Question About These Christmas Stamps

Sell them to a collector will solve the problem unless a bunch is 100 sheets or more. Someone will pay face plus postage for them. Having said that a great learning discussion for me.

No, folks, they ARE NOT valid for first-class postage without a permit. I mail with old postage all the time. Ended up with a few of these stamps and presorted first class, as well, mixed in, which I used until I discovered from USPS they are not valid.

Spent time with USPS to get explanation. Can't use precancel first class without permit. Doesn't matter that you could when issued - you can't now.

That cover isn't conclusive evidence because it includes the Lion Presorted Standard stamp for which you definitely need a permit. I would guess that you might get different explanations from different postal workers about the Christmas stamp. They don't all know the rules well, and most probably weren't around when that stamp was issued.

I agree w/philatomic. The use of a pre-sort stamp requires a permit in all cases, regardless of rate class. As opinioned in earlier posts, later pre-cancels did require a permit but those were for bulk rate which all bulk rates required permits or pre-sort rates. I do not believe that any 1st class pre-cancels issued to the general public, over the counter (mostly Christmas Holiday issues) require now a permit. If there is a further designation such as pre-sort or bulk-rate then a permit is required. I think the postal clerk was in error when circling the 'Peace Dove' issue as non-valid.

Eligies is correct. I have a permit and use it all the time. The Christmas precancels are still valid on ordinairy fist class mail.
Problem is to try to tell a postal employee this.
Another stumble block is if your post office does everything by the book and sends it on it's way only to wind up in some back country post office where they have never heard of a collector permit. I have several covers that my wife and I mailed to Talladeega AL and came back with the notation that incorrect postage was used!

Peter

I could have sworn there was an expiration date on those Christmas precancels. Something like the end of January (1969)?

Jack Kelley

Jack, it would not be 1969 - I think the stamps were from 1974?

Peter