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It's a good idea for any philatelist to stray once in a while into uncharted
territory and start a specialty collection. Trying something new certainly
broadens one's philatelic perspective.
Unlike topicals, consider a single stamp specialty. Scott #33, Great Britain's
penny red, is a particularly good example. This is an inexpensive stamp, with
used copies costing just pennies. Condition of the stamp really doesn't matter.
At times it's possible to buy this stamp in quantity but poor quality at a
reasonable price. The same thing can be done with other issues from Great
Britain, but with more expensive stamps.
Two letters are found in the lower corners of this stamp. By properly arranging
these letters it's possible to reconstruct a complete sheet of stamps. Here's
how to do it:
#1-a stamp with "A" in the lower left corner and "A" in the
lower right corner means it came from the 1st row, 1st stamp;
#2-"A" lower left, "B" lower right translates to 1st row,
2nd stamp;
#3-"A" lower left, "C" lower right, first row 3rd stamp,
etc.
The sheet continues 12 stamps across (AA through AL) and goes 20 down (the last
row being TA through TL). When you first start your sheet it will be easy, but
as the sheet fills up, trying to find those you still need is a challenge.
Completing the sheet gives great pleasure and satisfaction.
If a simple reconstruction isn't enough of a challenge, this stamp also was
printed from over 200 different plates. The plate number of each is found in the
scroll work on either side of the Queen's portrait. Of course, each plate also
has 240 different letter combinations, so you'll need nearly 50,000 different
stamps to complete such a collection, which will be guaranteed impossible. You
see, one plate number, #77, is very rare, with used copies typically auctioned
off for over $10,000 each!
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