Scott Catalog And Airmail Cover

Another question regarding the Scott catalog values and airmail, also in the Prexie section, is with 804b, booklet pane of six on domestic airmail cover. The value given is $75. Does the pane need to have the selvage attached at the top?

IMO, A full pane should include the tab. These booklets were assembles with small staples thus easy to take apart and retain the tab, however the average user would never have any legitimate reason to take the staples out of the tab to use the stamps - they would just tear off six stamps. The presence of the tab begins to smell philatelic or collector-inspired, so look closely.

Yeah, me too. But how does Scott interpret it on 804b? Not sure if it is spelled out somewhere in the catalog, but I haven't come across it yet.

John, here is one that is currently on ebay for $5. By the asking price, I would say the seller doesn't see it as an 804b, even though it is a pane from a booklet.

One never knows what a seller thinks or knows when making a listing. Though the pricing of that lot would be consistent with a tab-less pane.

For myself, I don't get too hung up on solo uses. The rabid prexie followers snatch-up any solo bargains, and certainly all those on ebay. I am happy to lurk around for other interesting pieces. Since you brought up booklets, consider these items paid with a pair of stamps from booklets. The solo collectors don't chase these, so they can be found in $1 boxes at shows.

1 cent pair mailed in 1943 on local letter in a city with carrier service. A late use of this rate which was discontinued March 25, 1944. The return address on the back flap also has the "Chicago 43" Zone number which was introduced in about 125 cities in late May 1943.


2 cent pair mailed in 1955 paying 4 cent airmail card rate of 1949-195the8, with tied etiquette label.


3 cent pair mailed in November 1941 just prior to Pearl Harbor, paying the 6 cent domestic airmail rate. Postmark reads "Seattle (N. Air Sta.) Kodiak, Alaska Br./ Wash." with a return address on the back from the Station Hospital, Fort Greely, Alaska.

Another $1 box example (albeit a very scruffy cover) with a booklet pair.
Don

Scott gives short-shrift to the early booklet stamps, merely lumping them with their look-alike sheet versions. I hope someday they will see fit to give them fuller catalog status.

Scott 1892, an uncommon booklet stamp to find on cover. Here is a pair and a single to make the 18 cent letter rate:

Yes, these examples you provided are interesting to me also, despite them being just common everyday mail at the time.

It's great that you posted this cover, because when I saw this Scott 1892 6 cent stamp in the catalog recently, I found that the only way you could get it at the time was to purchase the booklet which had two of them along with 6-1893's (18 cent flag stamps). I found it interesting that you could get two completely different stamps of different denominations in one booklet, so I ended up buying a couple booklets on ebay. I can definitely understand how it's rare to see three of them on a cover to pay the rate. I wish I could locate a cover like that! You didn't get that out of a $1 box did you?

No, the 6 cent #1892 stamps will be unlikely discoveries in any $1 box.

And sometimes it does take collector inspiration to make contrived "postal history" In this case a cover which came with the empty booklet cover and the matching receipt.:
0.18 first ounce postage
0.17 second ounce postage
0.85 insurance for $50 as noted on receipt, which is useful to substantiate the rate calculation
1.20 total exactly paid with a complete booklet pane.

Yikes! He even located the pane safely away from the edges of the cover!

And while contrived, it is sometime done so for an explicit purpose. In the case below, the explicit purpose was to have the rate example exist. Now it sold for $33 and I had bid, but was detracted by life and did not return to it in time. I honestly do not know how high I would have gone to buy the item but three figures may have happen. My interest would have been:

Connection to sender and last non-dealer owner
Registered postal card
Registered PRECANCEL postal card
UNI-BOMBER $1 coil
Sender (Who? Go grab a US rate book and check the cover; plus, Tony had sold it just before his death to the ebay dealer, Doug Weisz)



Contrived? Why send a no message postal card registered? Why would THAT sender misplay the rate except on purpose? It is not like he did not know better.

Edit: To add for future searches; 1305C 1059A (1959Ab) UX69 Registered Postal Card

Rating:

$1.25 minimum Registration Fee
$0.09 postage paid for postcard rate
$0.04 additional paid for first class letter rate (13 cents) collected as postage due**.
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$1.38

** Beginning August 15, 1961 only sealed and first class matter could be registered. Postal cards did not qualify as regular "first class matter" rather a special rate thus the 4 cents due to make the normal first class letter rate of 13 cents for the first ounce.

Contrived? Yes! And postal history is so much better for Henry Beecher. I have a few of his covers too.

Seems just about all the bases were "covered" on that card except being sent airmail.

Here is a cover I just picked up (eBay, 3 hours ago) which fits this discussion. However my reason for purchasing the item was the B-36 image and reference. I did not ave this and will buy a similar envelope when such appears without the toning.

It is a FDC of the booklet pane C39a with two and one half tabs on one full pane of six, a vertical pair of two and a horizontal strip of three.

The cover, with 66 cents in stamps can be rated as follows:

06 cents up to 1 oz airmail
31 cents return receipt showing address where delivered (per two line handstamp)
25 cents minimum registration indemnity of < $5
04 cents supplemental surcharge registry fee for over $100 up to $200
------
66 cents

All appropriate transit marking are present to show it entered the mail stream.