US Postal Card~ Liberty Brown , One Cent Assistance Needed (1874)

I have 5 Liberty cards I believe they are called, and have brown writing. ALL indicate "Write the Address." I noted 3 having notable watermarks. ONE dated on the back by the writer as, May 26, 1874 , does NOT seem to have a watermark. That particular card is from Postmarked from Ind . Looking for information for these was a little bit tricky, so I wanted to consult the Community. The other thing is the date on the unwatermarked card ( dated May 26), were the cards going back that far? I have quite a few pictures. Thanks in advance. Also , I found the second unwatermarked card to be the July 30 postmarked card.

Treina

The postal card was first issued in May, 1873. I'm no expert, so I don't know if your cards are the UX1 or UX3. The un-watermarked card would probably be a UX3a. My Scott Specialized Catalog is from 2006, and doesn't show a complete picture of the cards, only the corner with the stamp. From what I just read, though, the size of the "USPOD" watermark is the way to tell a UX1 from UX3. The UX1 watermark is 90x60 mm in size and the UX3 is smaller, 53x36 mm.

BKing
Thanks tor the information. It helps ,as I dont have a Catalog. Treina

Then yes, it would be very helpful for you to get a Scott US Specialized catalog. One that is several years old will serve you well and be fairly inexpensive compared to a brand new one.
Second, the watermarks on UX1 and UX3 vary in intensity, visibility and clarity. Three of your cards have strong, clear watermarks, the other two have weak watermarks - note the light streaks and darker areas on the Ft Wayne card.

Treina - Your local library should have a copy of the Scott Catalog in their reference section. Or as John Becker suggested, look up a used one on e-Bay or Amazon. I bought mine (2006 issue) last winter for less than $10, including shipping.

Thanks for the observations. So, they all have watermarks. I dont have the fine tuned eyes yet. I have others I have to look at and that will come in handy. I'll work on getting an old Scott. The price was preventing the purchase of a new.