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Postal Service Fire Sale

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

The U-S Postal Service now has permission to sell its private stamp collection, and
this could have major repercussions for the hobby.

It's called the Postmaster General's Collection, and no one's sure exactly WHAT'S in
it.  But we do know that it includes many one-of-a-kind items.... such as the
engravings used to print stamps, designs, even errors.

Rare stamps now in collectors' hands may become much more common.

The Postal Service is in a cash crunch right now, unable to make ends meet, and sees
this as a way of raising money.

The agency plans to put some of this material up for sale on eBay. Why eBay and not
one of the traditional high-end stamp collecting auction houses? Because eBay will
get more attention.

And that may be the key here: It's unlikely the eBay store will raise the billions of
dollars the U-S-P-S needs. But it will draw attention to the Postal Service's plight.

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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