Category: Collecting Topics

USPS Rate Increase: July 9th 2023

Posted on by Pat Morgan

On April 10th 2023, the United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of mailing services price changes to take effect July 9th, 2023. The new rates include a three-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail® Forever stamp from 63 cents to 66 cents.

If favorably reviewed by the Commission, the proposed increases will raise First-Class Mail prices approximately 5.4 percent to offset the rise in inflation. The price changes have been approved by the Governors of the U.S. Postal Service.

The price for 1-ounce metered mail will increase to 63 cents, and the price to send a domestic postcard will increase to 51 cents. A 1-ounce letter mailed to another country would increase to $1.50. There will be no change to the single-piece letter and flat additional-ounce price, which remains at 24 cents. The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for Special Services products including Certified Mail®, Post Office Box rental fees, money order fees and the cost to purchase insurance when mailing an item.

The proposed Mailing Services price changes include:

ProductCurrent PricesProposed Prices
First-Class Mail Letters (1 oz.)$0.63$0.66
First-Class Mail Letters (metered 1 oz.)$0.60$0.63
Domestic Postcards$0.48$0.51
First-Class Mail International Letter (1 oz.)$1.45$1.50
First-Class Mail International® Postcards$1.45$1.50

As operating expenses fueled by inflation continue to rise and the effects of a previously defective pricing model are still being felt, these price adjustments are needed to provide the Postal Service with much needed revenue to achieve the financial stability sought by its Delivering for America 10-year plan. The prices of the U.S. Postal Service remain among the most affordable in the world.

The PRC will review the changes before they are scheduled to take effect. The complete Postal Service price filing, with prices for all products, can be found on the PRC website under the Daily Listings section at prc.gov/dockets/daily. The Mailing Services filing is Docket No. R2023-2. The price tables are also available on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website at pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index.

ATA: 2023 My One-Page Exhibit

Posted on by Pat Morgan

If you weren’t aware the ATA has for the past 2 years held a One-Page online exhibit event.

I submitted my article previously published in the Perf-Dispatch into the event.

The ATA had 215 exhibits this year celebrating history, culture, nature, science, technology and more.

Please be sure to explore the exhibits by going to https://www.ataexhibits.com/2023-exhibit-list/ and sharing this site with others.

Maybe next year more of the GMCSC Members will participate!

one-Page-Exhibit-Oil-Painted-CoversDownload

The Language of Stamps

Posted on by John Deutch

By: John Deutch

Have you ever heard of the “language of stamps?” Sometimes a particular stamp will seem to “speak to me”… This usually occurs at a show or while I am reviewing the latest offers on eBay or Delcampe. But the “language of stamps” is something altogether different.

As some of you may know, besides Vatican City issues, I am also interested in French stamps and postal history. And among my French interests are the sower or semeuse stamps. Last year I was able to purchase a copy of THE SOWER, A COMMON LITTLE FRENCH STAMP by Ashley Lawrence, published by the France and Colonies Society of Great Britain. And it was a few brief paragraphs on page 224 in this book that brought the “language of stamps” to my attention. Lawrence writes that: “Readers of a certain age will recall the practice of endorsing the back of love letters with the secret message, SWALK…and for those in the know, this meant ‘sealed with a loving kiss.’ French lovers had similar means of passing secret messages to their paramours by using the “Language of Stamps”.

Those of us who collect postal history will sometimes come across a letter or a postcard with the stamp affixed in an unusual position or at an odd angle.

This is the “language of stamps”, something that began in England in the latter part of the 19th century. Picture postcards were then coming into their own, but the amount of space available for communicating one’s thoughts and feelings was limited. And there was no privacy, anyone could read whatever was written on the card. And so, the idea of an encrypted “special or hidden message” was very appealing. The position or angle of the stamp on a letter or postcard was supposed to relay a hidden or secret message to the recipient. This was the “language of stamps”. Lawrence writes that “if the stamp was tilted to the left, for example, the writer might be expressing ardent passion; if tilted to the right, he or she might be pleading for forgiveness.” And there were many other positions in which a stamp could be positioned, with each one conveying a different message. The “language of stamps” was so popular that in 1899 an Englishman by the name of George Bury published a little booklet that was titled CUPID’S CODE FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF SECRET MESSAGES BY MEANS OF THE LANGUAGE OF POSTAGE STAMPS.

From England the “language of stamps” spread to other countries. I have seen examples on eBay from Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, as well as those from France and Great Britain. In France there were a large number of sower postcards produced that clearly indicate the popularity of the “language of stamps”. Lawrence wryly observes that those who that those who manufactured these postcards doubtless assumed that French postmen were either illiterate or very discreet.

My Topic – Pat Morgan: Eclectic Philately

Posted on by Pat Morgan

This article was published in Topical Time, the official magazine of the American Topical Association, March-April 2023, Volume 75, Number 2, Whole Number 438.

The ATA and the Topical Time are great resources for any collector. Click the ATA logo to see the benefits of being an ATA member.

Pat-Morgan-Eclectic-PhilatelyDownload

Tom Minor: 2021 Prexie Award

Posted on by Pat Morgan

December 2nd, 2021, GMCSC President, Guy Gasser, announced that Tom Minor would be the 2021 recipient of the Greater Mound City Stamp Clubs Prexie Award.

The Prexie Is presented to a Philatelist that has been an exceptional and valuable member of the GMCSC.

Tom’s commitment and dedication to the club and philately has been nothing less than outstanding. Tom served as the first Greater Mound Club Stamp Club President and has served and volunteered in many roles over all the years!

Congrats Tom!!

Tom Minor, 2021 GMCSC Prexie Award Winner

Cachetmaker: Tom Mueller

Posted on by Pat Morgan

In the November – December 2021 – No. 461 of First Days (the Journal of the American First Day Cover Society) an article profiling Cachetmaker: Tom Mueller by Pat Morgan was published. Pat wrote the article with encouragement from David Zubatsky, Tony Dewey and Martin Miller. The article was edited by Lesa Morgan and the final edit was performed by Martin Miller.

The objective of this article was to highlight the life and talent of the Cachetmaker: Tom Mueller.  The goals were to share; personal experiences in having known and worked with Tom, how he came to become a cachet maker, how his hobbies and passion influenced his works, the uniqueness of one of the very few cachet makers to use oil paint on paper covers, illustrations that support the story in addition to the cachets, remind collectors of the AFDCS Rookie of the Year and Best Cachet of the Year for 1991 that Tom was awarded, and have the reader get to know Tom and appreciate his talents that he has shared with the world of philately over the last 30 years.

Hopefully, you will enjoy the article!

FIRST-DAYS-Nov-Dec-2021-Tom-Mueller-MORGANDownload