I won a variable postage stamp on bidstart, it's an odd one that simply lists its worth as related to "F stamp rates" rather than a penny amount. "This U.S. stamp, along with 25c of additional U.S. postage, is equivalent to the 'F' stamp rate". Are these common? I'm fairly new to the trade, so I might be way off on the rarity. View attachment 839
Scott# 2521 4 cent make-up rate stamp. In 1991, the USPS change the rate to mail a 1 ounce letter from 25 cents to 29 cents. If you still had some 25 cent stamps left, you could use the 4 cent make-up rate stamp to mail the letter at the current 29 cents. In 1978, the first "A" rate stamp came out. These stamps were used when the USPS decided that the rate of a one ounce letter was increasing. Since they could make these stamps ahead of time, and didnt know what the increase of postage would be, they would use the "letter" as the current rate, until stamps could be produced with the currect rate on them. The "B" rate was used in 1980. "C" in 1981, "D" in 1985, "E" in 1987, "F" in1991, "G" in 1994, "H" in 1998 and that was the last year they used the "letter" rate. So to answer your question, no this stamp is not rare. You can buy them all day for pennies each. Sorry lol
i agree it can be confusing to new collectors, i have known people throw them away as they thought they were just an addition to the actual stamp, and not even a stamp at all lol
Not the prettiest stamp ever released, but maybe the only stamp that's little more than a set of directions for its own use.
Fair enough, thanks for the education on the stamps! I appreciate it. I got it for $0.02, so it's not a total loss and is still an interesting find (me being a new collector). Right? That's sort of what I thought the seller was doing. It had no description, so I figured they just wanted to get rid of it, not knowing what it was. Turns out, I was right, except they knew what it was and just wanted to get rid of it. haha. At least I got it for a good deal. Mystic lists it for $0.15, I got it for $0.02. Even with the Mystic-Markup, that's a fair deal. Exactly. I think the fact that it's so plain in comparison to most other stamps (most of which aim to be really graphic and intricate) sort of makes it unique and interesting to keep around.
yeah I'm familiar with those. I have an unused strip of those someplace but here is a related plate block I scanned for another thread once.
so i see from the above posts, this stamp "this U.S. stamp, along with 25c of additional postage...." is a kind of make-up stamp with an implied of not stated denomination of 4 cents, to transform the E stamp to an F stamp but can they be used today as postage? as a 4 cent stamp on a letter? (plus the balance to bring it up to 45c)
I would suggest that they could be, but perhaps its 'uniqueness' would suggest to save it as a mint stamp. Then there's always the chance that the US post office clerks might not recognize it as a 4 cent stamp and return the letter to the sender for additional postage. I've stumped some USPS employees with stamp combinations used on some of the stuff I've sent over the years.
