Stamps Pay Off for Collector

The New York Times reports that a stamp collector who spent a decade hunting through more than 100,000 virtually identical little black stamps, looking for the one that would pay off, sold a strip of three of them last Saturday for $172,500.

According to reporter Matthew Healy, "The seller, Lawrence Cohen of Plymouth, N.H., is a graphic artist who works in printing and packaging. He has devoted his collecting energies to the Harding memorial stamp because his color blindness makes it hard for him to specialize in more colorful issues. His collection exceeds 200 volumes, all related to the Harding stamp and its varieties."

Since the 1930s, fewer than 50 of the rare stamp variety have been certified as genuine by philatelic experts, and many are in poor condition. Mr. Cohen’s specimen is considered to be in excellent shape, and the largest known multiple of the rare stamp, Healy reports.

Healy goes on to write, "Cohen said his wife and two sons 'always thought I was a little crazy,' but they have appreciated that he gets 'a lot of enjoyment' from studying stamps. He said 'their opinion hasn’t changed much' as a result of his big find."

Shown above is a New Youk Times graphic that shows the strip of three.

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