Hi, Saleem....
For an exhaustive collection of US Airmail stamps, you should have a look at this one:
http://www.colp.info/stamps/air.htm
This is truly a "complete" US airmail stamp collection!
Thanks Terry for the link - that airmail collection is fine but missing are the international airmail postcard rate stamps the airmail precancels and all of the Champions of Liberty above letter rate stamps - I'm trying to discern the rates these conform with (the 8¢ and 10¢ singles). There were many 5¢ commem. issues during the 2¢ and 3¢ letter rate period and a few others (8¢) that are in some way paying some airmail rate - will have to check these. The rate chart provided at this link is of some help though.
Salem,
Have you determined if the $2 Inverted Jenny satisfies some International rate?
I'll have to take a look at your Pre-1991 issues. Looks like I may need to consider a few more!
Lars
Saleem,
I've been looking over your list, and here are my comments:
1) 771 is an interesting find since that is the imperforate version of CE1. I have CE1 in my airmail collection. Including 771 is an interesting thought!
2) You are correct that when 1274 was issued it paid the International Postcard airmail rate, but it also paid the 1 ounce International surface letter rate. This one is in a grey area.
3) 1341 - I agree.
4) 1454, 1462, 1502, and 1562 - again, this is not only the Int'l airmail postcard rate, but the Int'l surface mail letter rate. It gets down to how you want to define your parameters. I went with "intent", and intent was USUALLY provided with the word "Airmail" prior to 1991, but I'm game to see if anything fell through a crack!
5) 2379 - This one I would dispute. If your position is that ANY stamp that was issued while ANY domestic or international airmail postcard or letter rate was valid is game, then there are several definitives you would need to add to your list. I'll grant you that 1274, 1454, 1462, 1502, and 1562 MAY have been issued with the knowledge that they paid BOTH the International surface letter rate AND the International airmail postcard rate. Those are judgment calls that can go either way, in my opinion, but there is a history in the US of issuing "Love" stamps in the one ounce and two ounce domestic mail rates since wedding invitations are often 2 ounce letters and the RSVP envelope is traditionally stamped by the original sender with a one ounce "Love" stamp for the return response. 2379 was clearly INTENDED for the domestic 2 ounce letter rate.
6) Beginning in 1991 is where you and I agree - a LOT! Let me be brief and just note where we don't agree 100%
a) 2539 - that's a really interesting one! I think you may be wrong about the rate, though. I have 95c for "AM letter to all countries except Can/Mex, over 1/2 oz to 1 oz." The rate doesn't go to $1.00 until July 9, 1995. So what WAS the purpose of that stamp? It puzzled me for a while, too, but I finally tracked down the purpose of that stamp after noticing that it has Olympic Rings on it, just like 2540, 2541, and 2542. I found a release somewhere regarding all 4 stamps that said the purpose of 2539 was to pay the Return Receipt rate for Priority/Express/International Express. Those 4 stamps with the Olympic rings went together.
b) 2835 and 2836 - you may want to also include 2837b and 2837c. The 40c stamps only differ by the tagging, but the 50c stamps are very visibly different.
c) 2998 - there is also 2998a - a large date version issued in 1999.
d) 3209g and h were just reprints of a series issued 5 years before the Wright Brothers' first flight. If those were fair game then surely there would have been a few candidates from the Columbus Reprints (2624-2629). I personally omitted anything that was simply part of a series and not obviously issued specifically for an airmail rate. I would contend that 2186, 2187, and 2938 make more sense than 3209g and h. Especially 2187 since Claire Chennault could be considered part of the "Pioneers of Aviation" series. Just my humble opinion.
e) What about 3375 and 3376? It's possible the 55c stamp (3375) was intended to cover the domestic 2 ounce letter rate instead of the International postcard rate, but there is no logical use for the 60c stamp (3376) other than the international letter rate.
f) What about 3409 and 3410? I included those.
Thanks again for the thoughtful presentation. You have helped me a lot to think about where I may need to reassess some of my parameters. We are coming at this from different directions (you with covers with legitimate uses and me with mint stamps for intended purposes) so there is bound to be a few areas that we see differently.
Happy hunting, my friend!
Lars
Wow,
I just went to the US Airmail album identified by Terry above. Looks like the web address has changed since that entry was posted.
I found it here: http://www.larsdog.com/stamps/air.htm
Larsdog, I got to hand it to you. That is an awesome US Airmail collection. Now you have got me wanting to get those White Ace Airmail pages and transfer my US Airmails. Did you have to get any additional US Airmail supplement pages - like for the wet/dry versions, etc.?
