Scott #13 sold for $9.48 million and set a world record again for the highest price ever paid for a philatelic item. Ownership of the most famous stamp in the world transferred from the estate of John DuPont to an unnamed bidder. And no, I’m not the new owner of this stamp. Like many of you, I wish I was! I didn’t even place a bid for fear of being laughed at.

The sale of this stamp generated a lot of publicity – even in the media outlets that reach the general public. Albeit briefly, the stamp made news on some of the evening national news shows too. It generated a lot of interest. It will attract some new collectors to the hobby and I hope at least some of those new collectors will continue on for many, many years. Some of these new collectors will fade away in a short time because that deep interest in philately isn’t there.

The sale of this stamp gave philately a big shot in the arm with exposure to the general public. Personally, I wish this stamp would come on the auction block every five to ten years. Why? It would again generate wide spread interest in stamps, even if briefly, and give philately a periodic shot in the arm.

When copies of the inverted Jenny come up for sale, they too occasionally generate coverage in the general media markets.

The point is that events like these are not often covered in the media for the general public. The challenge is to take events like this and use them to bring more collectors into the fold. That would help expand the hobby for future generations to come.