How can a single postage stamp be worth $16800 Any mistake in the printing of a stamp raises its value to stamp collectors. A mistake on one inexpensive postage stamp has the stamp worth a million and a half times its original value.
The mistake was made more than a hundred years ago in the British colony of Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean. In 1847 an order for stamps was sent to a London printer. Mauritius was to become the fourth country in the world to issue stamps.
Before the order was filled and delivered, a ball was planned at Mauritius" Government House, and stamps were needed to send out the invitations. A local printer was instructed to copy the design for the stamps. He accidentally wrote the words "Post Office" instead of "Post Paid" on the several hundred stamps that he printed.
Today there are only twenty-six of these misprinted stamps left. fourteen One-penny Orange-Reds and twelve Two-penny Blues. Because of the Two-penny Blue"s rareness and age, collectors have paid as much as $16800 for it. In the middle of the 19th century most countries in the world were ______.
A.interested in stamp collecting B.not yet using postage stamps C.buying stamps from London D.trying to make money from stamp printing