Summer used to be the bastion of dreamers. That was especially true for kids. School was out, so anything was possible. Two of the bibles for those dreamers were the magazines Popular Science and Popular Mechanics. They are still around but not like they once were.

Dial the clock back to the 1960s. Articles convinced readers that flying cars were right around the corner. So, too, were personal submarines and floating homes. But most compelling were the ads. They told of fortunes to be made with metal detectors or by becoming a locksmith. Or doing amazing experiments with cool gadgets and kits.

Mixed in among those were ads touting the chance to get mailings of scarce U.S. stamps or coins — some of which could be "very rare and valuable." What kid could resist such a come-on? After all, coins and stamps were everywhere. Collecting them made sense. And, if you knew which ones to look for, you could get rich and buy your own flying car. Summer days were filled with kids who talked and dreamed of such things.

Before you say, "That never happens to anyone," understand that it does. The most famous instance was a young schoolboy in 1873 who found a curious (and ugly) one-cent stamp on an envelope. He sold it to a friend for six shillings (about a buck). It proved to be beyond rare. Five years later, legendary stamp collector Count Philipp Von Ferrary purchased the stamp from a London stamp dealer for the unheard of price of 150 pounds.

After World War I, the stamp was sold to collector Arthur Hind for $36,000. In 1940, the one-cent stamp changed hands for $40,000 and started appearing in some of those magazine ads. Were there more out there? Almost 30 years later, it sold for $280,000.

In 1980, what was thought to be the big sale came when that one-cent magenta stamp from British Guiana went under the gavel and fetched the then-remarkable sum of $935,000. That sale began a whole new era in stamp collecting and searching for rarities. Kids and adults alike hunted similar rare stamps worth countless thousands. Not surprisingly, many stamps from British Guiana enjoyed newfound interest.

For the past 34 years, the stamp that almost cracked the $1 million mark has been hidden from public view. Resting in the collection of collector and chemical heir John E. du Pont, the stamp was again put on sale last month. This time, the auction firm Sotheby's got the honor of selling the philatelic gem long known as the "World's Most Valuable Stamp." That moniker again stuck as the gavel was raised.

The initial bid on the stamp began at $4.5 million. In $500,000 increments, the stamp quickly climbed to over $7 million. Finally, to a bidder who wishes to remain anonymous, that lowly one-cent stamp with minimal aesthetic appeal brought just under $9.5 million (including the 20 percent buyer's premium) — coincidentally almost exactly 10 times what it sold for in 1980.

Since the sale, the Smithsonian and World Stamp Expo in New York have requested they be able to display the rarity. That waits to be seen.

The bottom line is that this is exactly the thing of which dreams are made, and, at least at one time, kids understandably believed this could happen to them. It still can. As I've written several times before, the USPS has issued 100 special noninverted $2 stamps in sealed envelopes (mixed in with the regular variety). These are on sale at all post offices nationwide. The price being offered for just one of those sheets now is over $35,000.

Of course, there are countless other rarities hiding in old albums and forgotten collections. They will go to those who care enough to look and have big enough summer dreams.

Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of the one-cent magenta British Guiana $9.5 million stamp has been sent with this column.

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