Postal Card Misuse

Post some examples here. Mine is someone who just had to write more than could fit on one postal card, or didn't want to purchase a 4 cent stamp. (Two UX38 from 1951 printing used for 1961 postage.)

That practice was discussed on the Delphi stamp collecting forum and several USA collectors sniffed and huffed that it was unapproved, illegal and so on and so on. That may be so, but it is interesting and VERY collectible.

They are certainly fun, but this certainly should have had postage due on it, probably double deficiency.

Interesting

I have seen usages similar to this used from Great Britain on occasion. I was once told that it was ok there (?) How it was allowed has been a mystery to me and you would wonder how the postal authorities there would tolerate it??

Nice item for any collection though.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Postal Card Misuse

Nice example Jenny2U. They obviously made a mistake by enlarging, and had to pay the 2 cent fee. Neat!

Thanks Partime - I like your example as well.

Here's one with postal stationery cutouts (which I believe is more common than postal card cutouts).

The Monett (Missouri) and Paris (Texas) Railway Post Office is an interesting RPO Postmark. Thought you might find these postcards interesting on the two railroad depots back in the day:

An interesting paragraph on the return address of the cover from Jorge Vargas, "Pure Coffees" of Boston:

Postal stationery cut outs have been illegal for postage in the US almost from the beginning, same as bisected stamps. An amazing number of covers bearing either exist. Anyone have a cover with a cut out and a bisect that made it through the mail without postage due?

Use of postal stationery cut outs for postage was legal in the UK from the beginning but has recently been declared illegal.

Q/ Would that be an example of "sniffed and huffed"?

As to how these made it thru the US mails, never under-estimate the practicality of the everyday American once they are out-of-range of HQ.

[tangential_anecdote]

There are countries that will not honor your US passport if it bears entry/exit stamps from a country of which they disapprove.

For decades, American embassies would happily issue you a second, duplicate 'to be kept clean' passport to ease commerce & passage.

Foggy Bottom (US State Dept HQ in DC) strictly prohibited this practice. American embassies around the world were aware of the prohibition, and went on issuing duplicate 'to be kept clean' passports, solving the real problems of real people out there in the real world.

[/tangential_anecdote]

What the PMG in DC had to say about using postal stationery cutouts as general postage might have made good reading - and even better kindling for a 4th of July barbecue - but that it would ever stop a clerk or carrier from passing-on a piece of mail is, well, unlikely.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

For what it's worth, here's the official USPS regulation on stamps invalid as postage -- including indicia cut from postal stationery or postal cards (1.3.d.):



Like with most anything else, the USPS and their Postal Inspection Service typically chooses their battles and the occasional user of these type of mail pieces probably won't get caught or prosecuted as it's just not worth the time for the few cents or dollars involved when more serious crimes are being investigated.

"Anyone have a cover with a cut out and a bisect that made it through the mail without postage due?"

Not quite what you meant, Bill, but it has a cutout and a "bisect":

It might be well to notice that all of these are all fairly local mail, and one was a railroad cancel (which was hit with postage due). So the probability of some level of friendship being involved between sender and clerk is fairly high on the others. However I have seen large stacks of mail such as this sent to utilities companies to pay bills during specific time frames (75-100 covers all sent from different people in one time period, something that was organized).

Pertaining to the last cover scanned, it would seem as though the addressee (Margaret M. Rector) had a penchant for collecting covers without legitimate postage. Here's an example for sale currently on ebay, although instead of cutouts from postal stationery, cinderellas were used:



This may indeed support revcollector's comment that these may have been creations done in cooperation with a local postal clerk who chose to look the other way in order to create these so-called "collectibles".

". . . in order to create these so-called "collectibles"."

I'm sure much of that has gone on. But sometimes its just someone trying to use the cutout in a mundane fashion. Some get by the postal personnel's attention, others don't: