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When stamps come marching home.

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries

[music - establish and undert]

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. It's not as touchy 
a subject now as it was 50 years ago, on the centennial.

Many people then had known relatives who had fought in it. Television hadn't homogenized 
us as much yet, and there were still significant regional identities. And the Civil 
Rights movement was just beginning, highlighting those differences.

Fifty years ago, the Post Office issued five stamps, one for each year, marking a 
significant battle. This time around, we're getting TWO stamps for each year, packaged 
in what's called a "souvenir sheet" for collectors.

One of this year's stamps is Fort Sumter. The other is titled First Bull Run, the first 
significant battle of the war.

Except Southerners still call it the First Battle of Manassas.

So there are still some of those regional differences.

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

[music stinger]

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