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

Three former members of the group that guides what stamps the U-S issues have written an
open letter to the new Postmaster General. In it, Benjamin Bailar, John Hotchner and Cary
Brick — all established stamp collectors — say the stamp program is going in the wrong
direction.

They deplore the commercialism of recent U-S stamps, saying it’s a mistake to think selling
more stamps can make a significant dent in the Postal Service’s financial problems. They
also note that the U-S is now issuing more stamps than ever, by producing multiple stamps
for a single subject, and often at unnecessary high denominations. Among the issues they cite
is 2013’s 20 Harry Potter stamps... and the two-dollar reprints of the Inverted Jenny airmail
stamp, available only in sheets of six.

Bailar is a former Postmaster General himself. Hotchner is a very well known stamp collecting
writer and editor, and Brick was a top congressional staffer for more than 30 years. All
served on the Postal Service’s Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee until recently.

What Bailar, Hotchner and Brick don’t say is that the U-S is not alone in this. Other major
countries are issuing more and higher-priced stamps, too. Postal agencies seem to see stamp
collectors as cash cows... ready to be milked.

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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