Inside Linn’s: When a grungy cover becomes a golden find

By Charles Snee

The March 10 digital-only issue of Linn’s Stamp News will be available to subscribers Saturday, Feb. 22. While you wait for your issue to arrive in your inbox, enjoy these three quick glimpses of exclusive content available only to subscribers.

When a grungy cover becomes a golden find

In The Odd Lot, Wayne Youngblood begins by stating that he likes what he calls “really ugly mail.” The cover pictured above certainly fits that description, and Youngblood proceeds to explain the letter’s encounter with the Dec. 15-16, 1967, Morgan Annex fire in New York City’s General Post Office facility. “The story of this cover — like many similar artifacts of other disasters — is a strong reminder of the resilience and dedication of postal employees, as well as those who battled the flames to rescue people and mail,” Youngblood writes.

Priority Mail franking documents 2024 holiday rate increase

Dollar-Sign Stamps columnist Charles Snee highlights a Priority Mail flat-rate envelope mailed in November 2024 that is franked with $10.45 postage. That amount exceeded the basic $9.85 Priority Mail flat rate by 60¢, which puzzled Snee at first. However, after a bit of investigating, Snee recalled the temporary rate increases that the United States Postal Service had put into effect from Oct. 6, 2024, to Jan. 19, 2025, “for certain types of package services during the peak holiday mailing season.” Snee also explains the somewhat unusual denomination of one of the stamps on the cover. Read the column to learn more.

Stamp Market Tips: Tonga 1897-1934 pictorial set of 15

In their tip of the week, Stamp Market Tips columnists Henry Gitner and Rick Miller highlight the set of 15 Tonga engraved pictorial definitive stamps (Scott 38-52) issued in 1897 with one stamp (39) issued in 1934. “Tonga stamps of the early to mid-20th century display the same high design and production values of other stamps of the British Empire,” Gitner and Miller explain. “Stamps with engraved designs are often bicolor and feature exotic and attractive design subjects.”

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