Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-12-24
Uncle Sam and the Stamp Collector.
BY Frederic J. Haskin

apiece for them.
The plate OF twos on which the fycs
occur was also due 20 some mysterious
mistake. Perhaps an engrayer ab-
sent mindedly took up q die marked
five cents thinking II was the mnstar
die for the twO-cent sheet. no one
knows. And no one knows just how
many OF the sheets were printed. But
we are told that one u them might
bring 1850.
II is because such accidents ere
rare almost unheard ~ that the
nisprinted stamps are 40 highly val
Ued by collectors. The Post Office De-
partment says omphaticaily that Il
has none Of these rarities for sale.
One collector suggested that tho de-
partmcnt might render a seryice n %
would get some Of the shanghai over
printed stamps. The Conference on
Limitation OF Armaments plans ~
abolish the postofiices which the
United States and some other cOun-
tries have IN China. The stamps ~
our office at Shanghai WIN probably
rise in value In the collectors estiua-
ton through this move. since no more
Will be printed when the post Office ls
iclosed
The Chinese Stamps.
These Shanghai stamps are ordin-
lary United States stamps, except that
4 over each one IL printed Shanghai.
China" and the price in local curren-
Icy which In each case is double The
face value. Thus the two cent stamp IS
overprinted four cents. Anyone wish-
ing to buy stamps with American
currency at the Shanghai. China.
postOfiice Is given tho ordinary Amer
lean stamp.
That the Postoffice Department viii
send for any of those Shanghai stamps
for its postage stamp agency 20 sell
Is extremely doubtful. There II a reg
uIation that they may not be sold ~
the department except for the local
money current in Shanghai. known
! as Mexican"
The Postoffice Department has been
directing collectors who desired 20 buy
these stamps 20 send a domestic
money order 10 the United States
Postal Agent. Shanghai. lie converts
the order into local currency and
makes the purchase. To sell thess
stamps in the United States wouis
need special order of some sort. ans
none il contemplated AZ present.
Considering all the things 10 ~ n0
established 20 do. people who have
{ never collected stamps might not 80.
z how the Government stamp agency Z
= doing the collectors a special serviC'
= ty selling them ordinary curreu
= stamps and a very few recent issues
. The important point is that no
all two-cent stamps look alike 20 IN
. expert. The stamp with perfOration
d running into the pink design may b
= all right to put on A letter. but IL Ism
d a collectors ideal Of stamp beauty.
p lie wants stamp that has nea
h margin Of white around it when %
torn off the sheet. He PARTICULAR
g likes to see the perforstions form
,r maltese cross where they infersec
ss between four stamps. Stamps wit
le this even margin he calls weli-cen
ye tered.
a Collectors who go up 20 the post
~ office stamp window and ask n
ie stamps are often given badly-cenrere
specimens. Generally the clerk has n
II time 70 hunt for perfect copies. Tn
Is is one OF the things that the STAN
= agency is going 20 do. IN selling Z
d. collectors the ordinary current Issue
Of it aims TO sell well-centered and wei
90 J perforated specimens.