Air Mail / Not Airmail Postage Due.

Air Mail / Not Airmail postage due.

Letter rate as of 2 March 1974 was 10 cents; Air mail was 13 cents.

Mailed July 3rd Florida - Arrived July 5th California

It appears non-Airmail rate (10¢) was attempted by crossing out "AIR MAIL"

Was not flagged postage due until arrival at Berkley. Clerk assessed 2¢ to make up Airmail rate.

Maybe should have been assessed 10¢ or 13¢ since stamp was defaced and attached by tape?? No indication air mail was asked for by sticker or border (just stamp).

Over 1¢ / Under 2¢

"On September 18,1975 the United States Postal Service proposed a first class mail improvement program to take effect on October 11, 1975, where first class mail was to receive service equal to or better than airmail."

pat

Example of "extreme tape-over" and assessed full 5¢ due

PO X'ed out and voided .
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Very interesting! Yes, the airmail stamp made this airmail, regardless of the attempt to "down-grade" it to surface mail, and regardless of any airmail border or etiquette label or lack thereof.

It is not possible to tell where the due marking was applied, but only (obviously) that it was collected at the receiving end, which I believe was proper procedure for this era, to forward partially-paid mail to the destination for collection of the deficiency if I read the Beecher/Wawrukiewicz U.S. rate book correctly.

Defacement: Should the crossing out of the words "AIR MAIL" made this a defacement rendering the stamp fully void? I would say a judgement call of the nixie clerk who opted to rate it only 2 cents due.

Tape: Should the stamp have been judged void by the tape? Probably so, but again a judgement call was made - or the fresh tape not seen.

Of course, what was going to happen in 1975 is not relevant to this cover.

Also wasn't postage due twice the amount of shortage? I forget.

It would over-simplify the situation to call "double-due" a myth or a common misconception, but it applied only in certain eras and in certain cases, most often to international mails or to fully unpaid domestic mails.