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Telling Wight From Wrong
The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.
A recent set of stamps from Britain was supposed to celebrate the glories of England. Instead,
the British postal system has a bit of coddled egg on its face.
When the stamps were distributed in advance to post offices and stamp dealers, it was discovered
that the stamp showing the Needles lighthouse on the Isle of Wight spelled the island's name as
the color - W-H-I-T-E. The correct spelling is W-I-G-H-T.
A spokeswoman for the resort island said it doesn't matter, as long as tourists come.
The U-S had a similar blunder several years ago, when stamps put the Grand Canyon in the wrong
state. That was caught, too, but then the stamps were released REVERSED, <with the sun in the
wrong part of the sky.>>
The Wrong Wight stamps were recalled, reprinted and redistributed before their issue date -- but
not ALL of them.
These things happen, a Royal Mail spokesman said. Besides, he said, these stamps aren't really
intended for MAIL, just for collectors.
That's the sort of off-color comment that irritates stamp collectors.
I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more about stamps and stamp collecting,
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com
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