Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-14
THE COLUMBIAN STAMPS.
The erase for IL II said to BE Cos
stantly Increasing.


The Columbian stamp craze in increas-
ing every day and dealers. as well n col
lectors. are paying high prices for canceled
stamps of the large denominations. Ac-
cording to the New York Times, the boy
who IL fortunate enough to nh his poke
with cancelled thrce-cent Columbian stamps
fnds an active market for them among
local dealers at 81 a hundred. while g O
hundred 10 the prevailing market price for
the six and eight cent varieties and IS a
hundred for the fifteen cent Dealers buy
the thirty-cent stamp at SO a hundred.
the hfty-cent stamp at IS cents each. the
one-dollar stamp at SO cents each. and SO
on up. In turn. the stamps are retajled
at greatly advanced prices. the entire Col
umbian set selling to collectors at U5.eo.
value OF the uncanceled Stamps bought
at the post ONCE.
In a few years the Columbian stamp will
1ngly high. 80 that many large holders
are putting their collections aside IN antici-
patton Of such prices as are , now paid ioI
hard to md. This is especially true Of the
one. two. three. four and i've dollar Col
Used in the domestic mall service. as the
ment will handle weighs but four pounds
cordinsiy. the man who wishes to procure
Cancelled stamps of these higher values
must overpay his postage at considerable
plain the Postmaster Generals statement
that the government would realize between
10000 and 100000 profit On the sale of
So great is the demand for the Column
bian varieties that several large business
with stamp dealers who take all the Col
9In6tan stamps at one.third Of their orig
inal value Corresponding agents Of these
houses throughout the United States have
been ordered to use on their large pack
ages only stamps of large denomination,
and many "a OF these agents reply th.: p,st t
the higher values ON the ground that the
demand exceeds the supply. In Ornnea N.
discovered that BY selling To- 800 coiarnbsan
may. b obtained to support a bed II: the
cordinsiy husbands. brothers. and sweet
hearts In Orange are undergoing mild
forms ms Of torture In The philaathroaie efforts
available Columbian stamp.
In Europe the craze for the. little Column
The other day oe. Of the I large insurance.
companies of New York received q request
from It's branch ONCE in Berlin to use only
and e select she highest denonainations
every I house In Berlin having American
and that the manager had reached the
serious conclusion that, II presented with
= Hduulol IN inc COlunDl0u Staxups, GOOu
many persons could be induced to insure
their lives. A tourist who recently return
Cd from Italy relates that when he reached
his hotel IN Florence and announced his
name he was instantly surrounded by an
excited group Of porters and hallboys, who
said that there was mail awaiting hum.
and might they have the Columbian
stamps. The same gentleman says that
there r. q corner Of the stock exchange in
Hamburg devoted to traffic IN Columbian
stamps. and that bulls and bears dairy buy
and sqn ~ carefully as though they
handled the highest sf1t-edge securities.
vsnezueia has borrowed the idea Of the
Columbian stamp IN use In The United
States and = now using Colum oian stamp
Of ftg own. bat 50 nearly like ours that only
careful observers can detect the difference.
The ArUenttne Republic celebrated Il CEN
tenary Of some sort IN 1882. and put into
circulation q set Of souvenir stamps which
appear to have suggested the idea Of the
Columbian set in use IN the United States.
The Argentine stamps, however. we're only
sold on one day Of the year and in such
small quantities that many of the genuine
ones can now scarcely be bought ut any
price. An these stamps. and IN fact. ell
the stamps used by the several countries
of South America and Central America,
are made In New York.