Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-03-31


There has been very small demand
in this city for the sets of periodical
stamps placed on sale by the post
Office department A few out of the
one hundred sets, representing $1S7.93
Of face value, have been disposed of
here at the price of S. fixed by the
postal authorities, but most of the
stamps are still on hand, and Post
master Wise anticipates they will be
transferred to some better market.
When it was announced that, owing
to the solicitation of collectors, the de-
partment had determined to place on
sale $4,000 complete sets of these at S.
set many people probably wondered
where the department expected to find
purchasers. The stamps were distrib-
uted at the large postoffices, New York
alone receiving 5000 sets, while 5000
were retained to be sold direct by the
department. Notice of the sale was
given on February by means of cir
cular, and the sale commenced on Feb
ruary Is. The supply is now practic-
ally disposed Of
In New York the entire 5000 sets
were sold in one day. The stock in
New Orleans, ST. Louis, Chicago and
San Francisco is exhausted. Very few
sets remain at the general postotfce,
and the orders are coming in so rapidly
there will be none left in few days.
The sets consist of twelve stamps, the
one-cent, two-cent, fve-cent, ten, TWEEN
ty-fve and ffty-cent, the two, five, ten,
twenty, fifty and one hundred-dollar
stamps. For these twelve bits of pa
per there are $4,000 persons willing to
pay S., although the stamps can never
be used or redeemed. The total cost
of the stamps to the government is at
the utmost SIS. The profit on the is
sue will thus be about S249,975. The
government is not in the stamp-collect-
ing business for amusement.
Of course, if the stamps had been
sold at their face value the receipts
would have been greater. But the
government loses money on every
pound of second-class matter for which
these stamps are used, the loss aggre-
eating about six cents on each pound,
or 600 per cent. Consequently, If the
government had sold these stamps to
publishers instead of collectors, it
would have lost on the face value of
the stamps millions of dollars instead
Of making nearly a quarter of mir
lion. These sets of stamps sold so
rapidly that the department is regret
ting it did not place more on sale, but
its word is pledged that no more than
the $4,000 sets shall be sold.
For many years collectors have tried
in vain to obtain these stamps. They
were never sold to publishers, but were
placed by the postmaster in book and
Cancelled as the postage was used by
the publisher owning the stamps. They
never passed out OF the possession of
the postmaster Now there are $4,000
complete sets in circulation. There
are. however, several hundred thous-
and collectors in the United States
alone and a million or more in the
world. No collection will be consider
ed complete without set of these
stamps. Already they are selling in
New York and elsewhere at $3.50 and
$3.50 per set, according to the stamps.
A wealthy New York collector who
was DESTROYS of obtaining complete
set of stamps with the plate numbers
was informed by the department that
the only way in which he could secure
such a set was by the purchase of fifty
sets. thus obtaining fifty complete
sheets, with the plate numbers on
them. He forwarded $3.50 at once and
secured the stamps. The department
regrets now that it did not stick to its
original determination and charge $40
set for the stamps, as they would
probably have sold Just as well and
would have brought in half a million
No more than the original $4,000 can
be sold. as stated. for the faith of the
department is pledged that the plates
shall be DESTROYED and all old stamps,
fragmentary lots and the stock Of the
last issue are to be destroyed. This
will be done soon. and the market can
never be flooded with these stamps.
Kenny's beautiful Easter Picture