Dave N.
(Modified by Moderator on 2013-10-26 23:37:04)
Dave,
I used a combination of White Ace pre-printed pages and pages I created myself and printed on White Ace blank stock. If the catalog number is hand-written, it's a pre-printed page. If the catalog number is printed on the page along with everything else, it's a page I created myself. When I create a page, I only use the text descriptions from White Ace if I purchased the page with that description and I always use White Ace blank stock. I am a strong advocate of copyright protection.
Washington Press (White Ace publisher) provided some guidance in what fonts to use and I created my own borders for the stamps by scanning and resizing existing borders from the pages that I purchased. I used Fireworks for image processing and page layout, but Photoshop would work as well.
My Airmail is about 50/50 pre-printed versus make 'em myself. Commemoratives are about 90/10 and Definitives are about 10/90. I like being able to create pages to fit my collecting philosophy, and White Ace pages easily fit in any printer.
One detail you may not have noticed is that I use plate numbers as "mini" certificates of authenticity on the wet/dry printings. That's why I have plate number singles and partial plate number booklet panes. It's cheaper to buy plate blocks, rip out the plate single and use the rest for postage, than it is to get a cert on a "wet" or "dry" printing. I'm a big fan of "self-authenticating" stamps.
Thanks for the comments!
Lars
Lars:
I use the White Ace album for my US Airmail collection, and like you, I have used my computer and made additional pages. Yours looks as lovely as mine.
My collection is all used, and I do marginal markings, straight-edges, etc. Great fun.
I use a CWS (Canadian Wholesale Supply) USA Seal album for the rest of my 36+ volume collection... all used.
I enjoyed looking at your collection, on-line... it's very nice.
Cheers!
David
David,
I agree that having software that you are comfortable with for creating your own pages really opens some doors to get your collection the way you want it. I saw an airmail collection online that had a mint AND used copy of each stamp! It was quite impressive. I also like what Saleem is doing in going after covers with properly franked single stamp usage for airmail.
Cheers!
Lars
"that airmail collection is fine but missing are the international airmail postcard rate stamps the airmail precancels and all of the Champions of Liberty above letter rate stamps"
Lars:
I am assembling a collection of used USA airs on cover, paying their proper rate, in-period... all postmarked in Texas.
I collect the air postal history of Texas.
David
David,
That sounds interesting. That's very similar to what Saleem is doing except he isn't limiting the postmarks to Texas. You two could discuss strategy on things I don't cover, like this one he mentioned:
"1502 - 15¢ - 7/10/1973 - Progress in Electronics - International Post Card rate - 1st July 1971 to 1st March 1974 - New York to France 16th September 1973"
Intent, not that it's always known, but most often can be deduced. We need to remember that as philatelists, we know so much more than the average consumer who is unlikely to know about different rates to different parts of the world using different transportation means. Most of that has gone away, today, but was quite a fascinating universe in the middle of the last century.
Intent is what I use to decide what to include because I collect stamps, and for me it's the intent of the POD (now USPS). But for cover collectors I was curious if they use intent of sender or reality. Granted, a surface letter may be flown, but if a postcard from New York to France in 1973 has a 15c stamp with green tagging, would you not have to assume it was not necessarily "flown" unless there is a "Airmail/Par Avion" marking? Even if you go with intent, would the sender not need to make his intent known by adding such a label or marking? I'm just asking because I have no idea and this is all rather fascinating!
A lot has been written about these issues and there were long discussions, arguements, dissection of Scott policies, etc about these issues but these stamps remain where they are in the catalog. As I am into collecting US Airmails Postal History (solo proper commercial/non-philatelic uses) I started accumulating covers with these stamps also but I am still not satisfied with the list I have assembled based on use and rate period - there may still be a few I have overlooked and some added by mistake (maybe 3209h).
Below I am trying to place the list (SOR software permitting) for others to see and add any missing ones if possible. Mind you the domestic airmail rates were abolished in 1973 therefore any stamps issued after the Scott #C86 (11¢ Progress in Elctronics) could not be considered airmail if it doesn't pay the international postcard or half ounce international airmail rate. There are many domestic postcard rate issues, one ounce and two ounce rate stamps which I don't want to add to the list.
