Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-04-07

saying: IF you will cancel these 1 win
aIlow you 800. and You can return the bal
ahce In money to me-" Small postmasters
In lieu of salary are paid for the stauans
they cancel Thus the postmaster gets
$50 Tor MS share, while the dealer obtains
a rebate on his stamps
stamp Collectors Prefer Them
Collectors usually prefer unused stamps.
Why. then, do they 20 TO such trouble 70
have the Columbian issues CANCELLED?
Simply because the latter have already
been much counterfeited abroad, and the
Cancel mark is a sort of guarantee of
sehulneness. As a guarantee II is hardly
hrst-rate, inasmuch as the counterfeiter
can easily forge the cancellation, but one
eaIlnot expect people afflicted with the
stamp mania to be quite rational At all
events, ordinary 2-cent letters with STAMPS
on thern or denominations from 81 TO s.
nave been flying through the mails for
,, oIs past Ior no other purpose than TO
procure cancellations. People address notes
ana packages to themselves for this OBJ
!ect, ana the madness Is rather growing
. nan uIinIillshlrg, now that the stamps of
Sne quadro-centennial are nearly an sold
Inc stock of the bigger denominations in
the hands OF the Post Office DEPARTMENT
Is practically exhausted. while all the rest
ces OF the country.
already they are at a premium, the quo
s "a Tor the larger denominations being
700 for the IS stamp, 80 for the 81
$3.50 for tie s., 81 30 for the 50 and 81 81
Ior the 81; 90 cents for the 50-cent STAMP,
% cents for the 3o-cent and Is cents for
cue lo-cenI These prices will go up very
quickly. A dealer said yesterday that with
In lew months the 3, O and scent STAMPS
would cost from % 20 so cents each The
scent and scent are getting scarce also.
NO wonder that spectators have bought
up great quantities Of the Columbian
stsmps and are holding them for a rise
Even now they are sending return postal
S Saras 70 postmasters all over the United
states, asking how many of such and such
denominations the addresses In each case
can furnish. Nobody can do more than
guess how many millions Of these stamps
nave been required and viii be needed TO
satisfy collectors. There are 10000 COL
iectors OF stamps in this country alone.
Abroad they have gene crazy over the
columbian issues. In Europe the stamp
gathering habit is a persistent popular
frenzy. Foreign manufacturers also have
uuhzed the stamps for every imaginable
purpose of ornament-for the decoration of
vases, Tor inlaying in glass, &c.
The Scarcer Kinds.
Now that the source of supply has well
nigh dried up the dealers are making fran
tic exertions to corner the market for some
OF the scarcer issues. They could not know
year ago that only 900 stamps in all
OF denominations running from 81 to -
would be printed. A gamble in these high
priced securities would have been risky and
would have required a great outlay. The
big stamps have mostly gone abroad ON
packages OF bonds and other valuable pa
pers sent from this country by bankers and
brokers. Many OF them are coming back
now TO meet The demand for them on this
side OF the water. Naturally, the value OF
Columbian stamps was mucn enhanced by
Mr.. Blssells acton in cutting down the to-
tai number printed from three billions %
two billions.
The question has been raised whether II
was not a mistake TO print the high-priced
issues, which, owing TO their considerable
face values, were likely to prove a teInDta-
ton 10 counterfeiters. For many wears no
attempt has been made to criminally iuai-
tate the ordinary postage stamps Of the
United states, chiefly because IL is not
worth while. Most accurate fac SMILES of
our newspaper and periodical stamps which
run up as high as SO. have been produced
abroad for sale TO collectors. The real ones
are greatly priced for the reason thar thew
are so hard to obtain, not being permitted
TO go out Of the hands of the post office Of
nclals. fostmasters are not allowed to sell
them, and the only way TO get them is To
steal them. 1t is worth mentioning by the
way, that Uncle Sam gave away 1850 com
plete sets Of the Columbian stamps-worth
ments.
one Of the oldest freaks of the postage
stamp business is to be found in New York
An engraving firm in that city manufac-
A.
qua, Honduras. Salvador and Guatemala
II does not charge those governments a
cent Tor the work or material furnishing
eNeIgthhg nee The only stipulations
made are that fresh series Of stamps shall
be printed for each year and that the en-
CRAVING hrm shall have all that are left
over unused. The concern is at liberty to
turn out as many stamps as IL chooses over
and above what are required and thus n ie
enabled 10 sell unlimited quantities OF them
10 co1ectors: Each year there is a complete
new set, and those of issues that are out Of
date-L e. not of the current year-are
mounted by thousands on cards OF ten each
and offered to collectors and dealers every
where. OF course, they are unused and per-
t .e but they are sold for 80 cents a card
though the face value represented by the
ten stamps amounts to 81 or S.. Rows buy
them mostly. older collectors regarding them
as rather fshy.
Valuable stamp Collections
II is reckoned that s5.ooO.OO0 is invested IN
stamp collections in this country. The most
valuable United States stamps are those o.
the earliest series, Of 1877 There were only
Two. Tor . and 10 cents. The latter is worth
-. Inc original dies for these issues were
destroyed by fire. but many years later
copies Of them were made and printed from
Next most costly are the stamps for lS,sa
The old departmental stamps are growing
more valuable every year. The Departnent
or state had a series of fifteen. which will
now fetch $40 per set. The eleven stamps Of
the Department of Justice are worth s25
twenty-five dollars will buy set of ex
ectutive stamps, five in number The most
precious American stamp is the 5-cent New
Haven local. 1t is worth 5000. only n
Single specimen being extant. This one was
discovered by accident among lot of pa
pers belonging to defunct Smithsonian
professor. a confederate 5-cent stanp az
Livingston, Ala, IS valued at $50.
A good many Senators and Rep-essnt,
tves are collectors OF stamps John Sbar
man has valuable collection: so also has
Mr.. Adee second assistant secretary 90
stare Baron Fava, the Italian minister
has several volumes filled with staYnr,e
which are appraised at $4,000 Togetba.
With his stamps and other curiosiries he
Keeps the skin of snake that bit him v,biie
ne was at New Orleans investigating rbo
lynching of his countrymen. The serpanr
whlch was venomous. tackled him while he
was hunting, not far from the city. Ha
cauterized the wound by putting cllnDovy5er
INTO ii and exploding IL. Not a few gov
eminent employees at Washington colIac,
stamps, particularly those whose offi .isI
duties make II easy 70 secure such cursos
IT is said that stamps are an excellent in
Yestment; good collection is sure TO in
crease in value year by year.
The yellow special delivery starnn NTH
soon go out of print, and on that accoun,