FREE: USED - U.S. #Q4 1912 4¢ Rural Carrier Parcel Post

The listing, USED - U.S. #Q4 1912 4¢ Rural Carrier Parcel Post has ended.

USED - U.S. #Q4 1912 4¢ Rural Carrier Parcel Post
1200 dpi scan of the stamp you will receive not stock pictures!!!


U.S. #Q4
1912 4¢ Rural Carrier
Parcel Post


Issue Date: 1913
City: Washington, DC
Quantity: 76,743,813
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Perforations: 12
Color: Carmine rose

In 1912, the U.S. Postal Department introduced parcel post service for sending items weighing 16 ounces or more through the mail. The mail is divided into four classes, with parcel post making up the fourth class. Almost any type of merchandise can be mailed parcel post, including day – old chicks, baby alligators, and honeybees. Only items that could be dangerous to handle cannot be sent through Parcel Post. Rural Americans used the new mail class to access goods and merchandise they could not have gotten before, giving rise to mail order giants like Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Montgomery Ward and Co.

Twelve stamps with various denominations were issued in 1912-13 to prepay the fourth-class rate. Although different vignette designs were featured, all twelve stamps used the same border and color, which caused a great deal of confusion for postal workers.

The 4¢ Parcel Post Stamp
The first four Parcel Post stamps with the lowest denomination feature Postal Service employees at their jobs. The mail carriers in rural areas used horse-drawn wagons to deliver the mail. A mail wagon from the Post Office Museum in Washington was the model for this stamp. The 4¢ stamp was issued on December 12, 1912, about 77 million of these stamps were printed.

Less than a year after the program began, the Postmaster General authorized ordinary postage stamps for use on parcel post. Parcel post stamps were then made valid for all classes of mail and were used as regular postage until the supply was depleted.