# Stamp collector who destroyed stamp he just bought? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 31, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903 "2012-07-31T00:07:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/1 "2012-07-31T00:07:57Z")
I vaguely recall my contemporaries at school when I was around 9 or 10 (so mid-late 90s) saying something about a stamp collector who had bought one of the most valuable stamps in the world, there being only 2 or 3 in existence… then immediately destroying it, the action of doing so multiplying the value of another example he owned. Does this inicident ring a bell with anyone? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/2 "2012-07-31T00:09:58Z")
There was a scene in _Brewster’s Millions_ (the Richard Pryor version) where he buys a million-dollar rare misprint and uses it to send a postcard, thereby destroying it when it is cancelled. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/3 "2012-07-31T00:33:28Z")
“[No need, I’ll just eat it right here!](http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Homer_vs._Dignity/Quotes)” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/4 "2012-07-31T00:54:38Z")
I’m skeptical that the value would go up that much. For example, you own a 25 thousand dollar stamp. You buy a duplicate for 22 thousand and destroy it. I can’t believe the value of the first stamp would rise to 47 thousand. That would be one heck of a gamble. Collecting just isn’t that predictable. Value is what someone else is willing to pay. > [@Confused dart cum](#): > > I vaguely recall my contemporaries at school when I was around 9 or 10 (so mid-late 90s) saying something about a stamp collector who had bought one of the most valuable stamps in the world, there being only 2 or 3 in existence… then immediately destroying it, the action of doing so multiplying the value of another example he owned. > > Does this inicident ring a bell with anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/5 "2012-07-31T01:15:06Z")
I’ve only heard this posed as one of those puzzle-book riddles–the kind meant to be solved by asking yes/no questions. “A man purchases an extremely rare item. As soon as he receives it, he destroys it. Why would he do this?” ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/6 "2012-07-31T01:20:10Z")
Only three known? The story I’m guessing is fictional as destroying such a rarity would make no sense to a sane thinker. Or perhaps the OP is referring to the inverted Jenny (C3a) that was sucked up by the housecleaner’s vacuum. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/7 "2012-07-31T01:20:18Z")
Value shmalue! You want there to be as few extant examples as possible. Sure, you could sell them all and make a killing, because for any known rarity, the market will be elastic. But that’s nothing compared to having The Only One In The World - or even better, keeping it out of the hands of a rival you know wants it. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/8 "2012-07-31T01:54:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m skeptical that the value would go up that much. For example, you own a 25 thousand dollar stamp. You buy a duplicate for 22 thousand and destroy it. I can’t believe the value of the first stamp would rise to 47 thousand. That would be one heck of a gamble. > > Collecting just isn’t that predictable. Value is what someone else is willing to pay. I think it is based on the theory that if there is a stamp of which only one is known, (one-cent British Guiana magenta, for example), its uniqueness could make it worth, say, ten million dollars. Another stamp, of which two are known, may be worth only one million each, there being a ten-fold premium for absolute uniqueness. So if the owner of the British Guiana discovers a second such stamp, there will then be two of t hem worth only a million each, for a total of two million. by destroying one of them, the other one’s value of ten million is restored. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/9 "2012-07-31T01:59:34Z")
It happened in an episode of “Kojak,” [Night of the Piraeus](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0621353/). ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/10 "2012-07-31T05:11:29Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I think it is based on the theory that if there is a stamp of which only one is known, (one-cent British Guiana magenta, for example), its uniqueness could make it worth, say, ten million dollars. Another stamp, of which two are known, may be worth only one million each, there being a ten-fold premium for absolute uniqueness. So if the owner of the British Guiana discovers a second such stamp, there will then be two of t hem worth only a million each, for a total of two million. by destroying one of them, the other one’s value of ten million is restored. IIRC it was a story about that self same stamp ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/11 "2012-07-31T05:29:00Z")
