A rare stamp worth as much as $200,000 (£155,473) may be on an envelope sealed in a ballot box after the US mid-term elections, poll officials say. Officials in Broward County, Florida, say they saw a famous "Inverted Jenny" stamp while reviewing postal ballots.
About 700 of the stamps were mistakenly printed in 1918 with an upside down illustration. Just 100 went on sale.
But it will be 22 months before laws will permit the box with the envelope to be reopened and the stamp checked.
from the BBC
I'm afraid I must come clean with my inner nerd. I've been a philatelist (that's the fancy term for a stamp collector) since I was about 6 years old, after discovering a hoard of stuff that my great-great grandfather, former postemaster of New Jersey, had tucked away in a steamer trunk. I won't subject you to all the gory details, but avid stamp collectors will tell you that there are certain finds which make you feel like Indiana Jones.
There. I've said it.
I know what you mean. I too struggle with this sin, ahem. Swap you?
Posted by: Peter | November 13, 2006 at 02:22 PM
hmmm... might be an excuse for a get together...
Posted by: joseph | November 13, 2006 at 02:34 PM
My dad is a dealer...for both philatelists and numismatists (stamps and coins) in Red Deer. He claims it as a hobby that got out of hand!
Posted by: Chuck | November 13, 2006 at 08:33 PM
Leave it to this part of Florida to set itself up with another newsworthy election matter - no hanging chads this time!
Posted by: Lisa Barrowclough | November 14, 2006 at 05:44 AM
Chuck - it's the same old story. Sure it starts out innocent enough, little bit here, little bit there. Then before you know it, your dad's a dealer...
Posted by: joseph | November 14, 2006 at 11:38 AM