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Dumb and Dumber

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

Connecticut authorities recently arrested two men on charges they stole about 140-thousand 
dollars in rare stamps from a nationally-known stamp dealer. Both men had worked in Nutmeg 
Stamp Company's shipping department. Stamps that had been purchased by customers never 
arrived or couldn't be found to ship out.

So far, police say they've recovered only about 50 thousand dollars worth of the stamps.

The break in the case came when a 1930 air mail stamp, one of the so-called Zepps, was offered 
to a Florida dealer. 

He recognized it as the one stolen from Connecticut because -- get this -- it had been 
encapsulated -- that is, sealed in a plastic case -- and had a SERIAL NUMBER on it. Police 
traced it back and, they say, eventually the trail led to one of the shipping clerks.

There's a controversy in stamp collecting about whether to encapsulate expensive rare stamps. 
It certainly helped in this case.

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting, 
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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