Certificate Of Mailing

Are Certificates of Mailing with postage stamps used to pay the fee scarce ?

In general, no,
However, some have ususual stamps/ways of paying the fee and be in demand by specialists and those seeking examples paid by certain stamps.

DId you have a specific example to ask about?

Add: This may be a good example or a bad example, but try to find another monarch butterfly larva/adult pair on a Certificate of Mailing, or any other mail peice for that matter. (Granted this is philatelic and overpays the fee, which I think was 60 cents at that time.)

It also depends on the time period (1800's, 1900's), class of mail, single, multiple, country or geographic specific area.

Edited to add: Also duplicate certificates of mailing are less common than certificates of mailing.

John,

Are you saying this is philatelic just because it may have overpaid the fee? I would not think that commercial mail becomes philatelic simply because it is overpaid. Isn't overpayment for convenience sake common? Or are you infering a philatelic motive because of the scarcity of the pair for ordinary postage use?

Basil

A very fair question. I suggested the monarch piece was philatelic without going into the details, namely: it was sent by prominent collector, overpaid, unusual/commemorative franking, there were dozens of others in this grouping with similar unusual stamp uses. Since these are postmarked at the post office counter, there is no real reason to overpay with your own stamps vs paying the exact fee, etc. Any one factor may not tip the balance toward being philatelic, but adding them together does. At least in my mind. It is just not a "natural" franking.

All these answers have been informative - to me, anyway. Thank you all.

Thanks, John. That answer was very helpful.