ID And Background Help

I came about this item from some unknown source. It appears to be Scott# 0127 but, the oddity is that it appears to be some sort of promotional item by the way it is shrink wrapped onto the card stock as shown. The overall size of the item is 4"x3". Can anybody provide any insights?
I intend to put this into a stamp club fundraising auction and I would like give some idea as to value beyond the catalog of $.20 for the 1 cent stamp.

The item was most likely purchased directly from the USPS. They sold these definitive , I mean official, stamps in their catalog.

Agreed, Most likely it came from "The Cave".

Were these really sold as single stamps, shrink wrapped by the Cave. If so, its no wonder they're in financial trouble.

If I recall correctly, their fulfillment system was such that whether you ordered one of a particular stamp, or 100, it would be packaged the same way.

It probably came from the Cave.

I only say probably, because that exact item was given out as a freebie by USPS. Why not, it's 1c and you can't legally use it for postage.

It was part of a promotional mailing to try to entice certain former customers (who shall remain nameless) to return.

Now I've purchased from philatelic agencies of other countries. The freebies I get from other countries are no comparison. I'll let you figure out which end of the scale the US freebie was at...

(Revstampman raises His hand) OH, Please let me guess!

I should also add that other observations make this item appear more 'promotional' and less than an 'off-the-shelf' product is that the card stock is pure white except for the printed logo and there is no stock control information anywhere on the package. Of course, that could be because this issue dates back to the 1983 - 1985 timeframe and I don't know what USPS product packaging looked like at the time.

It was packaged well after that. They didn't start pre-shrink-wrapping items from the Cave until the late 1990s.

The fact that there is no price/item# sticker on the back means it is very likely that promotional freebie that I spoke about. That was mailed out in the last 10 years, shortly after the turn of the century if I remember correctly.

OK... newbie here... please "splain" ... THE CAVE? reference. No speaka de englise... I get that it is USPS... but some context would be appreciated.

That's the nickname given to the Philatelic Fulfillment Service Center in Kansas City. USPS has centralized their Philatelic Sales operations there. It is located underground in a salt dome, hence the nickname the "Cave".

Yes they were. But remember my post about yours not having an price/item sticker. Unless the owner tore off the sticker, you probably have one of the freebies in your possession.

By the way, the shrink wrap is NOT archival. Nor is the wrapping on the Celebrate the Century packages...