Mystic Stamp Company is an American, employee-owned stamp dealer founded in 1923 by Lawrence K. Shaver (1903 – September 23, 1990). The company is headquartered where it was founded, in Camden, New York. It specializes in the buying and selling of postage stamps, collecting supplies, and other philatelic items.
Company history
Lawrence K. Shaver
On May 26, 1923, H.E. Harris & Co. ran an advertisement in Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News inviting potential stamp dealers to invest $25 to $500 in order to make use of Harris' international wholesale supply network. Backed by his father, Lawrence "Larry" K. Shaver mailed H.E. Harris a check for $500.
Not long after sending his check, Shaver traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, to meet H.E. Harris in person. Harris asked him if he had a name for his new company yet, to which Shaver replied "No, I don't... do you have a suggestion, Mr. Harris?" Harris did have a suggestion: "I've always been intrigued by the naming of the Mystic River here." And so Mystic Stamp Company was born.
Over the years, with professional guidance from H.E. Harris, Shaver developed his stamp business. In 1973, Shaver was 70 years old and had been in business for 50 years. He decided it was time to retire and sell Mystic.
Maynard Sundman
In the early 1940s, Lawrence Shaver was on a visit to Boston to meet with H.E. Harris when he met Maynard Sundman for the first time. The two bonded over their love of stamps as well as for business. After World War II ended, the men struck up a professional friendship and rivalry. For many years, the two men had a weekly phone call to discuss changing trends in the advertising and sales world. They compared notes on how events like holidays or economic downturns affected their individual businesses, Shaver at Mystic and Sundman at Littleton Stamp Company in New Hampshire.
When it came time for Shaver to sell Mystic in 1973, he first turned to the recent buyers of the H.E. Harris Company, General Mills. But, the Federal Trade Commission had just filed an anti-trust lawsuit on General Mills for monopolizing the cereal business, and because of this they declined the deal.
The deal with Mystic fell through, and Shaver had to find another buyer.
Shaver rejected several offers to buy Mystic before he turned to Maynard Sundman in February 1974. The two men agreed to meet to discuss the idea. It didn't take long for them to come to an agreement, and the sale to Sundman was completed on April 1.
Donald Sundman
Since Maynard Sundman had Littleton Stamp Company to run already, he needed someone to manage Mystic in his stead. His son, 19-year-old Donald "Don" Sundman, was chosen for the venture. Don Sundman began as Mystic's general manager, and was named company president six years later in October 1980.
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
After several years under new ownership, Mystic outgrew its old location on Main Street in Camden. Work began on a new 20,000-square-foot facility (later expanded to 48,000 square feet) at 9700 Mill Street. The building was completed in July 1989, with the ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by the Sundman family as well as original owners Lawrence and Dorothy Shaver.
In 2016, Don Sundman and wife Chacea Sundman sold their company stock to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), making Mystic 100% employee-owned.
Famous stamps
CIA Invert
In 1987, Mystic's name entered the news when Don Sundman helped break open the story of the famous 1979 invert of the $1 Candlestick stamp. Sundman did this by filing a request under the United States' Freedom of Information Act in which he requested all information about the stamps' origin from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP).
The stamp was the subject of a seminar at the 1987 APS Stamp Show. Don Sundman attended with his brother David Sundman. Discussions had reached a standstill when Don stood with his brown envelope from the BEP, stating "I think I have some new information here."
Don read the details of the BEP report aloud, revealing the now-famous stamp story to all in attendance, a decision that led to interviews with national television networks ABC, CBS, and NBC. It was after this that the stamp became known as the "CIA Invert."