Just like there are things like the Gibson Moderne (alleged prototypes out there) and the super rare Gretsch White Penguin (Penguin, not Falcon), there are things in stamp and coin collecting that bring on instant "holy grail" status.
I was in line at a local Northern California post office, where I knew the workers well for years, and I saw a person a few ahead of me pass on an inverted sheet. With extremely strict quality control, inversions are even less common than in the days of the famous upside down Jenny airplane stamp. Example of inverted stamps go beyond just the Jenny stamp:
http://www.designinterviews.com/new...on-10-Most-Valuable-Stamp-Inverts.-46634.html
When a customer received an entire sheet of 20, they gave it back to the postal worker and complained they looked "off" and asked if they could get a better sheet. Being a collector I spotted this rare inverted sheet and said nothing hoping that when I got to that teller, I could get that sheet. When I did get there, they said policy does not allow them to sell errors like this and that it will be destroyed. I pleaded nicely but they would not relent.
For years I kept thinking if I had been more assertive or offered to buy the stamps when I was a few back in line that things would have been different. The postal worker was so-so about taking away the error stamps and it didn't show the gravity of what they were holding. The postmaster later told me that she would have shut down the line had she been there and seen that mishap and made a huge stink and had all the drawers checked out. It's not policy to sell a 40 cent stamp that can in turn be cashed in for a car or house. They are in business of delivering mail, not making random people very rich. Oh well. It's one of those things you kick yourself for every time it comes to mind.
The other time something like this happened, but to a much lesser degree financially, was when the hs band was tossing junk into the dumpster to clear out room and then wanted to toss out this ugly, old electric guitar. I too thought it was ugly but spared it from the dumpster and gave it to a friend who then traded it for a nicer looking guitar. It was a very old 1960s Epiphone Coronet.
I was in line at a local Northern California post office, where I knew the workers well for years, and I saw a person a few ahead of me pass on an inverted sheet. With extremely strict quality control, inversions are even less common than in the days of the famous upside down Jenny airplane stamp. Example of inverted stamps go beyond just the Jenny stamp:
http://www.designinterviews.com/new...on-10-Most-Valuable-Stamp-Inverts.-46634.html
When a customer received an entire sheet of 20, they gave it back to the postal worker and complained they looked "off" and asked if they could get a better sheet. Being a collector I spotted this rare inverted sheet and said nothing hoping that when I got to that teller, I could get that sheet. When I did get there, they said policy does not allow them to sell errors like this and that it will be destroyed. I pleaded nicely but they would not relent.
For years I kept thinking if I had been more assertive or offered to buy the stamps when I was a few back in line that things would have been different. The postal worker was so-so about taking away the error stamps and it didn't show the gravity of what they were holding. The postmaster later told me that she would have shut down the line had she been there and seen that mishap and made a huge stink and had all the drawers checked out. It's not policy to sell a 40 cent stamp that can in turn be cashed in for a car or house. They are in business of delivering mail, not making random people very rich. Oh well. It's one of those things you kick yourself for every time it comes to mind.
The other time something like this happened, but to a much lesser degree financially, was when the hs band was tossing junk into the dumpster to clear out room and then wanted to toss out this ugly, old electric guitar. I too thought it was ugly but spared it from the dumpster and gave it to a friend who then traded it for a nicer looking guitar. It was a very old 1960s Epiphone Coronet.