Query On 1-1/2 Cent Franked Cover From 1944

Here is a cover postmarked on June 6, 1944, in Augusta GA. The addressee was a resident of Augusta by the name of Scott Nixon. Nixon was a stamp collector and apparently dealt in cacheted covers.

My question concerns the 1-1/2 postage that is affixed. That was the 3rd class rate in 1944, but this is not an obvious 3rd class item. There is no marking stating that it's a 3rd class item, and the postmark is not "dumb" (it has more than the just the year). Do you suppose this cover qualified for the "greeting card" rate, which was a 3rd class rate that applied to unsealed greeting cards with no additional messages?

Only other option I can think of would be a non-carrier local letter. But the rate for that was 1-cent, not 1-1/2 cents.

Any opinions?

Is this cover in your possession? Check and see if the flap is unsealed. Thousands of WWII patriotic covers were produced and franked with 1 1/2 cents which was valid if the cover was unsealed.

Augusta, Georgia is a large city *with* carrier service.

The dating requirement, which is described somewhat in reverse of what might be expected: (excerpted from section 719 of 1940 "Postal Laws & Regulations" volume); "All first class mail, all insured, all COD mail, and all mail addressed to foreign countries ... shall show in addition to the post office and state names, the date of mailing."

For convenience, the date is often left in various postmarking devices and machines when processing mail. Imagine the hassle of facing the random contents of a blue curbside box, then having to sort it by class. Just as easy to face it and run it all through with a date and let the 3rd class mail get a bit of bonus information.

This is no doubt a piece of third class mail, originally unsealed when it passed through the mail, regardless of whether it is sealed now of not - as the rate which logically fits.


You are confused here. There is no "greeting card rate". There is a third class rate of which greeting cards (with minimal writing) can be sent unsealed as one example the class applies to.

It is in my possession - one of a couple hundred covers I picked up at an auction. The flap is sealed, but that could have been done sometime after June 1944. I suppose the most logical explanation for the 1-1/2 cent franking is that it was unsealed at the time.

Hi capthickey:

I have a number of covers addressed to Scott Nixon. Mine all train-related. He was certainly an avid collector, but I am curious about what you found that indicated he was a part-time cover dealer. I have him identified as an insurance agent.

Thanks

DonSellos

As to third class, as John Becker informed, greeting cards, unsealed and quite limited in what handwritten messages could be included,
qualified at a third class rate. Many thing fell into that category, third class in 1944, and that included limited weight merchandise; over the weight limits it became 4th Class.

Here a cover cachet creator made a cover which for the creator and dealer was merchandise, an item sold. Merchandise was not limited to what was in the envelope but included the envelope itself. As long as the contents limited handwriting to certain words, then it remained third class.

DonSellos - From what I found online, Scott Nixon was indeed an insurance agent and worked out of the SFC Building in Augusta. I've seen covers online addressed to him at that location and with return addresses from that location. Here's an example of the latter: https://www.ebay.com/itm/124787043808.

I searched for his name in newspapers and found this story from 1947: https://www.newspapers.com/image/85...22&mattmp=no (I've attached a photo of the story below in the event you don't have a newspaper.com subscription.) I don't know if he produced cacheted covers or marketed them for others, but he seemed to be involved in the trade in some fashion. He also was a member of the Confederate Stamp Alliance.

His other hobby was home movies. He produced one noteworthy short film that you can read about here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Augustas.

I tracked down his grandchild on ancestry.com to see if she has any addition information on him. He seems like an interesting guy.

I'm sure that this goes without saying, but, no one has said it yet. Tuesday, June 6, 1944 was D-Day.

D Day and H Hour
The terms D-Day and H-Hour are used for the day and hour on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. They designate the day and hour of the operation when the day and hour have not yet been determined, or where secrecy is essential. For a given operation, the same D-Day and H-Hour apply for all units participating in it. When used in combination with numbers, and plus or minus signs, these terms indicate the point of time following or preceding a specific action, respectively. Thus, H#8722;3 means 3 hours before H-Hour, and D+3 means 3 days after D-Day.

Also, regarding my use of the phrase "greeting card" rate, I understand there was no such rate. That's why I placed it in quotes. An unsealed greeting card without any other message was just one example of 3rd class mail. This exhibit posted at the AAPE website provides some examples of the use of the 1-1/2 cent Prexie: https://aape.org/sf_2020/single_fra..._Exhibit.pdf.

I think the jury is still out on if the the cachet in the OP was produced by Nixon. Originally, I was hoping that Don Sellos could chime in with an ID...

Currently there are two other patriotics on eBay with the same angel image, a different overall design and slogan but the same stamp collar ("advertising" collar?). I wondered about the side "wings" to the collar but those are made to frame a horizontal commemorative.

Below is the description of third class matter copied from the July 1911 USPOD Postal Guide. This was selected because it was the first annual guide which included the 1911 change to include what I call seasonal cards due to the fact a greeting or calling card was already defined. Seasonal cards continue to this day while the greeting or calling cards have well fallen out of use.



Here is a close up from the above to be sure you can read about seasonal cards. Note the specific statement about paper.


Continuing:




On the above image note the transition from third class to forth class.

The below is from the forth class section to note in two places the seasonal cards and especially Easter cards are forth class matter if printed on other than paper.


Now for the July1943 USPOD Postal Guide:





The preprinted seasonal cards fell into the circular section.

hy-brasil,

Sherman's catalog identifies the cachet on this cover as produced by American Patriotic Press. However, Scott Nixon is identified by Sherman as a producer of WWII patriotic cachets, with an imprint typically on the back flap. What made you surmise that this cachet might be one of Nixon's?

Thanks much, blcjr.

My comment meant just the opposite, since the idea that the cachet was Nixon's was previously suggested/hinted. But the idea was never shot down in preceding posts. Your research settles the matter including the second question of if Nixon produced cachets.