The first item is the Scott number - denomination - date of issue - short description - probable rate for which issued - rate period - the cover I have
771 - 16¢ - 3/15/1935 - Air Mail Special Delivery, dark blue, imperf - Air Mail Special Delivery - Rochester, N.Y. to Minneapolis, Minnesota 17th July 1935
1274 - 11¢ - 10/6/1965 - International Telecommunications Union - International postcard rate - don't have the rate period for this - El Paso, Texas to France 24th February 1966
1341 - $1 - 4/4/1968 - Airlift for servicemen - Parcel rate for US servicemen abroad and later for special services of all airmail matter - Registered cover New York, N.Y. to Italy 16th March 1970
1454 - 15c - 7/28/1972 - National Parks centennial - Mt. McKinley - International Post Card rate - 1st July 1971 to 1st March 1974 - Oak Ridge, Illinois to Yugoslavia 19th October 1973
1462 - 15¢ - 8/17/1972 - Olympics: Running - International Post Card rate - 1st July 1971 to 1st March 1974 - June Lake, California to France 21st August 1972
1502 - 15¢ - 7/10/1973 - Progress in Electronics - International Post Card rate - 1st July 1971 to 1st March 1974 - New York to France 16th September 1973
1562 - 18¢ - 3/25/1975 - Bicentennial - Peter Francisco - International Post Card rate - 2nd March 1974 to 30th December 1975 - New York, New York to France 6th June 1975
2379 - 45¢ - 8/8/1988 - LOVE, red & yellow roses - International airmail ½oz letter - 3rd April 1988 to 2nd February 1991 - Shiner, Texas to Scotland June 6th 1989
2532 - 50¢ - 2/22/1991 - Switzerland 700th anniversary - International airmail ½oz letter - 3rd February 1991 to 8th July 1995 - New York, New York to Denmark 28th October 1991
2539 - $1 - 9/29/1991 - Eagle, Olympic Rings - International airmail 1oz letter (½oz x 2) - 3rd February 1991 to 8th July 1995 -
2835 - 40¢ - 5/26/1994 - World Cup Soccer - Canada 1oz letter and International post card - 3rd February 1991 to 8th July 1995 - Bay Court, Florida to Ontario, Canada 21st February 1995
2836 - 50¢ - 5/26/1994 - World Cup Soccer - International airmail ½oz letter - 3rd February 1991 to 8th July 1995 - Janesville, Wisconsin to Denmark 3rd June 1995
2840a - 50¢ - 7/1/1994 - Norman Rockwell 4 Freedoms S.S. : want - International airmail ½oz letter - 3rd February 1991 to 8th July 1995 -
2840b - 50¢ - 7/1/1994 - Norman Rockwell 4 Freedoms S.S. : fear - International airmail ½oz letter - 3rd February 1991 to 8th July 1995 -
2840c - 50¢ - 7/1/1994 - Norman Rockwell 4 Freedoms S.S. : speech - International airmail ½oz letter - 3rd February 1991 to 8th July 1995 -
2840d - 50¢ - 7/1/1994 - Norman Rockwell 4 Freedoms S.S. : worship - International airmail ½oz letter - 3rd February 1991 to 8th July 1995 -
2998 - 60¢ - 9/25/1995 - Eddie Rickenbacker - International airmail ½oz letter - 9th July 1995 to 6th January 2001 - Industrt, California to Latvia 18th February 1999
3066 - 50¢ - 3/9/1996 - Jacqueline Cochran - International post card - 9th July 1995 to 29th July 1999 - San Diego, California to Switzerland 12th March 1998
3119a - 50¢ - 11/1/1996 - Cycling - orange and multicolor - International post card - 9th July 1995 to 29th July 1999 -
3119b - 50¢ - 11/1/1996 - Cycling - blue and multicolor - International post card - 9th July 1995 to 29th July 1999 -
3139a - 50¢ - 5/29/1997 - Franklinf single from S.S. - International post card - 9th July 1995 to 29th July 1999 -
3140a - 60¢ - 5/30/1997 - Washington single from S.S. - International airmail ½oz letter - 9th July 1995 to 6th January 2001 -
3209g - 50¢ - 06/181998 - Trans-Mississippi Centenary single from S.S. - International post card - 9th July 1995 to 29th July 1999 -
3209h - $1.00 - 06/181998 - Trans-Mississippi Centenary single from S.S. - don't know what rate but included because of the sheetlet of 9 - Hampton Road, Virginia to Switzerland 18th December 1998
3330 - 55¢ - 7/30/1999 - General William "Billy" Mitchell - International post card - 30th July 1999 to 6th January 2001 - from ZipCode 87525 to Switzerland, March 2000
3332 - 45¢ - 8/25/1999 - Universal Postal Union - Canada post card - don't have the rate period for this - On cover with others Merrick, New York to Vietnam 7th December 2002
3505d - 80¢ - 3/29/2001 - Pan American Expo S.S. single - Buffalo - International airmail 1oz. letter - 7th January 2001 to 7th January 2006 - Everett, Washington to Netherlands 26th September 2002
3771 - 80¢ - 2/13/2003 - Special Olympics - International airmail 1oz letter - 7th January 2001 to 7th January 2006 - Cary, North Carolina to India 1st March 2005
4123a - 84¢ - 2/20/2007 - Intl. Polar Year S.S. single : Aurora Borealis - International airmail 1oz. letter - 8th January 2006 to 13th May 2007 - Sherwood, Arizona to France 13th April 2007
4123b - 84¢ - 2/20/2007 - Intl. Polar Year S.S. single : Aurora Australis - International airmail 1oz. letter - 8th January 2006 to 13th May 2007 - Sherwood, Arizona to France 5th April 2007
In such a long post the mistakes are mine please do not blame the wonderful software.