Wikipedia says: “In the 1920s a rumour developed that a second copy of the stamp had been discovered, and that the then owner of the stamp, Arthur Hind, had quietly purchased this second copy and destroyed it. The rumour has not been substantiated.” No cite. [British Guiana 1c magenta](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Guiana_1c_magenta) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/12 "2012-07-31T11:34:32Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > There was a scene in _Brewster’s Millions_ (the Richard Pryor version) where he buys a million-dollar rare misprint and uses it to send a postcard, thereby destroying it when it is cancelled. I haven’t seen the film, but that doesn’t sound very plausible in real life. Often, postally used examples of rare stamps are _more_ valuable than unused ones, because very few of them ever came onto the market. I would have thought that a very rare stamp, postally used on a cover, would be very much sought after by collectors. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/13 "2012-07-31T12:21:50Z")
I believe I’ve read a similar account of purchasing and destroying a unique bulb during the Tulip Mania, but couldn’t find cite. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/14 "2012-07-31T13:01:11Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I haven’t seen the film, but that doesn’t sound very plausible in real life. Often, postally used examples of rare stamps are _more_ valuable than unused ones, because very few of them ever came onto the market. I would have thought that a very rare stamp, postally used on a cover, would be very much sought after by collectors. Maybe, but after using it legally Brewster no longer own the stamp, and thus it isn’t an asset to be counted against him. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/15 "2012-07-31T13:15:18Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > There was a scene in _Brewster’s Millions_ (the Richard Pryor version) where he buys a million-dollar rare misprint and uses it to send a postcard, thereby destroying it when it is cancelled. True, but not relevant to this thread. In that story, he had a bunch of money that he needed to spend without giving it away for nothing. Since he paid big money and got a valuable stamp, that didn’t break the rules as set out in that story, and when he put the stamp on a postcard to mail it, that didn’t break the rules either. In this thread we’re looking for case where the stamp was used or destroyed specifically to raise the value of the OTHER copies of that stamp. By the way, as I recall, the stamp Brewster used in that movie was the inverted Jenny, mentioned by **Lukeinva** above. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/16 "2012-07-31T13:55:43Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > There was a scene in _Brewster’s Millions_ (the Richard Pryor version) where he buys a million-dollar rare misprint and uses it to send a postcard, thereby destroying it when it is cancelled. I’m imagining a reversal where some sharp-eyed postal worker notices the misprint before the postcard gets cancelled and steals it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/17 "2012-07-31T14:15:56Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Wikipedia says: “In the 1920s a rumour developed that a second copy of the stamp had been discovered, and that the then owner of the stamp, Arthur Hind, had quietly purchased this second copy and destroyed it. The rumour has not been substantiated.” No cite. > > [British Guiana 1c magenta](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Guiana_1c_magenta) Why would you quietly destroy it? I’d think you’d either hide the fact that it exists (and sell the first one), or publicly destroy it so that everyone was aware of how super-unique your stamp is. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/18 "2012-07-31T14:58:28Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Why would you quietly destroy it? I’d think you’d either hide the fact that it exists (and sell the first one), or publicly destroy it so that everyone was aware of how super-unique your stamp is. Yeah, but there might be opprobrium from your fellow stamp-lovers for the act. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/19 "2012-07-31T15:13:53Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I haven’t seen the film, but that doesn’t sound very plausible in real life. Often, postally used examples of rare stamps are _more_ valuable than unused ones, because very few of them ever came onto the market. I would have thought that a very rare stamp, postally used on a cover, would be very much sought after by collectors. If a used stamp is more valuable, then why don’t owners of unused stamps use them? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903/20 "2012-07-31T15:25:02Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > If a used stamp is more valuable, then why don’t owners of unused stamps use them? Postmarks of one era don’t look the same as the postmarks of another era. The value of a used stamp will be affected by whether or not the postmark testifies to having been used before the error became famous. Try taking a hundred-year old stamp, putting it on a letter, and trying to sell it as “used”. Most will look at it and say “What a shame. Someone used the stamp recently, not realizing how valuable it is.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stamp-collector-who-destroyed-stamp-he-just-bought/629903.md?page=2)