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The Teflon Stamps

The Stamp Collecting Report. I'm Lloyd de Vries.

Some of the Postal Service's new stamps are pretty, but slick. Too slick. 

They have high-gloss finishes and, as a result, most cancellation ink doesn't stick 
to them.

It's particularly frustrating for those stamp collectors who prize the postmark almost 
as much as, or perhaps more than, the stamp.

But it's also upsetting for the Postal Service: Cancellations indicate that a stamp 
has been used, and can't be used again. No cancellation, and someone could re-use the 
stamp...cheating the Postal Service out of revenue.

So carriers and clerks draw lines through uncanceled stamps with a marker...a waste of 
their time, and an annoyance to collectors.

So far this year, the stamps that have caused the most trouble are Frank Sinatra...
Vintage Black Cinema...and the Sunflower booklet stamp. 

Postal researchers are looking into the problem... But it seems all the problem stamps 
were produced by the same printer. 

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting, 
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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