Panama Canal Commemorative Program - 100th Anniversary

Is anyone planning to get this from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for $99.

It claims to have Panama-Pacific Exposition Issue postage stamps.

Does anyone know if these are reprints or the actual stamps from 1914.

What are your opinions of this set?

http://www.moneyfactorystore.gov/pa...versary.aspx

Back in the day, I used to collect those Bureau of Engraving and Printing Souvenir Cards, some of which had beautiful engravings from obsolete money or stamps on them, but the pricetag at the time was typically $10 or less.

At $99 (effectively three cards at $33 each) it's nice, but I not sure there is a large enough collector market to support that price, although the subject matter may make it a desirable piece to own.

On the other hand, looking back at their other intaglio offerings from last year, they are all listed as "sold out", and ebay "sold" listings suggest that they are selling at about 1/3rd more than their original "issue price" so perhaps there is a larger collector market for them than I realize.

In my opinion, if you're looking for it as a gift or keepsake and have no interest or care about the secondary market value of the item, go for it.

As an investment, I think you'll be disappointed as virtually all items like this that are marketed as "collectibles" are usually printed in adequate enough quantities to meet collector demand.

I cannot say for certain, but looking at the sale listing, I don't think there are actual stamps from the 1913 set.

regards, Theron.

You're absolutely right. There are no stamps included in the offering. They are merely reprinting on card stock some of the engraved designs that were used back in the day (possibly from some of the original plates) but they are designed purely as a collectible and have no postal value.

I did notice on the link to the BEP that the uncut press sheets of the Postal Service have gotten the attention of the Treasury Department. They are offering uncut sheets of paper money!

Peter

Just came across this thread. This set did indeed sell out, even at $99. The reason for the increased cost this year was the extremely large reprint of the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition Award Diploma (17x23"). It's one of the largest and most ornate single plates ever engraved by the Bureau of Engraving & Printing. They did an early release of these cards at the January 2015 show of the Florida United Numismatists and also had a demonstration press in action. Very interesting to watch. All the large cards had to be printed by hand. With so much time required they probably lost money on the venture.

In regards to the Panama Pacific stamps, reprinted on the two smaller souvenir cards, it's a minor miracle that they were included at all. Since the BEP ended stamp production in 2005, they no longer attend stamp shows and they've stopped producing philatelic souvenir cards. This was the first instance in three years that stamps had appeared on a card and it was only because they tied into the Panama Canal Centennial theme. It's a shame, but I doubt we'll see much philatelic content on souvenir cards for a long while.