Rates for Stamped Cards and Postcards Since 1873
Postcards
(privately manufactured cards) were charged letter postage rates until July 1,
1898. Since then, the rates for
postcards have been the same as for stamped cards (produced by the Postal
Service) except for the period from April 15, 1925, to July 1, 1928.
Until
1999, stamped cards were called postal cards.
On January 10, 1999, the Postal Service changed the term to stamped
cards and increased their price to one penny more than the postage rate in
order to pay for the paper and printing of the card. The price of a stamped
card increased to two cents more than the postage rate on January 7, 2001, and
to three cents more on May 12, 2008. In
addition to regular stamped cards, on October 18, 1994, the Postal Service
began selling higher-cost stamped cards with collectible artwork, called
premium stamped cards since 2007.
|
Effective Date |
Postage, in Cents |
|---|---|
|
May 12,
1873 |
1 |
|
November
2, 1917 |
2 |
|
July 1,
1919 |
1 |
|
April
15, 1925 |
1 for stamped cards; 2 for postcards |
|
July 1,
1928 |
1 |
|
January
1, 1952 |
2 |
|
August
1, 1958 |
3 |
|
January
7, 1963 |
4 |
|
January
7, 1968 |
5 |
|
May 16,
1971 |
6 |
|
March
2, 1974 |
8 |
|
September
14, 1975 |
7 |
|
December
31, 1975 |
9 |
|
May 29,
1978 |
10 |
|
March
22, 1981 |
12 |
|
November
1, 1981 |
13 |
|
February
17, 1985 |
14 |
|
April
3, 1988 |
15 |
|
February
3, 1991 |
19 |
|
January
1, 1995 |
20 |
|
July 1,
2001 |
21 |
|
June
30, 2002 |
23 |
|
January
8, 2006 |
24 |
|
May 14,
2007 |
26 |
|
May 12,
2008 |
27 |
|
May 11,
2009 |
28 |
|
April
17, 2011 |
29 |
|
January
22, 2012 |
32 |
|
January
27, 2013 |
33 |
HISTORIAN
UNITED
STATES POSTAL SERVICE
JANUARY
2013