people do not know, either that Uncle
tSetlI ISSUES -Se.ilil'o e1o S301o hA '<1A't~ '''
sixty dollars That is the highest.
These big denominations are used for
mailing newspapers and printed matter
in bulk. They are not delivered to the
purchaser, but when paid for are put on
by the postal clerk himself; SO that the
general public seldom sees them. They
are pretty stamps, almost as big as the
little ten-cent ''shinplaster' which used
10 be in circulation, and are printed in
lively colors. The sixty-dollar one is
purple and white, and has a well-en-
graved figure of an Indian.
Commerce In Africa.
Mr.. Jephson, who was one of Stanley s
most trusted ieutenants on the Emiu
expedition, and lived for many months
with Ernin III his province, expresses