Joy At Losing

by Lloyd A. de Vries

I lost the lottery.

I ordered four sheets of the Jenny Invert souvenir sheet (as seen on the right) so I could service my Dragon Cards first day covers. Like many purchasers, I was hoping that at least one of the sheets would be one of the 100 limited edition versions with the airplane rightside-up instead of inverted.

I couldn’t pick up the quickly-filled order from Stamp Fulfillment Services the day it probably arrived in my post office box, and when I got home, I had other more pressing duties, so it was a few hours before I opened each of the four envelopes.

It’s estimated the intentional error sheets (which are really depicting the correct Sc. C3 stamp, not a corrected version of C3a) will sell for $2,000 to $4,000 each initially. I could use the money.

The odds are slightly better than winning a multi-state lottery jackpot, and by buying four, I’d cut those 1 in 22,000 odds by a fourth. Hey, you never know, as the New York State Lottery saying goes.

However, if I did receive one of the sheets shown on the left, would I sell it or use it to create six unique Dragon Cards? Would I use the stamps on my 5- by 7-inch Dragon Cards, which are less popular than standard-size #6¾ envelopes, or on standard-size envelopes, to maximize bidder interest? What price would I charge my one-and-only Dragon Cards subscriber? Would I keep one for myself? (I can answer that one: Of course. But that, of course, would cut my potential windfall by 17 percent.)

Fate, however, was smiling on me, as it is on many stamp collectors: I lost. I didn’t get one of the “unvert” sheets. I don’t have to make those tough decisions. All 22 Dragon Cards will be serviced with the common variety, and the two extra stamps for postage.

Problem solved.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so glad to lose.