Was This Prexie Bisect A Legitimate Usage?

I picked up this cover at a show this past weekend because I thought it was interesting. Tried researching it a bit, but no luck. Can anyone shed any light on this? I initially thought it was philatelic in nature, but it was torn open at the top by the recipient to get to the contents. I can't find a period postal rate that would fit this 1 1/2 cent usage either. Any information would be helpful.

Art

I view it as pure philatelic. The third class, single printed matter rate, e.g. greeting cards, etc. without writing or a personal message, carried a 1-1/2c rate for the first 2 ounces.

Why is it purely philatelic even if the intention was to create a philatelic collectible? I don't understand this attitude. So when I tell my mother to use commemorative stamps on her mail to me, that makes it philatelic? Or when she encloses philatelic material in the envelope, say other covers, then it's philatelic?. That concept is pure nonsense. Either way, it went through the mail or it didn't.

It's not for philatelic usage ( ok may be for this prexie ) many countries was using half stamps for lower values. Just look at Canada in the Scott catalogue, you will see that many Pence issues have a price for a stamp cut diagonally

Purely philatelic usage.

Hungry for stamps - the reason is that there was no US Post Office approval to use of a bisect of this stamp at this time. There is no reason for it other than to create something interesting for a collector. This is very different from someone using commemorative stamps on their regular mail. That use is authorized by the post office and is the way mail is sent by a great many people. On the other hand, if you asked your mom to put an entire 16 stamp sheet of the new "Views of our Planets" first class rate forever stamps stamps on an envelope to you then that would be purely philatelic since there would be no reason to put all of that extra unnecessary postage on an ordinary envelop to send it through the mail. It does not cost $7.52 to mail a simple first class envelope. The only purpose for overpaying so much over the required postage rate would be for you to have a nice cover for your stamp collection. If you want non-philatelic examples of these stamps, then all you would need to do is to ask your mom to send you her next 16 letters using one of the stamps from the sheet on each letter which would be using the correct postage for a legitimate postal use of sending you a letter from your mom.

Bisects exist all over the globe including Latvia. Is a bisect 'legitimate' usage. If you define that as approved by the post office, no. But to my mind 'philatelic usage' doesn't cover it either. Not to say that some were sent by or to stamp collectors. But I think most were sent by people trying to save a penny or whatever the local currency is. Especially when that penny was a lot of money to them and besides why 'overpay' the post office.

This is a local bisect cover, almost certainly sent from a collector to himself to get a "bisect cover". This was done a lot in the 20's and 30's, but it was clearly against the rules of the time, and should have had 3 cents postage due. It's the very definition of "philatelic cover".

Here's one of mine with the 3 cent postage due. I love the bisects ...

https://goscf.com/t/23745#206406

jmo: if the mailer was of an 'old yankee' genre & the postage was 1-1/2c to mail, & all that was available was a 3c stamp, that 'old yankee' would most definitely bisect the stamp.

Malone is a long-standing well established post office. There is no reason to believe they ran out of appropriate postage requiring the use of a bisect.

Especially in September, a time of year when it would be easy to obtain all they needed.

Eligies: jmo: if the mailer was of an 'old yankee' genre & the postage was 1-1/2c to mail, & all that was available was a 3c stamp, that 'old yankee' would most definitely bisect the stamp.

Hi Eligies.

The persistent stereotype of old yankee penny pinching is a fun thing to imagine, but I do not think it is very realistic nor any different from penny-pinchers who live in every region, state, and town in the country, and by my personal experience there may be more penny pinchers in some other regions. By that cliché reasoning, frugal New Englanders would have been tearing off bits of dollar bills to pay for things that cost less than a dollar. This cover is just a philatelic phantasy where the sender was having some fun and making a keepsake for his collection.

Too funny folks--thanks for all the discussion. It was clearly used for postage and made it through the system without being caught by the watchful eye of the postal clerk. I agree that it should have required "postage due" and was fabricated by a collector because there was no one and a half cent rate for a mailing of this type during the period. Philatelic in nature.

Achilles, As jarnick noted correctly above, there WAS a rate of 1.5 during this time. The sender is trying to pay the single piece third class rate most commonly found on Christmas and birthday cards. This would also require the envelope to be unsealed. Fully agreed, it is philatelic and should have been charged due as bisects were not allowed.