Question On 3 Prexi Covers: Erie Terminal, Guam And 1940 Worlds Fair

these come out of a lot I got and I am no prexi collector or expert, hoping someone can help me with my questions:

cover 1:

its not a FDC, so only thing I can think of is that the erie terminal cancellation makes with special?

cover 2:

any thing of interest in the usage and/or fair cancellations

Cover 3.

seems very highly franked at 35 cents for a letter to the us, no markings of airmail, special delivery or anything.

is usage from Guam common?

is it very late usage for a prexi?


thank you all in advance

1. The Erie Terminal RPO cover has an example of the railway mail service cancel used at Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, NJ. The station itself closed in December 1958 so I don't know if this represents the last day of RPO service or not. Probably not.

2. Probably of interest to fair cancel collectors.

3. Based on the rates at the time (Guam is domestic mail at this time), this makes no sense to me. If intended to be an airmail special delivery, that would have been 39c on the date sent (6c airmail + 20c minimum registration + 13c special delivery fee). 3c instead if going by surface, i.e., by ship, so registered special would still have to be 36c. Other services could also be possible, but the sender didn't even write what he/she wanted.

I'm not a mind reader as maybe the sender expected of the post office. As today, if you want registration or special delivery, etc. the letter has to go through the postal counter to be handled by a clerk. This looks like it did not. If just dropped in a mailbox, this would have probably just gone out airmail if the sender was lucky, with no other services. Show us the back if you would, if it has any markings on it.

Guam is a slightly better point of origin at this point in time (1946); nothing rare here.

US regular/definitive issues weren't changed until 1954 with the Liberty series. Many of the higher values weren't replaced until up to a couple of years after, so Prexies were still in use beyond 1954. You can still use most any stamp back to the 1861 issue so what's a late usage for Prexies?

Hy brazil,

thank you very much, this is great.

i did not scan any backs as on back on all of them there is nothing, the guam one just tape to securely close it

My understanding of late usages for Prexies is that once that particular value came out in the Liberty Series that was it. Anything past that first day is considered a late usage.

'
The Guam sender may have just thrown a batch of postage onto the envelope, using more than enough so that there would be enough.

Been there, done that ... imagine that you want to drop the thing at the post office on a Sunday (no collection boxes on Guam in those days) so's you can go straight to work on a Monday.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Guam: Airmail postage to the various Pacific Islands was higher than rates within the continental US. Specifically from the Beecher/Wawrukiewicz "U.S. Domestic Postal Rates" book, 35 cents per half ounce is the correct rate to/from Guam at this time.

thank you for the re[lys, very usefull

I stand corrected. The post office Postal Guide implies that Guam was treated as domestic mail at domestic rates in 1945. Since I have seen airmail from Guam as such (6c rate) in this period, then that must have been servicemen's mail(?)

Therefore, the rate probably makes your cover above the norm, depending on how long that rate was in force.

Hy-brasil,
I don't see anything implied. Here is page 10 from the July 1, 1945 U.S. Official Postal Guide. Guam is a specific line item at 35 cents per half ounce.