Old Stamps On New Mail!

Ok I recently received several stamp catalogs in the mail. On the envelopes were the following stamps:

1954 Washington 1ct stamp
1963 Cordell Hull 5ct stamp
1980 Christmas 15ct stamp
1981 Save Mountain Habitats 18ct stamp (about 8 of these)
1982 Jackie Robinson stamp
and
1994 Silent Screen 29ct stamp (about 6 of these)

Now my question is, how long do these companies hold onto stamps and at what quantities? Note; also this is a partial list of the stamps. And only half were canceled.

Thanks Ray

Ray, I guess they hold onto they until they are sold or used up...i am finding stashes or 3 or 4 cent stamps (mint) at yard sales..most people do not want to bother putting so many of them on an envelope so I pick them up Cheep !!

I'm just amazed that the stamp is still good. And 4 years older then myself and still used for postage.
Ray

Ray......


Every stamp issued since 1861 is still valid as postage.....the only ones that have been de-valued are those issued before the start of the Civil War........even old airmail stamps are still valid postage.

nr,

Good to know. So there must be a lot of old postage stamps that are still being used.

Common practice in Australia Ray,
Companies buy up mint at half face, and use them as postage,
Stamp Magazine companies especially, I usually get old postage,
Australia, Cocos Keeling, and Christmas Island on the one cover,
I am hopefully awaiting the last of the 4, the next one with Antarctic territory as well.

I often use old postage when sending stamps to other collectors. Most are of minimal value. But, they look nice!

rod,

Thats one way to save on shipping costs.

We sell Canadian postage at a discount to our customers... we have tons of it!

David

This could be an interesting subject, who has the oldest stamp on a modern day cover.
Anyone got a 100 year old stamp on a modern day cover ?
Paul

I've used a 5-cent Queen Victoria Jubilee on a cover. It's back was half-gone, so I had to glue down the half that was so thinned it hadn't any gum. It was short a few perfs, too. I used it in combination with other stamps. The postal clerk nearly fell over when I asked him to cancel the stamps for me!

On another note, Newfoundland stamps, denominated in dollars and cents, are still valid for postage throughout the Dominion. We are one of the few countries who may still employ "mixed franking". That is, stamps on a letter from two different postal entities. I still use the odd Newfoundland stamp on letters, especially to stamp trading friends. Some of you have received them. I hope you keep them... mint Newfoundland is really starting to dry up!

David

David
Out of curiosity,what would be the date of when you would stop discounting postage stamp to your customers- 70's-60's-50's etc and what would be the discount rate?
Paul

I have used many stamps from the 30's and 40's

I recently got the 1937 TIPEX sheet with a 1998 cancellation on it.

I know that for the "classic" used rarities--those worth more used than mint--that the cancellation must be contemporaneous with the issue of the stamp. Just how much time must pass before the usage is not considered contemporaneous.

Just off the top of my head, Scott 459 (US) has a notation in the catalog that for the used value to be valid, the cancellation must be expertized as contemporaneous. (Sorry for the use of contemporaneous three times!--oops four)

1947 minisheet on 2008

A US cover with George Washington, that fellow from Monaco.