New US Postage Rate Tool

51studebaker,

Two more issues I found:

3) It accepts and provides rates for future dates through 12/31/2016

4) For the month of February it accepts and provides postage rates for the following invalid dates:
Feb 29th for non-leap years
Feb 30th all years
Feb 31st all years

eaglebub - Doh, sorry I sometimes just cannot see my own mistakes. Thank you, this has been fixed.

KGB, Hmmm interesting passage. Of course there have been are many 'wrinkles' in postage rate over the decades. I will try to capture these are time moves forward to make the tool more informative and complete. Thank you very much for taking the time to look this over and offer suggestions!

dsmith,
#1 – Resolved. The tool now returns a message if date is entered incorrectly.
#2A – I will have to see if I can change this behavior, note that the "Click Here…" is not a link (underlined) when there is no link. I have no link for the most modern era because 1847usa doesn't list anything beyond 1997. I can fix this if I develop some new 1847usa pages for 1998 and beyond and then add a link; I will begin working on this but it may take me a week or two.
#2B – Yes, there are many other postal rate 'wrinkles' that need to be added. When doing a project like this, I like to get the basic code in place and then build upon it. This allows me to make you guys the testers (selfishly saving me time) plus having many heads is better than one head. I will see about adding the 'wrinkle' you mention in the next day or so.
#3 – Yes, the SQL database has entries through the end of this year, I did not want to be constantly adding the dates as each day passes throughout the year. I will update the database once each year for the upcoming year.
#4 – I had all the leap years correct in the data; 1848, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, 1896, 1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 are listed as leap years. But in checking the functionally I found the same issue as you, you are correct. Upon digging further I found the web page code had a bug, this has been fixed.
Thank you very much for your input and feedback!
Don

WWI rates, let me try this again to be more specific
Your listings have the WWI 3 cent letter rate running from 11/3/1916-6/30/1918, when the range should be 11/2/1917-6/30/1919. Also the postcard rate during this period is 2 cents, rather than 1. (And all local letters were 2 cents during the 11/1917-6/1919 period.)

Also, KGB touches upon a reference to a 1 cent letter rate in 1922. This involves "drop" or "local" letters. The rates can vary from the normal letter rate depending on time period and whether the office has carrier service or not.

Just curious and not to sound negative, but this effort seems to be a lot of work, which almost reinvents the wheel. Have you considered digitizing and posting POD Publication 15 "United States Domestic Postage Rates 1789-1956", which would be in the public domain? And then pointing collectors with advanced rate questions toward the Beecher & Wawrukiewicz books?

John,
Postage rates can be fairly complex if one steps back and looks at them from 30,000 feet. This is why a simple table or list can become very ungainly; the better ones are often full of footnoted clarifications and exceptions. Experienced postal historians like you may not need a tool like this; you guys are well versed with the other available resources and have already wrestled with some of the more arduous postal rate details.

My objective was to try to supply this information in a way that many casual collectors might need it, 'gee, I have this cover/postcard in hand and am wondering about the postage rate for this date'. They could indeed go dig through Google results and try to decipher the various disparate tables and lists that are available but this tool seems to be faster and more convenient. Hopefully newer hobbyists will also find it helpful.

I also am frustrated by the 'coming and going' of the various online resources. So part of my justification was to build something that could be maintained and built upon for decades to come. A SQL database is far superior for this purpose as a information foundation, updating various web page spaghetti code over the decades is for the birds. As long as the SQL database is available, virtually any front end can be used to publish the data.

But thank you very much for the clarifications. I am making updates but may not publish them until I go to dialysis tomorrow morning. The updates ties up my PC for 3-4 hours when I upload them.
Don

Don, Agreed that too many useful websites come and go too quickly. John

Airmail rates have been added, wartime rates corrected, and a few other updates made.
Don

Don, you`re a brave man.

That's really cool. I like it!