Like A Poor Tax (Lottery)

Been out of the country for several weeks to return and catch up on my philatelic reading to include the forums. After a brief reading catch-up and then to my local PO I read this sign (which I should have taken a photo of) that would make one feel like a lottery chance. Something to the tune of "be one of the only to own an error sheet of right side up Jenny's". I purchased two sheets (no luck) for my collection but the person in front of me purchased 6 after she had an explanation from the clerk like it was a lottery. Shameful for the USPS. Is that the intent?!

Doug

I must confess I haven't been to the post office in the last couple of weeks to see the sign you refer to, but if it reads as you suggest, it is a bit disconcerting. The USPS should not regard this as a lottery, as in my opinion all stamps should be available to all collectors who want them, without taking a "chance" (lottery) in possibly getting a valuable collectible.

But then one has to remember that the USPS is trying to market these stamps to the "non-collector" and instill some chance of getting an "error" in the process.

Frankly, I think the USPS made two mistakes with this issue:

First, selling the stamp "error" (with the right-side up Jenny); and

Second, selling the stamps at a high $2 denomination that none other than package mailers would have use for.

To find the stamp on a traditional cover will typically be only philatelically contrived unless one wants to pay for expensive services like certified mail, registered mail, return receipt, etc. Typical first class mail will never see any these stamps go through the mailstream, so "on-cover" examples will be quite collectible, I imagine.

The $2 stamp along with a 20 cent and a 5 cent stamp covers the $2.25 needed for the 2 oz. International non-machineable rate.