Need Help, Please

Is this worth saving?



Thanks

It's a PB Meter. Some collectors will collect or keep a few; most don't.

If you like it, then it's worth saving.

I would keep it. I have quite a few - probably not worth much, but they do not take up much space. Once gone, then they are gone.

I would, just for the heck of it.
In fact I've got one just like it, except it's purple and $.04.
We could post them on the Same stamp - different value thread.

Oh, but someone (who shall remain nameless) would point out the colour difference.

What you have is a portion (not the entire) meter imprint. The fact that it reads "P.B. Meter" identifies it as being from a Pitney Bowes Postage Meter, which was (and still is) one of the most common postage meter companies.

Although not an exact copy of yours, the entire imprint should look like this:



The style is typical of Pitney Bowes equipment in use during the 1950's and 1960's.

There are meter collectors who will "flyspeck" these and be able to tell you what specific Pitney Bowes Meter Model used this imprint. If you closely compare your example to the one I scanned, you will note the lettering (particularly noticeable in the words "P.B. METER") is slightly larger in your example. Some of these seemingly minor details can actually identify the equipment and dates they were in use.

Likewise, there are people who have accumulated databases of the meter numbers and can provide detail on the specific user, too.

There is even a Meter Stamp Society dedicated to the art of collecting these specimens. Here's the link:

http://www.meterstampsociety.com/terms.html

It can be a nice side collection, but I wouldn't get your hopes up of finding anything terribly valuable amongst them.

Thanks everybody. I stick it back with all the odds and ends I have
for the US.

Ok, here's my 4c worth. Mine doesn't have a date in the circle.

I'm sure there are a lot of reasons for not having a date in the center. In our case, we had a PB meter that let you raise the date up (so that it wouldn't stamp) when we wanted to send along a reply envelope with the postage paid by us. We'd type "Postage Paid by Addressee" on the envelope near the mute meter.

That was a rather old model that allowed you to spin the date forward or backward at will. It was eventually recalled in exchange for a model that couldn't be rolled back.