The 14¢ American Indian stamp doesn’t turn up on cover particularly often, but examples are out there if you can wait around for a bit. Finding one used with a commemorative stamp, however, is a trickier proposition.
That’s what excites me about this example of Scott No. 695 (perf. 11×10½) on cover with Scott No. 793 in what appears to be a completely legitimate commercial usage of the stamps.
1937 Registered Cover
The return address indicates H. Rodda of Whittier, Calif., mailed the envelope to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company agent George E. Lackey, in 1937. The cover was postmarked on the reverse in Whittier on April 23, and in Detroit on April 27.
The first-class postage rate at the time of mailing was 3¢, meaning 15¢ went to pay the registration fee.
The only explanation I have for why a commemorative was used is the 4¢ stamp picturing William Sampson, George Dewey, and Winfield Schley was issued in March 1937, just a month before the cover was mailed. It was at the time a “new” commemorative, one that easily could have been in the Whittier post office’s regular stock.
Have you seen any other examples of the 14¢ American Indian used with commemorative stamps?
You may have missed it during the holidays, but the USPS has announced its 2010 commemorative stamp program. It includes a diverse mix of topics and over five dozen different designs.
For the most part, those designs are underwhelming, perhaps because many of the stamps continue ongoing series, and thus don’t look particularly new.
One pleasant exception to that is the 64¢ Monarch butterfly stamp. The USPS says the stamp is intended for use on large greeting cards, but it will pay postage on any one-ounce piece of first-class mail to which the non-machinable surcharge applies, either because of size or stiffness.
The Abstract Expressionists issue also looks interesting because the pane of 10 will include stamps in several different sizes. Finding a complete set of these stamps used for everyday business purposes will no doubt be a challenge.
Do any of this year’s announced commemorative issues strike your fancy?
As we reach the end of 2009, I want to say “thank you” for reading along over the past few months. Making regular blog posts has proved to be more of a challenge than I anticipated, but I look forward to sharing more interesting items and answering your questions in the future.
I also want to thank Philosateleia’s supporters who have contributed stamps, postcards, and words of encouragement this year.
If you’re using my free stamp album pages, have questions, or just want to say hello, please feel free to send a note to me.
The USPS is still looking at closing post offices, but there’s a good chance yours is no longer on the list.
Back in August I wrote that nearly 700 post offices across the U.S. could be shut down to save money. Officials later shortened that list to just 241, and this week they announced less than 170 branches are still potentially on the chopping block.
California and Ohio could each lose as many as 25 post offices, according to the latest list [PDF]. Smaller numbers of offices remain under review in other states.
There’s still no word when a final decision will be made on which post offices will close their doors.
