Penny Black Stories

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"If a person's got the strength to get up and about they must be reasonably well," he argues. "So what's the point of asking?"

So when he greeted me with: "Hello Penny. How are you keeping? Well I hope," I knew there was something he wanted.

"Yes, I'm fine thanks," I replied. "How are you?"

"Well to be honest in a spot of trouble," he said.

"My first thought was that it was financial and he wanted a loan. I was about to suggest that he called in at the bank next day when he continued with: "Our guest speaker for the meeting on Thursday has had been in a car crash. He's in hospital with a broken leg and cracked ribs."

"Oh, how dreadful," I said in all innocence, thinking of the stress his family would be under.

"Yes, I'm having a real problem finding a replacement at such short notice. I've been ringing round, but so far I've not been able to get anybody. They've all seen my stuff several times, otherwise I'd step in. And most of our members have shown their collections recently ... well ... all but yourself ..."

I suddenly realised I was the prime target for standing in at our next meeting.

"What about it Penny. I'm sure we'd all enjoy seeing your display of Banking on Stamps?"

"I don't know," I said. "I've got a lot of material still to mount. I could only put together a short display of about sixty sheets."

"That's fine. I'll ring around a few members to bring some stamps along for sale in a spot auction. Should fill in the evening nicely. Look forward to it. See you on Thursday."

I sat down and started to go through my display. It amounted to fifty-five sheets and looked a bit meagre compared with our usual displays of 120 sheets taken in two rounds.

I spent the rest of the evening mounting some more sheets and finally had sixty-five sheets to show. Not a full evening's display, but a good half-evening, and with an auction as well it would certainly provide an adequate alternative for our lost speaker.

The following evening I spent the whole time preparing my talk, and wrote down my notes about some of the more unusual items in my collection. There were the British stamps used as revenue stamps on cheques; the stamps printed on the back of bank-notes in 1919 during a paper shortage in Latvia; stamps showing coins and bank-notes, and several sheets of well known personalities in the banking world. Then there was the section on German inflation issues with one envelope carrying stamps amounting to several million marks. I had several pages on individual banks, including the British stamps issued for the centenary of the Post Office Savings Bank on a first day cover. I was particularly proud of that as I'd picked it up for a few pence in a dealer's oddments box, and discovered later that it's catalogued over fifty pounds.

However, one sheet had an awkward gap; a stamp missing. It was one of my pages of banking organisations. I knew that there had been a stamp issued by the United States to commemorate the American Bankers Association, but so far it had eluded me.

I diligently wrote it all down for my talk and found it was past midnight when I had finished, but I felt easier now that it was all prepared and ready for the following evening.

I turned up at the meeting early. Our Secretary was just opening up the room and switching on the lights.

"Hello Penny," he said. "I'm most grateful for you stepping in at such short notice to fill the gap."

Other members began to arrive, and we began the meeting at seven-thirty. After the usual announcements and the perennial argument about whose turn it was to make the teas at half-time, the President announced that the scheduled speaker was unfortunately unable to be there due to a car accident. "He was to have shown us South American Inflation Issues," he said. "We've persuaded Penny to come and show us something also connected with money and finance - her display of Banking on Stamps. So, over to you Penny."

The talk went well and the members seemed genuinely interested. Andy gave the vote of thanks commenting that he hadn't realised how interesting banking could be, and it was a pity that banks didn't offer free samples like the supermarkets.

The Secretary then ran the spot auction. There was a packet of United States stamps with the very stamp I needed to fill my gap, so of course I bid for it and got it.

Not bad going I thought; I'd filled two gaps in one night.