Monday, October 17, 2005

Nice on-line story over the weekend from the Daily Nonpareil of Council Bluffs, Iowa about stamp collector - or should we say 'stamp historian' - Chuck Petterson.

Some of the historical stamp projects Petterson has put together includes a collection of penalty mail formats and designs. Penalty mail is official mail sent by U.S. government agencies and includes an engraved penalty stamp rather than a postage stamp.

"The penalty fee for private users has been $300 since 1871," he notes

His #1 exhibit is "The Role of the Mail in the Promotion of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915" and has won several medals.

His other exhibit, a crowd favorite at shows, is "What Happened to My Letter?" which contains mail pieces damaged by fire, airline crashes, flood and mailbox rats, among other fates

The self-employed technical writer says in the article, "I learned from my dad that the most valuable part is not the worth of the stamps but the enjoyment. It's the chase, the challenge and learning - that's what's important."

To read the entire article, click here.
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posted by Don Schilling at 12:01 AM