Great Falls tribune., 1921-12-25

Washington, .. c., Dec 20.-stamp
enthusiasts all over the country are
responding with promptness to Post
master General Hays announcement
that the postoffice department has
established stamp agency and has
| certain stamps for sale.
Nearly 100 letters day are being
| received from collectors who wish to
buy stamps. but surprising number
venture is not altogether understood.
Some think that the government is
selling obsolete and rare stamps. They
ask casually for such valuable old is
sues as those of the eighteen sixties.
AS matter of fact, the government
agency is selling at present only the
following: three-cent Victory stamps,
all denominations of the Pilgrims Ter
centenary issues, airplane stamps, Il
small quantity of special delivery
stamps with pink back, and the
ordinary current issues.
The only place from which the gov
ernment stamp agency can get its
stock to sell to collectors Is from the
postoffices of the country. In the past
! anyone who wrote to the portoffice de-
partment to buy stamps for collec
ton was referred to his postoffice, and
told that if his local postmaster did
not have the particular kind desired,
perhaps some other postmaster would.
Following this suggestion often meant
Il wild goose chase for the collector.
Perhaps some little country postoffice
might still have few of the desired
stamps. But the chances Of striking
these caches were about even with
those of digging up, buried treasure.
Now, the postoffice department is
getting stamps. such as the Pilgrim
Tercentenary issues. from the post
offices, and will sell them direct to
stamp collectors. Postmasters have
tinued Issues of postage stamps which
remain in stock. But up to the present
time only those kinds which we have
mentioned as now being sold have been
reported.
Another point of misunderstanding
is that the postoffice department is
setting up commercial stamp agency.
One man wrote to know if he could
represent the department in Philadel-
phia to buy and sell stamps for it
there.
Postoffice Does Not Buy Stamps
The fact is the department is not
buying stamps ut all. and it is selling
them only ut their face value. 1t is
written into the postal regulations that
no employc in the postal service may
buy or sell stamps at more than their
original sale price.
Other people have thought that the
government philatelic agency would be
dsposing Of freak issues, such as the
airplane sheet that was printed with
the design upside down, or the famous
issue of two-cent stamps with several
fives on the sheet.
These are great rarities, and bring
prices which only stamp collector
can understand. The 24-cent airplnnes
have q border of red and the airplane
in the center Of blue. BY Il mistake
which will probably always remain
mystery, on one single sheet of stamps
the airplane design was put in upside
down -.
The bureau of engraving was itself
turned upside down in vain attempts to
find out how this catastrophe occurred
Philatelists, however, rejoiced. One
congressman who has three or these
stamps recently refused Sl,ooo apiece
for them. :.
The plate Of twos on which the fives
occur was also due to some myterious
mistake. Perhaps an engraver absent
mindedly took up die marked five
cents thinking it was the master die
for the two-cent sheet. No one knows.
And no knows just how many Of the
sheets were. printed. But we. are told
that one of them might bring $3.50.
It is because such accidents are rare
almost unheard of--that the mis-
printed stamps are so highly valued by
collectors. The postoffice department
says emphatically that it has none of
these rarities for sale.
One collector suggested that the de-
partment might render IL service il it
would get some of the Shanghai over
printed stamps. The conference on linz
itation of ornaments plans to abolish
the postoffices which the United States
and some other countries have in
China. The stamps of our office at
Shanghai will probably. rise in value in
the collectors estimation through this
move, since no more will be printed
when the postoffice is closed.
The Chinese Stamps
These Shanghai stamps are ord may
United States stamps except thu. ovcr
each one is printed Shanghai, China -
and the price in local currency which