Investor

A (Announcer) Excuse me, sir. Do you have a few minutes to be interviewed for the radio audience about this stamp show?

I (Investor) Sure.

A I noticed you have brought a briefcase with you as do many participants. Do you mind my asking what you plan to buy at this event?

I Nothing. I plan to sell.

A Well what do you have for sale?

I Classic mint US stamps by the sheet.

A You mean from the 1880's?

I No, from the 1950's.

A Well what issues do you have and how many are for sale?

I I have exactly 100 sheets of 3 cent commemoratives from the 1950's. And one special 4 cent stamp sheet. They are in pristine condition. I have kept them in a safety deposit box at my bank since I was a kid.

A Have you ever gotten an appraisal on this group?

I No. But I figure I paid $150 at $1.50 per sheet from the post office. And $2 for the 4 cent stamp sheet.  I would estimate they should go for about triple what I paid, since that is over 50 years ago and they are in excellent condition.

A So $462?

I Yes, except that I have one sheet which alone is probably worth much more than $462. It is a 4 cent stamp. I only paid $2 for it at the post office.

A What would that sheet be?

I It is an error sheet. It was printed with two colors, yellow and black. But the sheets were fed incorrectly into the press and the color is said to be inverted.

A Oh, you mean the Dag Hammarskjöld invert.

I Then you know about it.

A Oh sure.

I Listen, I have to cut this short. I need to get to the dealers to find the one that will pay the most for my items.

A Let me know how you did.

I OK.

(Not much later in the day)

A I see you still have your brief case. Is it empty now that you have sold your sheets?

I No. No one would offer me more than 50% of the post office price for my sheets. So that means I lost hundreds of dollars paying for a bank safety deposit box for all those years. Not to mention all the fun I missed out on by spending most of my allowance as a kid on stamps that have turned out to be worth much less than I paid for them.

A Even the Hammarskjöld Invert?

I Well I did have one dealer that would give me full post office price for that sheet at $2. Turns out the post office reprinted that error by the millions, rendering each sheet worth nothing special. I just didn't know.

A Now what will you do with your sheets?

I I guess I will use them for postage.

A Thank you for your time. Now back to the station.