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
Hi, Saleem....
For an exhaustive collection of US Airmail stamps, you should have a look at this one:
http://www.colp.info/stamps/air.htm
This is truly a "complete" US airmail stamp collection!
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
Thanks Terry for the link - that airmail collection is fine but missing are the international airmail postcard rate stamps the airmail precancels and all of the Champions of Liberty above letter rate stamps - I'm trying to discern the rates these conform with (the 8¢ and 10¢ singles). There were many 5¢ commem. issues during the 2¢ and 3¢ letter rate period and a few others (8¢) that are in some way paying some airmail rate - will have to check these. The rate chart provided at this link is of some help though.
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
Salem,
Have you determined if the $2 Inverted Jenny satisfies some International rate?
I'll have to take a look at your Pre-1991 issues. Looks like I may need to consider a few more!
Lars
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
Saleem,
I've been looking over your list, and here are my comments:
1) 771 is an interesting find since that is the imperforate version of CE1. I have CE1 in my airmail collection. Including 771 is an interesting thought!
2) You are correct that when 1274 was issued it paid the International Postcard airmail rate, but it also paid the 1 ounce International surface letter rate. This one is in a grey area.
3) 1341 - I agree.
4) 1454, 1462, 1502, and 1562 - again, this is not only the Int'l airmail postcard rate, but the Int'l surface mail letter rate. It gets down to how you want to define your parameters. I went with "intent", and intent was USUALLY provided with the word "Airmail" prior to 1991, but I'm game to see if anything fell through a crack!
5) 2379 - This one I would dispute. If your position is that ANY stamp that was issued while ANY domestic or international airmail postcard or letter rate was valid is game, then there are several definitives you would need to add to your list. I'll grant you that 1274, 1454, 1462, 1502, and 1562 MAY have been issued with the knowledge that they paid BOTH the International surface letter rate AND the International airmail postcard rate. Those are judgment calls that can go either way, in my opinion, but there is a history in the US of issuing "Love" stamps in the one ounce and two ounce domestic mail rates since wedding invitations are often 2 ounce letters and the RSVP envelope is traditionally stamped by the original sender with a one ounce "Love" stamp for the return response. 2379 was clearly INTENDED for the domestic 2 ounce letter rate.
6) Beginning in 1991 is where you and I agree - a LOT! Let me be brief and just note where we don't agree 100%
a) 2539 - that's a really interesting one! I think you may be wrong about the rate, though. I have 95c for "AM letter to all countries except Can/Mex, over 1/2 oz to 1 oz." The rate doesn't go to $1.00 until July 9, 1995. So what WAS the purpose of that stamp? It puzzled me for a while, too, but I finally tracked down the purpose of that stamp after noticing that it has Olympic Rings on it, just like 2540, 2541, and 2542. I found a release somewhere regarding all 4 stamps that said the purpose of 2539 was to pay the Return Receipt rate for Priority/Express/International Express. Those 4 stamps with the Olympic rings went together.
b) 2835 and 2836 - you may want to also include 2837b and 2837c. The 40c stamps only differ by the tagging, but the 50c stamps are very visibly different.
c) 2998 - there is also 2998a - a large date version issued in 1999.
d) 3209g and h were just reprints of a series issued 5 years before the Wright Brothers' first flight. If those were fair game then surely there would have been a few candidates from the Columbus Reprints (2624-2629). I personally omitted anything that was simply part of a series and not obviously issued specifically for an airmail rate. I would contend that 2186, 2187, and 2938 make more sense than 3209g and h. Especially 2187 since Claire Chennault could be considered part of the "Pioneers of Aviation" series. Just my humble opinion.
e) What about 3375 and 3376? It's possible the 55c stamp (3375) was intended to cover the domestic 2 ounce letter rate instead of the International postcard rate, but there is no logical use for the 60c stamp (3376) other than the international letter rate.
f) What about 3409 and 3410? I included those.
