Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-03-25
SOME FREAK STAMPS
ERRORS THAT CAUSE PHILATELlSTS
TO JUMP FOR JOY.

The Craze Among Collectors For tine
Possession of Samples of biunoers
Made nv Uncle Sans Bureau of En-
craving and Printing.
About the only freaks OF great Vaiue
manufactured by the government are
mlsprinted postage stamps, the Vaiue
NJ one of these sometimes running up
into the thousands. There Is nothlne
more dear to the collector than tnese
errors In printing. and, too tnere ID
nothing which causes a tornado VI
+rouhle Quicker in the bureau OF en-
craving and printing. An error is gen
orally a costly thing In this aepar'-
,nont II means that whoever Is re-
snonsible for the mistake must get out
and hunt another job. The work Is 100
important to permit of careiesshesS
An error produces a freak stamp, out
Il also produces a vacancy, often more
IN the ranks of the employees OF tne ue-
nartment. But the collector, the PM
latelist, Is happy, for he gets prize VI
the first water
ANY and every thing in the way or a
STAMP which varies a hairs Dreautn
from the correct design is a freak anu
+here IA always heated race by the
stamp fiends TO secure one Oh 'neSe.
Usually these errors. and they are not
made often, are detected before many
of the stamps are put In circulation ana
when only few get out the collectors
are ready to pay fancy prices Tor one
of the prizes. Some few collectors la-
bor under the impression that every
man has his price" and the sum ol
$4,000 was offered the head OF the Ou-
reau few years ago if he would nave
issued a half dozen sheets or TWO cent
errors. OF course no consideration
whatever was given to the proposition'
and the get rich quick philateiist Sd"
his plans miscarry
Some very valuable freak stamps
were issued In 1859, when series Oh
stamps was issued In colors. Inc
series comprised denominations from
cent TO 90 cents. The 10, "a 81 anu
90 cents were printed in two colors'
On these the central picture was print
ed inverted, and the error was detect,
cd. Today any Of these freaks VIII
bring from $500 TO $500 each.
The freak two cent pan-Amerlcan
series Of stamps which turned up IL
Ruffalo. n. Y. in the year of the Ram
bow City exposition, 1901, are now rat
ed at S55 each. Only few OF these 90,
IN circulation before it was discovered
that the railroad train in the center OF
the stamp was upside down. 1t Is IKE
,v that thousands would have been SOLO
had not a gentleman who had purchas
ed ten stamps discovered the erro
and forthwith wrote the bureau or en-
craving and printing notifying the OF
fcers. He doubtless thought ne wa
doing a good service for the govern
ment. and doubtless he was, but I'd
stamp collectors denounce him as
chump of the rankest type. The ger
tleman gave away several OF III
stamps he had bought. While larg
number Of the stamps with the lnVer
ed train Of cars were sold before III
error was detected, there are only 81
OF these freaks which can be accoun
cd for. the other stamps having pc
haps served their purpose without D'
ing discovered as belonging to the va
liable freak family. 1t Is altogeth'
reasonable to suppose that the STAMP
were affixed to letters and the e
yelopes destroyed. If any sheet OF e
ror stamps other than that sent to u
Buffalo office was ever sent out, u
fact has never been known at the b
reau. and it is not likely that the ma
ket will ever be glutted with this frei
stamp.
During the winter Of 1890 sheet
the ordinary one cent stamps, with u
word Guam" printed across the fac
slipped through with Guam upsl'
down. These stamps were printed I
the use Of the island and collecto
have searched far and near for thel
Only a few have been secured by t
collectors, and they bring stiff price
The people Of Guam know but htI
about the value set on such freaks
the stamp collectors.
Back In the seventies, when the g
eminent used its own distinctive
of stamps for the several department
an error was made by the bank NJ
company which then held the contr'
for making the stamps. The regu
color adopted by the navy departing
was blue A sheet Of the two cent
nomination was printed in green, a
the freak has now q market value
about S45 each. The genuine, in bl
is worth twenty times its face value
One collector was fortunate enOl
TO corner the market by getting 2
session Of q sheet of four cent stan
of the Columbian series which
printed by mistake in steel blue WI
its right color should have been ul'
marine blue. He got it at its 4
value. and when he wants to disp
Of one he can readily get $50.
There are a number Of other VI
able freak stamps, but the errors
the bureau Of engraving and print
have been remarkably few, consi(
ing the immense number Of sheets
stamps turned out every year Z
sheet after being printed pas
through q dozen or more hands bel
1t is ready for the stock vault, and
spectors and counters are always
the lookout for errors in prlntin
Kansas City Star.