The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-10-30

today about IS. told her of its
worth and asked her whether she
cared to sell 1t for the catalog
price. She did. but before she
walked out Of the shop. she in
formed me that her husband had
recently burned a thousand or more
letters containing stamps of rare
value. From her appearance,
judged that the woman could have
used to good purpose the small for
tune which could have been hers
IL 1t had not been for the thought
lessness of her husband"
What is appropriately called the
st Louis Bear" stamp, an extreme
ly rare stamp issued in 1S45, was
not brought to light until ten years
ago, according to Mr.. Kohen. In
the cellar of home in the residen-
tial section of the Quaker City. an
old man had been employed to take
out ashes and clear the basement of
vast accumulation Of rubbish.
Amonst this rubbish" were three
barrels of old letters. the major por-
ton of which contained the bear"
stamps" long since thought to be
extinct by stamp collectors. Ac-
cording to Mr.: Kohen, the cleaner
was paid S25 for the job. and later
sold the stamps to a Philadelphia
stamp firm for a fabulous sum.
When Uncle Sam stumbIes,
But individuals are not the only
ones who make mistakes in the mat
ter OF stamps, Mr.. Kohen declared.
Many times has the government is
sued stamps which, because of err
rors In engraving, have been short
lived and are consequently very rare
today.
The most recent error of t.
KIND was made in 1918, when In,
government issued the "aeropIane-
stamp. In denominations of Is and
"a cents. One hundred 24-cent
stamps were sold, and the sale Was
tnen ordered closed. 1t was found
that the aeroplane, engraved in the
center or the stamp, was flying nm
SIDE down. The other. day. on.
OF these stamps sold for $3.50. the
purchaser being Col. E. r. Green
son OF the late Hetty' Green"
During the Pan-American e,no.,
ton in Buffalo in 1901. a comr.na
ave series was issued, bearing an
engraving OF a railroad train II
au very popular sale, accordine
Mr. kohen, until some postal
oIhcial discovered that the fast o~
press was running contrary to New
IONS laws of gravitation.
many such errors, as we'll
huquity OF many stamps. accord
ing 10 Mr.. Kohen, have mada 81
iecI1ng profitable investment
rake for instance a stamn e..
sueo In the Hawaiian Islands in 1ss1
was provincial stamp ond
snort-lived and consequently :.
very scarce today. The other d,1
one or these stamps was purchases
oy a British collector for sI8ooo
and another stamp. issued In Manri'
tus. Africa. in 1847, was purcba sad
at auction for $4,000"
Cannons to Right Of Him.
Europeans, especially French
people. are enthusiastic in the mat
ter of stamp collecting. Mr.. Ko-
hen told of an incident which tool.
place during the recent war. Dur
ing the storming around Thiacourt,
Mr.. Kohen, then a member of the
amazement French colonel sitting
by the roadside slowly turning the
leaves of book. Closer observa-
ton revealed the fact, according to
MY. Kohn. that the gray-haired off,
Ger in the blue Of France, was mere
ly going over his stamp collection.
which he had carried with him for
many months, in trench and field.
They say that every stamp col
lector Is more or less buggy II
that is the case. am a At subject
appear before an examining board.
for my entire life will be devoted
to buying them. and buying until I
have one of the largest collections
in the country"
And as Mr.. Kohep concluded the
interview, a CLEAN In his eye
seemed to be conclusive proof that
he meant just what he said.