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The Tell-Tale Total
 
The Stamp Collecting Report. I'm Lloyd de Vries.
 
One of the first U-S stamps issued next year will be one celebrating the bicentennial 
of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe. One of America's first great fiction writers, he was 
a master of the short story.
 
But it appears to some the Postal Service is giving him short SHRIFT. It's only printing 
30 million Poe stamps, far fewer than most commemoratives. There will be *60* million of 
the Lunar New Year stamp coming out the week before. And there were *60* million of this
year's Bette Davis stamp.
 
One reason could be timing: A rate increase is very likely in May...and stamps at the OLD 
rate don't sell after a rate change.
 
But then there's that Lunar New Year issue, with twice as many stamps.
 
What's more likely is that the Postal People figure there's just not going to be that much 
interest in a stamp for a literary figure. 
 
And sadly, I think that's true. 
 
In these tough economic times, when it comes to throwing away outdated stamps, quoth the 
Postal Service -- Nevermore.
 
And that's stamp collecting this week. I'm Lloyd de Vries, CBS News.

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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