An Accidental Stamp Collector

Ben Beversluis writes in The Grand Rapids Press, "My name is Ben and I'm a philatelist."

He confesses he's "an accidental philatelist" with a stamp collection of confusing proportions.

He says, "I found that inadvertent collection in the top left drawer of the old roll top desk. That's the drawer -- we all have one, don't we? -- with the rat's nest of odd stationery, return labels and old stamps."

"Boy, I found stamps. Three tattered "American Kestral" one-centers. Seven "Holiday Cookies" at 37 cents. An "Art of Disney Celebration" with Mickey, Snow White and the Little Mermaid. And assorted flag motifs. I found 60 in all, of 13 different varieties. Lick-and-stick and self-stick. Among them were at least seven different values -- and three with no postage amount indicated."

"Now I just need to clean out that corner drawer -- those "Conestoga Wagon 1800s" (37 cents), the three fawn stamps (19 cents), the Madonna and Child Christmas collection (34 cents) and two "Antique Toys" worth who knows how much."

An unnamed Postal Service official in Washington is quoted in the article as saying the value of unused postage in the hands of the public is more than $1 billion.

To read the entire article, click here.