Inside Linn’s: Intriguing replica $5 Presidential series stamps on cover

By Charles Snee

The July 8 issue of Linn’s Stamp News just landed on the presses and goes in the mail to subscribers Monday, June 24. And if you subscribe to Linn’s digital edition, you’re at the head of the line with early access Saturday, June 22. While you wait for your issue to arrive in your mailbox, enjoy these three quick glimpses of exclusive content available only to subscribers. 

Priority Mail cover franked with pair of replica $5 Prexies

When Dollar-Sign Stamps columnist Charles Snee first saw a picture of the United States Priority Mail cover shown here, he initially thought he wouldn’t write about it. “At first glance, it did seem odd that the sender, an antiques dealer in St. Louis, Mo., franked the cover with two $5 Presidential series stamps,” Snee writes. “And the $10.12 postage overpaid the $9.85 Priority Mail flat rate by 27¢, another strange aspect to this otherwise unremarkable mailpiece.” However, once he received the cover from a fellow Linn’s columnist, “that’s when things got interesting.”

Perfins, an assassination attempt and an autograph hound

In The Odd Lot this month, Wayne L. Youngblood trains his observant eye on a Jan. 26, 1932, cover mailed from Chicago to Oshkosh, Wis., that is franked with a 2¢ George Washington stamp franked bearing the distinctive and unusual “I WILL” perforated initials of the city of Chicago. “Although far from scarce, unusual perfins such as ‘I WILL’ are uncommon,” Youngblood explains. “Are they interesting? Yes. And the story behind the cover and its contents gets better.” Yes, it does.

Tip of the Week: U.S. 1869 6¢ George Washington stamp

In this week’s issue Stamp Market Tips columnists Henry Gitner and Rick Miller observe that classic United States stamps “are a perennial favorite of U.S. collectors.” To prove their point, Gitner and Miller suggest collectors seek out the 6¢ ultramarine George Washington stamp from the 1869 Pictorial issue. The stamp is rather pricey in unused, original gum condition, but examples in unused, no gum condition or used condition provide more affordable options for collectors.

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