United States Training Stamps

Here are some stamps that most collectors have never seen.

The first three scans below show training stamps that were reportedly used at the U. S. Army Adjutant General School, Postal Division, in Fort Benjamin at Harrison, Indiana.

The 7 cent black airmail stamp in the first (perforated) set indicates that the set was used sometime during this particular rate, which was in effect from August 1, 1958 to January 6, 1963.

The 8 cent airmail rate in the second (rouletted) set was from January 7, 1963 to January 6, 1968, and there never was a 12 cent airmail rate.

The 30 cent special delivery rate was in effect from September 3, 1957 to November 21, 1969.

So perhaps the second set dates from 1963 to around 1968.

Or maybe there were three different sets made, and the 12 cent airmail stamp was made in anticipation of that new rate? The rate changed instead to 13 cents on March 2, 1974. Also note that the 11 cent stamp is in red; 11 cents was the airmail rate from May 16, 1971 to March 1, 1974. So maybe this 11 cent stamp was the airmail training stamp?

The last scan shows part of a set from... guess which country?

Jim






p.s. By the way, these stamps are not as rare as this seller (unsurprisingly) thinks:

South Africa would be my first thought.

Yup.

R = Rand.

Jim

These are new to me.

But wait, there's more.

Jim

Japan training stamps:



Brazil training stamps:



Sweden training stamps:

I'm guessing the Brazil ones say without value (sem valor) and perhaps training provisional (treinamento profissional)

Mr. Eyeonwall,

Yup, pretty much.

And ECT means Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos (ECT) (Brazilian Post and Telegraph Corporation)

(Thanks, Google.)

Jim

Hi Jim, interesting

Stampmaster

Bileski thought at some point that the blank Canada Admiral stamps may have been training stamps.

I believe that Canadian coil postage stamps sometimes have blank stamps that followed the coil wrapper label and preceded the actual stamps.

Are these the stamps that you're referring to?

Jim

The blank coil tab strips are perforated 8 while these are blank sheet blocks that are perforated 12.

For a second I thought it was a display of the next USPS definitive issue. ;>)

Yup, got to hand it to the Army to not add anything to their stamps that is not actually needed, including, oh I don't know, design or even anything vaguely interesting.

Jim

Hi Jim

Don't you think this posting should have been posted in Cinderellas?

Just asking!

Stampmaster

Hi

That's a good question.

Technically, anything that is listed after the postage stamps in any comprehensive catalog (like Scott, Gibbons, Yvert, Michel, etc.) is considered to be "back of the book."

Especially esoteric things are "far back of the book."

Generally, anything NOT listed in these mainstream catalogs is considered to be "cinderellas."

But then Christmas seals are listed in Scott, and they are always considered to be cinderellas.

Test stamps, which is a category that these training stamps loosely fit into, are also listed in the back of Scott.

But, in the end, I went with laziness, and just put them here, where I usually hang out anyway.

Jim