# What's the deal with people using really old postage stamps?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-using-really-old-postage-stamps/392270>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 14, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-using-really-old-postage-stamps/392270 "2007-02-14T22:01:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-using-really-old-postage-stamps/392270/21 "2007-02-15T17:08:30Z")

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[QUOTE=Darryl Lict]  
Supposedly, an absentee [ballot](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-11-inverted-jenny_x.htm) mailed to Broward County was posted with an inverted Curtiss JN-4H “Jenny” aircraft stamp issued in 1918.  
[/QUOTE]

It turned out that the stamp was a fake. Fun story though.

As for the $700 for $1000 worth of stamps. I don’t get the confusion here. Either you can have $700 in cash now or $1000 in free postage over the next bunch of years. Sounds like a fair trade.

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**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-using-really-old-postage-stamps/392270/22 "2007-02-15T17:11:41Z")

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[QUOTE=Darryl Lict]  
You think that’s old. Supposedly, an absentee [ballot](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-11-inverted-jenny_x.htm) mailed to Broward County was posted with an inverted Curtiss JN-4H “Jenny” aircraft stamp issued in 1918. It’s the most famous misprinted stamp and is supposedly worth $100,000. This story has Urban Legend written all over it, but Snopes has no comment on it. The article says that only 3 of the stamps are unaccounted for, so the story sounds even more suspicious. The ballot was locked away for 22 months.  
[/QUOTE]

[The stamp turned out to be a fake.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6208720.stm)

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**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-using-really-old-postage-stamps/392270/23 "2007-02-15T17:37:52Z")

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[QUOTE=Santos L Halper]  
[The stamp turned out to be a fake.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6208720.stm)  
[/QUOTE]

The original news story said that the envelope had been placed into a box that, by law, had to be sealed for 22 months.

So I guess the law isn’t as strong as curiosity and greed?

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