PANIC OVER STAMPS

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 14 February 1930, Page 4

PANIC OVER STAMPS

THE LIGHT THAT 1 FAILED. A suspected plot to steal valuable philatelic treasures lately created a period of panic in the Palazzo della Promotriee all Valentino, at Turin, Italy, where the International Stamp Congress Exhibition was housed, says an overseas paper. Among the rarities in the show cases were complete sets of stamps of the old Italian States, a unique collection of Sicilian stamps of a value estimated at over £20,000. all the postal issues of Uruguay, representing a value of between £60,000 and £70,000, and many single stamps whose market prices run into four and five figures. 'The whole exhibition was insured for £IOO.OOO, a figure which was considerably exceeded by the value of the specimens displayed. As many of the exhibits had. been lent from private Italian and fore inn collections, the committee of the congress was anxious about their .safety, and had taken extraordinary precautions. Twenty carabinieri, thirty nlain-clothes policemen, twelve private detectives, and the reinforced personnel of the Pallazzn were on sentry and patro] duties nisrht and day. Members of the committee also took consecutive shifts of inspection lasting four . hours. In this atmosphere of vigilance the consternation was great when late at night all the lights suddenly went out, leaving the public, the guardians, and the treasures in glass show cases in darkness.

Fearing that this was the preliminary t.Q. a plan of robbery, the doors of the Palazzo were immediately closed and picketed by the armed carabinieri, and the astonished public were herded into one room. Each person was then called forward by the police, and, by improvised candle-light, identified and searched. Meanwhile all cases and windows were examined, and the building patrolled from top to basement Electricians were sent for and the failure of the light was found to have been caused by a short circuit.

After half an hour the light was restored, the public released from their imprisonment, and the exhibition returned to tranquillity.