1st US Self Stick Stamp

What year did the 1st U.S. self stick stamp come out? I'm thinking that I don't really want them in my collection from the U.S. or really any other country. I just wouldn't know how to place them in an album. The canceled just seem to be too much hassle. The backs have already been peeled off and leaving some of the paper on it from the envelope just doesn't seem right to me.

Donna

Here is the offender Donna,

The dove weathervane
Agreed, ss can be grungy.

The "first" US Self-Stick Stamp was Scott #1552 ... issued 11/15/1974 ... a 10 cent Christmas Issue inscribed "precanceled". If you have it in your collection you can tell; I have one with the backing on it in an album. It's all yellowed from the type of adhesive that was used, even though it's in a mount. (The used ones were also notorious to soak off paper, as I recall).

The USPS apparently laid off of them for awhile, as the next self adhesive didn't get issued until 11/10/1989 ... the 25 cent Eagle (Scott #2431). Shortly thereafter, the 25 cent flag (Scott #2475) issued on 05/18/1990 and the 29 cent "F" flag (Scott #2522) weere issued as a test market for use in ATM's as the entire "sheetlet" was sized to that of US currency, presumably to be dispensed from ATM machines. Of course, we all know that didn't work out so well. The next one, I believe was Scott #2531A, the 29 cent Liberty Torch.

It just went on from there...

I think the plate blocks of this stamp look really cool. I should post a pic when I get home.

I have a complete sheet of these that I bought at the Post Office. The adhesive that they used at the time has really destroyed them. The spots didn't start to show until 3-4 years after they were issued.

The same thing happens with the first Canadian self-adhesive, the "Stick n Tick" Christmas issue of 1983 (not listed in Scott, unbelievably).

Reading through all the bad experiences with this stamp, it's a shame that something couldn't be done to salvage them. Then again you would think that any P.O. would have made sure that the stamp was beta tested first...Oh wait, that would mean that people in government have a brain! What was I thinking????

Donna

Here is a plate number block I bought when they came out and as you can see not really in bad shape.
Kept in a glassine envelope for the last 36 years. I did place it in a new glassine though about 10 years ago since the original one became discoloured a bit but didn't appear to affect the stamp.

Front and back





For some reason the background on the scanned stamp came out much more yellow than the stamps actually is.

Oh Man!
It's 36 years since 1974?
bummer.
I'm suddenly feeling like a fossil.

This example comes off of a USPS Sounveir Page covering all three of the 1974 Christmas issues:



I can only imagine what would happen to the stamps if they were soaked off this page or even a Christmas Card with such a bold red background.

On a historical note, the USPS Souvenir Page explained that the stamp on "pressure sensitive paper" (was) "being operationally tested in the Allegheny, Boston, Chicago, Salt Like City and Tampa Postal Districts as a means of speeding seasonal mail processing."

All these years later, I still never understood:

1. How such a stamp would speed the mail processing...was it because of it being a precancel?

2. Why the stamp had a FDOI in New York, when that wasn't one of the intended test sites.

I guess I just don't think like the post office (which is a good thing)!

Margin strip of 20. There is another margin block of 20 where the various instructions are in a slightly different order.

On stamps produced from that style press, the plate numbers and marginal markings will be in forward or reverse order, depending on the position of the pane.

If you have a plate block or sheet in which the marginal markings are in mixed up order -- well, that was me late one night when I was bored and decided to swap a bunch of the selvage labels .

Also made some inverted stamps in a number of panes.

Of course, today, I would never alter a stamp without proper documentation .

I think the first non lick stamp came out in 1973

For US, it was 1974. But for several other countries issued self-adhesive stamps before then. Some of them, like Sierra Leone, produced many self-adhesive stamps long before they became popular.

Rod, you probably are a fossil. Everybody, please explain what a self-sticking stamp is? Gummed and ready to apply? Obviously hard to store safely? A different gum than usual?

Another name for a self-adhesive stamp. Just like a sticker, just peel and stick it to the envelope. No licking necessary, unless you are a creature of habit -- but then you learn to change your habit pretty quickly