Download this report as an MP3 sound file.


For broadcast on CBS Radio Network stations May 24-25, 2003:


The Eagle is about to land.


The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.


Next month, the U-S is issuing a set of ten coil stamps, all featuring the
eagle in our National Seal. The stamps will have the same design but
different color schemes. 


It's partly the result of discussions the Postal Service has had with
journalists who cover stamp collecting -- an effort to add some variety to
what the agency calls "mail-use stamps." You see, these aren't really
intended for collectors or even regular customers: They're 25-cent stamps
intended for mass mailings, and come in rolls of ten thousand .


Collectors are wondering how to save them. A complete strip of ten is bigger
than most albums can handle, and it certainly won't fit on a single
envelope.


The Wright Brothers and Audrey Hepburn stamps are fun, but let's face it,
they really don't get used much. Having interesting stamps on the mail that
comes into our homes -- what we call junk mail -- could stir interest in
collecting stamps.


And it's nice that the Postal Service is listening.


That's stamp collecting this week. 


I'm Lloyd de Vries, CBS News. 

----------------------------------------------------------
Go to Previous Report
Go to Next Report 

Go to Report Index