Unreleased Phonecard/Postcard Thing... Any Ideas?

Backstory: I got this at a post office back in 1998(?) from an employee who was about to destroy them and instead gave them to me. It's essentially a postcard with a stamp-image sticker on the front. Peel it back and there's a # and pin code to make a 5 minute call.



I actually have a full set of 5 plus one duplicate. Never used, pushed aside in a drawer for a few years until I ran across them and realized that I had never actually seen them anywhere for sale. I have yet to run across anyone who has seen this or even heard of it. Trying my luck here I guess.

The idea of a phone card and a PIN number seems very quaint 15 years later. I remember seeing "limited edition" phone cards offered at truly heart-stopping prices in that era; today, most are worth ZIP. One of the most deceptive and scurrilous marketing campaigns of all times.

One must remember that back in the day (1998 or so) the US Postal Service was into marketing phone cards as part of the products offered at select post office locations.

As suggested by the postcard shown, it was up to 12,000 post offices nationwide at the time of that promotional printing. The 5 minute call time offer was apparently some sort of promotion to get people to buy into their 30 minute, 60 minute, 120 minute, etc., First Class PhoneCards.

The first of the FirstClass PhoneCards were marketed by the USPS in conjunction with a division of American Express (American Express Telecom). When AMEX Telecom wanted to exit the market and consolidate its subsidaries, they entered into an agreement with SmartTalk Teleservices of Dublin, Ohio. SmartTalk Teleservices then became the company of record for the USPS phone cards. (Ultimately, SmartTalk Teleservices filed for bankruptcy in 1998 or 1999 and were bought out by AT&T.)

Reports show that in the First Quarter of FY'1998, the USPS Phone Card revenues were about $12 million, roughly 50% below their targeted sales and accounted for only about 1% of the total phone card sales in the US at the time.

If you want to read more about the history of the USPS Phone Card, checkout Appendix 2 at this link (pages 26-29):

http://www.legistorm.com/showFile/L...ful29343.pdf

Incidentally, I have one of these $5 Phone Cards from the USPS back when American Express Telecom was the provider:

I was actually the developer of the first class phone card and was presented with this plaque at the time.