News of: Wednesday, August 16 2006,

Tourists deceived with old stamps in Dutch guilders

Tourists in Amsterdam are frequently the victim of people who sell them old stamps.

The old stamps have a value in Dutch guilders or cents, the currency of the Netherlands before the Euro was introduced in 2002.

The old stamps are still valid, but their value is less than what the buyers think. For example, a 85ct stamp is really just 39 Euro cents, but is sold for 85 Euro cents.

The best advice: only buy stamps together with your postcards, in a post office, or in a vending machine in an Albert Heijn supermarket (see http://www.simplyamsterdam.nl/map/index.php?y=utility for a map of central Amsterdam with post offices and supermarkets).