Money, religion and politics — three topics purported to be taboo in polite conversation. If that's true, then during an election year, either courtesy goes out the window or no one speaks. Yet we know we speak. "Who are you voting for?" "Is your candidate rumored to be a Muslim, a Christian?" "How much money has he or she raised — $50 million this month?" "Any sex scandals?" Yikes!

It's enough to kill a cocktail party and would turn the Continental Congress of 1776 upside down. Actually, almost 140 years ago, that happened — literally — though not in the Capitol building but on a postage stamp.

In 1869, when Ulysses S. Grant took office, the Postal Service issued a series of 10 stamps called "Pictorials." The four highest denominations (15, 24, 30 and 90 cents) were the first U.S. postage stamps to be printed in two colors. With the technology of the day, using two colors meant the sheets of stamps had to be sent through the printing press twice — once for each color. As luck would have it, on the second pass, a few sheets were put in upside down, inverting the center image.

When first discovered, the inverted stamps were just a curiosity. Most were simply used on mail as postage. But as stamp collecting grew in popularity, so did the value of the anomalies. By the 20th century, collectors were clamoring for the inverts. As recently as 1974, three of them sold at auction for $100,000.

In 1974, that was a lot of money. It still is. Economics then were frighteningly similar to today's. The country was in one of the greatest economic downturns since the Great Depression. We were officially in a recession, thanks to the Arab Oil Embargo and skyrocketing oil prices.

Sound familiar? The Dow Jones average also plummeted from a high of over 1,000 down to 570.

All that might suggest it wasn't a prudent time to spend one-tenth of a million dollars on three antiquated postage stamps. Then again, collectors are voracious. They want to fill holes in their albums, aspiring to having complete collections.

With today's economy in similar turmoil, as Yogi Berra put it, "it's deja vu all over again." Last month, the three inverted stamps were put up for sale at auction. After some spirited bidding, they were hammered down for a staggering $2,276,950.

The star of the show was the 24-cent stamp, showing the congressional signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 printed upside down. Alone, it sold for more than $1.27 million.

So, is history repeating itself? Maybe, but it's too soon to know. What is clear is that even in a recession with rising oil prices, ardent collectors will dig deep and pay dearly for a few small pieces of paper. There's a safe and interesting topic for polite conversation.

Meanwhile, many people contend the penny is obsolete and an inconvenience. Conversely, a recent poll showed even more are adamant about keeping it. Next year, the familiar Lincoln cent gets a facelift, with four new designs showcasing images of the statesman's life.

You might think the predictable popularity of the new pennies would be eclipsed by the their copper content. Not so fast. Our copper pennies are not what they once were. Each cent now contains a paltry 2.5 percent copper. The rest is 97.5 percent zinc. Far and away, the value of the upcoming Lincoln cents will be in the design — not the metal.

(Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of the 24-cent 1869 penny that recently sold for $1.27 million is being sent for your use with this column.)

To find out more about Peter Rexford and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.