In Canada and some other countries, the National Postal administration charge$ you for each philatelic postmark that you request by mail, for your cards and covers. :(
Not in USA, unless you request more than 50 postmarked items per stamp series, especially for a First Day of Issue postmark, pictorial or not. :)
For example, the stamp series of shelter pets has 5 different dog designs and 5 cat designs.
So you can get 5 postmarks for each of the 10 different stamps of the series. Or any variation, up to the total of 50, to be free. The extras, over 50, are 5 cents a piece.
How I created a maximum card with a $4.95 Redwood Forest Priority Mail stamp, instead of wasting that money?
I never heard of anyone that has ever done this, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
So, independent of any possible precursor, I thought about this (new?) method of creating a maximum card/ maxicard / dorincard, in the process of mailing a Priority Mail envelope.
Instead of paying the Priority Mail rate with a barcode label printed by the counter desk clerk ("postal associate") of USPS, you could use a Priority Mail stamp for letter or parcel...$4.90...$4.95...whatever the current rate is when you do it.
Your recipient might save the stamp, with or without soaking it.
Better yet, you could affix that Priority Mail stamp onto a matching postcard / calendar page / book cut-out, such as one with an image of a redwood forest, and AFTER THAT have it postmarked!!!
This way, you have obtained a maximum card! Even if it's not FIP CfM - compliant.
Since concordance of place is almost impossible in such a regular mailing, you could consider that you have a zoomed-out concordance, from the same state or from USA, anyway.
In this case here, the Hollywood postmark is from the same state as the stamp subject, California.
I intended this to be my SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope).
Instead of affixing a Priority Mail stamp straight on the big envelope (specifically in the upper-right corner, where USPS has shrewdly positioned the place for stamp, over the tear-away strip, so you would completely tear apart that stamp upon receiving), I affixed it on the postcard!!!
The postmarking was done on Aug the 4th, on all items, so my SASE could have been sent as the outer cover. The postcard has the $4.95 stamp with that Aug 4th postmark valid for mailing on that day alone.
Because my items were put aside for some reason for about 2 months (!), when I finally called and inquired, the return was done in this new cover from USPS.
With the Give Blood stamp, I'll create some maximum cards with Dracula, Twilight characters and others. :)
In the middle you see a little error: an MJ stamp from St.Vincent postmarked alone, not together with an American stamp, as USPS wants.
This is a page-size sheet of labels.
It could be considered a large size postcard, and I over-franked - more than enough US postage for that.
Or, it can be considered neither a cover nor a postcard, but a philatelic souvenir page, not destined to be mailed, so not subject to any applicable rate in postage.
I still overpaid, but that's fine with me. :)
I will use the Michael Jackson/Star pairs of stamps for non-traditional maximum cards. :)
UNICATE/UNIKAT in the world.
In fact, these specific Michael stamps are probably fakes, so I could call them stickers.
I have other MJ stamps, which are apparently the genuine issues from St.Vincent.
You can't say you don't see any heart here...
The postmarking postal associate did not understand or remember what I said in the blue Post-it note, so these 2 postcards were NOT postmarked on BOTH sides and sent by mail.
Instead, they were postmarked only in the back, on the 1 cent stamp!
I wanted to obtain "circulated thru the mail" maximum cards, sent as postcards.
Get it? :)
===================
Please visit and join The Guest Heart Thursday meme!
Welcome to Guest Heart Thursday -
A place to share YOUR hearts!
