Posted By:
robert aFirst let me say, thanks Mark for posting this. Brian McQueen and I have talked about the E98s with "PAID" stamps in the past and though not terribly revealing or important I do think they're interesting. I've had a couple of them that I've since sold off.
As far as I know they all come from the same group of E98s that are all green (if I remember correctly). They all show that same discoloration which is probably from water damage.
If anything I think they are interesting due to the anonymous nature of the E98 set which suggests that they could've been stamped and given out with a product or when someone paid admission for something. Of course, we have no proof, but there's no proof against the idea either. The fact that they're all the same color supports that the group originated out of one location and/or product.
Now why folks are interested in whether or not a stamp was placed on a card before printing is beyond me. It's silly and doesn't make any sense.
It's hard to picture any scenario where someone stamps "PAID" on the card and then it's sent back to the factory and printed.
Or are we saying that it was stamped "PAID" at the factory? Can't imagine any reason for that.
Rob