Mailing A FDC

Hi, a quick question - I just picked up a FDC from the post office, first one...and I am curious, can it be mailed or is it considered postally used
thanks, and sorry if this question seems stunned. I did ask at the PO but the clerk was hesitant and then said no so I wanted to double check.

It's now a cancelled stamp and 'used' stamps can not be re-used for mailing.

Thanks BlackJag. I was confused as I have received FDC's from other countries, I guess they view them differently.

Although the statement is generally true that First Day Covers are viewed to be used stamps that cannot be re-used for mailing, there are some notable exceptions as in this example:

You can mail a FDC, provided you mail it on the same day of the cancellation itself.

Let's say the FDC has a date of 31 August 2011, you can mail the FDC on 31 August itself, but not any other day.

In the US, I think doing this is only possible if you send it at the Stamp Ceremony site itself.

In Canada, if you buy a Canada Post "Official First Day Cover", it is already cancelled and cannot be mailed, even on the first day of issue.

However, you can buy the stamp on the first day from any outlet, place it on an envelope and mail it to yourself. You will get a cancellation showing the first day of issue date but it won't say "First Day Cancel" within the cancellation itself.

In the USA I believe that only one city is designated as the "first day city" and the stamps are only available at that one city on that date (at least it used to be like this; is it still like that today?). If you happen to be at the right location in that city you can buy the stamp(s) on the day of issue and get them cancelled. Collector-produced first day covers are very popular in the United States (not so in Canada).

It used to be that way in the US, but not anymore. Stamps are available nationwide on the first day of issue and anyone can obtain "unofficial" first day postmarks by merely mailing an envelope with the new stamp to themselves anywhere in the country.

Thanks for all of the information
wt1 - haha, love the message on that FDC.

Multiple first-day cities goes back into the 1920s, such as the Ohio River Canalization stamp of October 19, 1929. The 4c "Project Mercury" stamp, announced and released only after astronaut John Glenn was safely back on the ground after his Friendship 7 flight, had hundreds of first-day cities.