Thanks again for the thoughtful presentation. You have helped me a lot to think about where I may need to reassess some of my parameters. We are coming at this from different directions (you with covers with legitimate uses and me with mint stamps for intended purposes) so there is bound to be a few areas that we see differently.
Happy hunting, my friend!
Lars
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
Wow,
I just went to the US Airmail album identified by Terry above. Looks like the web address has changed since that entry was posted.
I found it here: http://www.larsdog.com/stamps/air.htm
Larsdog, I got to hand it to you. That is an awesome US Airmail collection. Now you have got me wanting to get those White Ace Airmail pages and transfer my US Airmails. Did you have to get any additional US Airmail supplement pages - like for the wet/dry versions, etc.?
Dave N.
(Modified by Moderator on 2013-10-26 23:37:04)
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
Dave,
I used a combination of White Ace pre-printed pages and pages I created myself and printed on White Ace blank stock. If the catalog number is hand-written, it's a pre-printed page. If the catalog number is printed on the page along with everything else, it's a page I created myself. When I create a page, I only use the text descriptions from White Ace if I purchased the page with that description and I always use White Ace blank stock. I am a strong advocate of copyright protection.
Washington Press (White Ace publisher) provided some guidance in what fonts to use and I created my own borders for the stamps by scanning and resizing existing borders from the pages that I purchased. I used Fireworks for image processing and page layout, but Photoshop would work as well.
My Airmail is about 50/50 pre-printed versus make 'em myself. Commemoratives are about 90/10 and Definitives are about 10/90. I like being able to create pages to fit my collecting philosophy, and White Ace pages easily fit in any printer.
One detail you may not have noticed is that I use plate numbers as "mini" certificates of authenticity on the wet/dry printings. That's why I have plate number singles and partial plate number booklet panes. It's cheaper to buy plate blocks, rip out the plate single and use the rest for postage, than it is to get a cert on a "wet" or "dry" printing. I'm a big fan of "self-authenticating" stamps.
Thanks for the comments!
Lars
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
Lars:
I use the White Ace album for my US Airmail collection, and like you, I have used my computer and made additional pages. Yours looks as lovely as mine.
My collection is all used, and I do marginal markings, straight-edges, etc. Great fun.
I use a CWS (Canadian Wholesale Supply) USA Seal album for the rest of my 36+ volume collection... all used.
I enjoyed looking at your collection, on-line... it's very nice.
Cheers!
David
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
David,
I agree that having software that you are comfortable with for creating your own pages really opens some doors to get your collection the way you want it. I saw an airmail collection online that had a mint AND used copy of each stamp! It was quite impressive. I also like what Saleem is doing in going after covers with properly franked single stamp usage for airmail.
Cheers!
Lars
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
"that airmail collection is fine but missing are the international airmail postcard rate stamps the airmail precancels and all of the Champions of Liberty above letter rate stamps"
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
Lars:
I am assembling a collection of used USA airs on cover, paying their proper rate, in-period... all postmarked in Texas.
I collect the air postal history of Texas.
David
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
David,
That sounds interesting. That's very similar to what Saleem is doing except he isn't limiting the postmarks to Texas. You two could discuss strategy on things I don't cover, like this one he mentioned:
"1502 - 15¢ - 7/10/1973 - Progress in Electronics - International Post Card rate - 1st July 1971 to 1st March 1974 - New York to France 16th September 1973"
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
Intent, not that it's always known, but most often can be deduced. We need to remember that as philatelists, we know so much more than the average consumer who is unlikely to know about different rates to different parts of the world using different transportation means. Most of that has gone away, today, but was quite a fascinating universe in the middle of the last century.
re: US Airmails listed elsewhere in Scott
Intent is what I use to decide what to include because I collect stamps, and for me it's the intent of the POD (now USPS). But for cover collectors I was curious if they use intent of sender or reality. Granted, a surface letter may be flown, but if a postcard from New York to France in 1973 has a 15c stamp with green tagging, would you not have to assume it was not necessarily "flown" unless there is a "Airmail/Par Avion" marking? Even if you go with intent, would the sender not need to make his intent known by adding such a label or marking? I'm just asking because I have no idea and this is all rather fascinating!