postal treaty

08
Sep
2019

Postal Treaty with Mexico

A postal treaty between the U.S. and Mexico was established in 1887.  Similar to the postal agreement with Canada, mail was sent at the U.S. domestic rates instead of the international Univeral Postal Union (UPU) rates. The treaty remained in effect throughout the 2nd Bureau era of postage stamps. Shown below are a variety of uses to Mexico.

1st Class Mail

A postal treaty between the U.S. and Mexico provided mail services at a discounted rate. Four cents of postage paid twice the letter rate for up to two ounces for this cover sent from Michigan to Durango, Mexico.

 

First-class U.S. domestic letters were forwarded to Mexico at no additional charge due to the postal treaty.

  

Registered 1st Class Mail

A cover sent at the first-class 2¢ treaty rate with registry service (8¢) from Boulder, Colorado, to Mexico by way of the El Paso, Texas exchange office. A census maintained by the United States Stamp Society (USSS) lists 53 El Paso exchange labels recorded.

Twice the letter rate (4¢) for up to two ounces, plus an 8¢ fee for registry service on an advertising cover sent from Chicago to Mexico City. Handled in St Louis, Missouri, the cover received an exchange label before entering Mexico. There are 17 St Louis exchange labels recorded in the USSS census.

Postcard Rate

Instead of the UPU two-cents postcard rate, this card was sent for a penny due to the postal treaty.

Posted by Geoff in Destinations, 0 comments
18
Aug
2019

Earliest Documented Use (EDU) 10-cents Webster

I recently discovered a cover with the earliest documented use (EDU) of the 10-cents Webster stamp (Scott #307) on eBay. This is the second cover I found sent on March 7, 1903.  

I previously found a remarkable registered cover to Hungary and had it certified by the American Philatelic Society (APS) as the new EDU, soundly besting the previous date by five days. Unfortunately, I had wrongly assumed the APS expertising department sent discoveries to the Scott Catalog editors. The wrong EDU date has remained in the catalog for the past eight years. The editors have now been contacted about both covers, and the earlier date should be reflected in the 2020 catalog.

Registered large envelope from Pittsburg, Pa. to Hungary by way of New York. Franked with a total of 48¢ paying the 8¢ registry fee plus eight times the UPU letter rate for less than four-ounces. The franking shows a mixed use of both 1st and 2nd Bureau stamps. Most 2nd Bureau stamp EDUs occur in early 1903.

 

The 10¢ Webster stamp paid the 8¢ registry fee plus 2¢ U.S./Canada treaty rate. The cover traveled from Springfield to Boston to Buffalo to Niagra Falls and finally St Catharines, Ontario in two days.

Posted by Geoff in Covers, Destinations, News, 0 comments
03
Aug
2019

Postal Treaty with Canada

In 1885 the United States and Canada entered into a postal treaty that provided domestic rates for most types of mail. The treaty remained in effect throughout the 2nd Bureau era of postage stamps. Shown below are a variety of uses for Canada.

1st Class Mail

New York City Evening Post corner card advertising envelope sent at the first-class 2-cents treaty rate to Canada instead of the 5-cents international rate for saving 3-cents.  The Washington stamp has the 1566 plate number selvage still attached.

Registered 1st Class Mail

The ten-cents Webster stamp paid the eight-cents registry fee plus the 2-cents letter rate. Registered mail between the U.S. and Canada did not require registry exchange labels.

Postcard Rate

1-cent postcard treaty rate. The Franklin stamp is punched with the Hamburg-American Line (HAL) perfin.

Postcards made from nonstandard material (e.g., metal, bark, wood) required first-class postage. The sender correctly franked this wooden postcard with a pair of one-cent stamps paying the domestic letter rate (the treaty rate) to Ontario, Canada.
 

3rd Class Mail Rate

The U.S./Canada 3rd class mail treaty rate was equivalent to the domestic rate of 1-cent per two ounces.

4th Class Mail (Samples or Merchandise)

Six cents of postage tied by a dateless postmark (typical of 3rd and 4th class mail). The envelope was sent via the domestic 4th class rate of one cent per ounce for up to six ounces.

Registered 4th Class Mail

Parcel wrapper franked with 20 cents of postage. Eight-cents registry fee plus 12 times the 4th class rate of one cent per ounce. A duty-free handstamp was applied when processed in Canada.

Posted by Geoff in Destinations, Postcards, 0 comments