This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Stamp Department.
The statement is made that the entire number of unwater-marked stamps of the present dollar issue sold to the public was as follows: $1 stamps, 35,046; $2 stamps, 10,027; $5 stamps, 6251. The number of collectors in this country is over half a million, of whom probably at least five per cent. may be classed as advanced philatelists. This would make 25,000 sets necessary to fill the wants of this country alone under normal conditions. In Europe there are probably ten times as many philatelists as in the United States. Hence it is easy to see that the prices of these three stamps will rapidly advance. Some copies are still to be found on sale at various post-offices. Parties buying a few should take those stamps only which have a part of the margin attached. When this is done there can be no question as to whether the stamps are water-marked or not.
M. Gibbons.—The rose 1861-1867 U.S. 3c. stamp has no value except by the thousand. The pink 1861 is an extremely rare stamp.
Philatus.