The U.S. 7¢ Domestic Post Card Rate
Effective Sunday, September 14, 1975, the U.S. domestic post card rate was
reduced from 8¢ to 7¢ as mandated by the U.S. Postal Rate Commission, which felt the
two-cent increase the year before was too much. This 7¢ rate lasted for just over three
months, though Tuesday, December 30, 1975. On New Year's Eve, the rate jumped to 9¢
The Charles Thomson postal card, was made available on the first day of the 7¢ rate period. This item was issued as a "precancel," meaning many legitimately used copies don't have postmarks to indicate they went through the mailstream. However, it appears most were postmarked anyway, which allows for documentation of proper usage during the rate period when a writer failed to use a date on the card's message side.
I am attempting to develop a collection related to this 7¢ rate period.
While I have numerous copies of the regular Charles Thomson postal card (Scott UX68),
both postmarked and not, I do need copies with certain dates along with Charles Thomson
reply cards (Scott UY25). Especially useful would be post cards mailed
using stamps other than the 7¢ Franklin (Scott #1393D), such as the one illustrated at left. Post cards franked with
postage meter impressions are welcome. Miscellaneous items needed include examples of short pays
(postage due) and over pays. The latter would include "false frankings," which would be 8?Adams postal cards mailed by businesses and organizations
during the rate period; they could get a penny per card rebate from the post
office, but would have only bothered to do so for large mailings.
My specific needs are listed below in three price categories: (1) commercial
usage is non-philatelic items like business advertising material and billings, solicitations
by charitable organizations, business to business or individual to business communications, etc;
(2) personal usage is communications between private individuals, organization meeting
notices [like civic groups and clubs] to individuals; (3) philatelic usage is first day
covers, special cancels, etc. created for or by collectors.
As my needs are met and I discover what is available, I will adjust these prices, delete items no longer needed, and update this page. My needs for items priced in red are limited to certain dates at the prices indicated while "NLB" means "no longer buying." I will buy "lots," but will offer a "lot price" when there is considerable duplication. Prices are for clean material; expect considerably less for damaged and soiled items. Also, please note the term "postal card", as opposed to "post card," refers to "stamped" cards sold at the post office.
| 7¢ Charles Thomson Postal Cards | |||
| Item Description | Commercial | Personal | Philatelic |
| Postmarked 9/14/1975 ("philatelic" is for cacheted first day cover "Artcraft," "Artmaster" and "Fleetwood" not needed) | $50.00 | $40.00 | $1.00 |
| Postmarked 9/15/1975 — 12/29/1975 ("philatelic" is for card with special cancel) | $8.00 | $5.00 | $5.00 |
| Postmarked 12/30/1975 ("philatelic" is for card with special cancel) | NLB | $20.00 | $5.00 |
| Used, but uncanceled with date attributable to 7¢ rate period discernible in message content | NLB | NLB | NA |
| Postmarked during rate period and has additional stamps added to meet 12?overseas postcard rate | NA | $100.00 | NA |
| Postmarked between 12/31/1975 and 12/31/1980 with postage due assessed | $10.00 | $8.00 | NA |
| Postmarked between 12/31/1975 and 12/31/1980 without postage due assessed | $5.00 | $1.00 | NA |
| 7¢ Charles Thomson Paid Reply Cards | |||
| Item Description | Commercial | Personal | Philatelic |
| Used message card with unused reply card intact (perforations between two cards): | |||
| Postmarked 9/14/1975 ("philatelic" is for cacheted first day cover with reply card intact?font color="red">"Artcraft" and "Fleetwood" not needed) | $200.00 | $150.00 | $2.00 |
| Postmarked 9/15/1975 — 12/29/1975 | $100.00 | $75.00 | NA |
| Postmarked 12/30/1975 | $150.00 | $75.00 | NA |
| Used, but uncanceled with date attributable to 7¢ rate period discernible in message content | NLB | NLB | NA |
| Used message or reply card (perforations at top): | |||
| Postmarked 9/14/1975 ("philatelic" not needed) | $100.00 | $75.00 | NA |
| Postmarked 9/15/1975 — 12/29/1975 | $50.00 | $37.50 | NA |
| Postmarked 12/30/1975 | $75.00 | $50.00 | NA |
| Used, but uncanceled with date attributable to 7¢ rate period discernible in message content | NLB | NLB | NA |
| Postmarked between 12/31/1975 — 12/31/1980 with postage due assessed | $10.00 | $8.00 | NA |
| Postmarked between 12/31/1975 and 12/31/1980 without postage due assessed | $5.00 | $1.00 | NA |
| Post Cards with Postage Stamps, other Postal Cards, and Miscellaneous | |||
| Item Description | Commercial | Personal | Philatelic |
| Post cards (see below for picture** post cards) with stamps applied: | |||
| Used during rate period with 7¢ Benjamin Franklin (Scott #1393D) stamp * | $15.00 | $7.50 | NA |
| Used during rate period with 7¢ postage meter cancel * | $20.00 | NA | NA |
| Used during rate period with 7¢ stamp (other than #1393D) or combination of stamps equaling 7¢ * | $25.00 | $12.50 | NA |
| Used during rate period with stamps overpaying rate (i.e. most likely 8¢ or 10¢ stamp) * | $15.00 | $5.00 | NA |
| Used during rate period with stamps underpaying rate, with postage due assessed * | $45.00 | $15.00 | NA |
| Used during rate period with stamps underpaying rate, without postage due assessed * | $15.00 | $5.00 | NA |
| Postal cards denominated 1¢ - 6¢ | |||
| Used during rate period with postage added to equal 7¢ * | $30.00 | $10.00 | NA |
| Used during rate period with postage added to equal 8¢ or more * | $15.00 | $5.00 | NA |
| Used during rate period with postage due assessed [short paid] * | $30.00 | $10.00 | NA |
| Used during rate period without postage due assessment [short paid] * | $15.00 | $5.00 | NA |
| Picture** post cards: | |||
| Used during rate period with 7¢ Benjamin Franklin (Scott #1393D) stamp* | NA | $8.00 | NA |
| Used during rate period with 7¢ stamp (other than #1393D) or combination of stamps equaling 7¢ * | NA | $24.00 | NA |
| Used during rate period with stamps overpaying rate, i.e. most likely 10¢ letter rate stamp * | NA | $5.00 | NA |
| Used during rate period with stamps underpaying rate, with postage due assessed * | NA | $15.00 | NA |
| Used during rate period with stamps underpaying rate, without postage due assessed * | NA | $5.00 | NA |
| Other Postal Cards: | |||
| 8¢ Samual Adams postal card postmarked 9/14/1975 | $15.00 | $10.00 | NA |
| 8¢ Samual Adams postal card postmarked 9/15/1975 — 12/30/1975 | $5.00 | $1.00 | NA |
| 9¢ John Witherspoon postal card postmarked 11/11/1975 — 12/30/1975 | NA | $15.00 | NA |
* I will pay 100% extra for "first day" and 50% extra for "last day" usages on these. Last offering revision date: 1-14-2019. | |||
If you have any of the above items you are willing to part with, or unusual items not listed above, please e-mail me at the address indicated on the home page of the vonReyn.com website or write to: Arthur P. von Reyn, 10512 Countess Dr., Dallas, TX 75229-5103. Photocopies or scans are greatly appreciated. If you are sending an e-mail, please reference "7¢ Post Card Rate" in your subject line to distinguish your message from all the SPAM I receive! You may send unsolicited material to me on approval, but only if the above "buy" price is $10.00 or more. If you found this page due to my ad in Linn's Stamp News please let me know!