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Headline, August 21, 2006
National Postal Museum
Announces 2nd Revenue Stamp Auction
The
Smithsonian's National Postal Museum has announced that an
auction to
sell a portion of the museum's deaccessioned revenue stamps will
be held
Saturday, Sep. 30, at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City.
The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum has announced that an
auction to
sell a portion of the museum's deaccessioned revenue stamps will be held
Saturday, Sep. 30, at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City.
Revenue stamps were issued by the Department of the Treasury as proof of
payment for taxes on various products and legal documents. Many of the
stamps represent so-called "sin taxes" on various forms of alcohol and
tobacco.
More than five million revenue stamps will be offered in the sale;
nearly
three million of those are wine stamps. The wine stamps are inscribed
"Series of 1941" and were issued between 1942 and 1954. This series had
104
different denominations and still holds the record for the most U.S.
stamps
in a single series.
The wine stamps were issued in two formats, both of which feature
engraved
grapevines. For stamp collectors, the highlight of the wine stamps is
the
rare 1949 $4 issue ("Scott Stamp Catalogue" number RE175). The sale also
will feature narcotic, tobacco, alcohol, silver tax and documentary
stamps.
This is the second sale of deaccessioned revenue stamps. Only 35,000
revenue stamps were offered in the first sale, which took place in
February
2005.
"The first sale was a huge success, not just for the National Postal
Museum, but for the entire hobby of stamp collecting," said museum
registrar
Ted Wilson. "Through that sale, we were able to inspire new stamp
collectors
and introduce them to revenue stamps in particular."
The auction will include individual, group and wholesale lots; it will
be
conducted by Matthew Bennett International, an auction house based in
Baltimore. For more than 55 years, Matthew Bennett International, Inc.
has
been distinguished as a leading auction house in both United States and
international philately. Matthew Bennett has divisions in the United
States,
Switzerland and Hong Kong. For more information, go to
www.bennettstamps.com.
"When the Smithsonian acquired these revenue stamps, it was with the
intention that they would be made available to the public and that the
proceeds of any sale would be used for the benefit of the national
philatelic collection," Wilson said. "The second sale will bring us even
closer to realizing that vision."
Philately is the collection and study of postage and other types of
stamps,
postmarks and stamped envelopes, and the study of postal history.
The National Postal Museum also will donate deaccessioned revenue stamps
to
a number of organizations including the British Library, the Spellman
Museum
of Stamps and Postal History and the American Philatelic Society. The
remaining deaccessioned stamps, consisting mainly of higher-value
rarities
that have been marked to distinguish them from the unmarked copies that
were
sold in the first auction, will be sold in a third sale. The date of
that
sale has not been determined.
Approximately 7.8 million obsolete revenue stamps were transferred to
the
Smithsonian Institution from the Internal Revenue Service between 1954
and
1978. The Smithsonian Board of Regents approved the deaccession, or
removal,
of more than seven million revenue stamps from the national collection
in
January 2004. Proceeds from the sale of deaccessioned revenue stamps
will be
used to enhance the national philatelic collection. The National Postal
Museum will retain approximately 250 copies of each revenue stamp
variety.
The National Postal Museum is devoted to presenting the colorful and
engaging history of the nation's mail service and showcasing the largest
and
most comprehensive collection of stamps and philatelic material in the
world. The museum is located at 2 Massachusetts Ave. N.E., across from
Union
Station. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more
information visit the museum's Web site at
www.postalmuseum.si.edu
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