Postal Service-issued cards imprinted with stamps, called “postal cards” prior to 1999 and now “stamped cards,” were first issued in 1873. Privately manufactured mailing cards, called postcards, were used as early as 1870, but initially required the same postage as a letter. A special rate for postcards came in 1898. An Act of February 28, 1925, authorized the Postmaster General to account annually for revenues and costs associated with different types of mail; annual analyses, with detailed estimates of mail volume, are available beginning in 1926. Presorted postcards have been listed as a separate category since 1977. (Large-volume mailers presort postcards to qualify for discounted postage rates.) Since 1997, stamped cards and postcards sent individually by mailers have been counted together as “single-piece cards.”
|
Fiscal Year |
Stamped Cards |
Postcards |
Presorted Postcards |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1926 |
1,323,000,000 |
206,000,000 |
|
|
1927 |
1,422,000,000 |
184,000,000 |
|
|
1928 |
1,507,000,000 |
172,000,000 |
|
|
1929 |
1,417,000,000 |
283,000,000 |
|
|
1930 |
1,325,000,000 |
298,000,000 |
|
|
1931 |
1,322,000,000 |
278,000,000 |
|
|
1932 |
1,188,000,000 |
260,000,000 |
|
|
1933 |
1,200,000,000 |
253,000,000 |
|
|
1934 |
1,328,000,000 |
309,000,000 |
|
|
1935 |
1,495,000,000 |
295,000,000 |
|
|
1936 |
1,622,000,000 |
367,000,000 |
|
|
1937 |
1,736,000,000 |
448,000,000 |
|
|
1938 |
1,877,000,000 |
468,000,000 |
|
|
1939 |
1,887,000,000 |
464,000,000 |
|
|
1940 |
1,953,000,000 |
525,000,000 |
|
|
1941 |
2,107,000,000 |
633,000,000 |
|
|
1942 |
2,083,000,000 |
595,000,000 |
|
|
1943 |
-- |
-- |
|
|
1944 |
1,895,000,000 |
614,000,000 |
|
|
1945 |
2,093,000,000 |
612,000,000 |
|
|
1946 |
2,304,000,000 |
685,000,000 |
|
|
1947 |
2,620,000,000 |
713,000,000 |
|
|
1948 |
2,828,000,000 |
773,000,000 |
|
|
1949 |
3,187,000,000 |
866,000,000 |
|
|
1950 |
3,438,000,000 |
976,000,000 |
|
|
1951 |
3,434,000,000 |
1,073,000,000 |
|
|
1952 |
2,898,000,000 |
1,148,000,000 |
|
|
1953 |
2,206,000,000 |
1,176,000,000 |
|
|
1954 |
2,077,000,000 |
1,177,000,000 |
|
|
1955 |
2,120,000,000 |
1,163,000,000 |
|
|
1956 |
2,049,000,000 |
1,229,000,000 |
|
|
1957 |
2,080,000,000 |
1,195,000,000 |
|
|
1958 |
2,101,000,000 |
1,135,000,000 |
|
|
1959 |
1,746,000,000 |
1,145,000,000 |
|
|
1960 |
1,502,000,000 |
1,140,000,000 |
|
|
1961 |
1,356,000,000 |
1,114,000,000 |
|
|
1962 |
1,324,000,000 |
1,172,000,000 |
|
|
1963 |
1,307,000,000 |
1,225,000,000 |
|
|
1964 |
1,226,000,000 |
1,382,000,000 |
|
|
1965 |
1,095,000,000 |
1,284,000,000 |
|
|
1966 |
1,058,000,000 |
1,225,000,000 |
|
|
1967 |
1,078,184,000 |
1,500,514,000 |
|
|
1968 |
867,491,000 |
1,494,144,000 |
|
|
1969 |
801,730,000 |
1,589,858,000 |
|
|
1970 |
798,483,000 |
1,569,263,000 |
|
|
1971 |
714,304,000 |
1,709,006,000 |
|
|
1972 |
572,192,000 |
1,646,070,000 |
|
|
1973 |
605,633,000 |
1,646,825,000 |
|
|
1974 |
565,994,000 |
1,728,145,000 |
|
|
1975 |
488,367,000 |
1,627,228,000 |
|
|
1976 |
495,346,000 |
1,645,133,000 |
|
|
1977 |
392,390,000 |
1,562,961,000 |
393,581,000 |
|
1978 |
343,133,000 |
1,525,744,000 |
507,684,000 |
|
1979 |
333,055,000 |
1,589,868,000 |
397,433,000 |
|
1980 |
334,384,000 |
1,488,934,000 |
559,131,000 |
|
1981 |
296,851,000 |
1,563,640,000 |
595,306,000 |
|
1982 |
348,924,000 |
1,601,073,000 |
568,549,000 |
|
1983 |
483,440,000 |
1,656,390,000 |
696,777,000 |
|
1984 |
340,442,000 |
1,799,817,000 |
710,485,000 |
|
1985 |
347,819,000 |
2,007,984,000 |
607,430,000 |
|
1986 |
353,710,000 |
2,024,326,000 |
811,496,000 |
|
1987 |
372,667,000 |
2,119,152,000 |
838,278,000 |
|
1988 |
506,467,000 |
2,578,765,000 |
1,086,563,000 |
|
1989 |
539,415,000 |
2,434,535,000 |
1,231,611,000 |
|
1990 |
482,812,000 |
2,824,264,000 |
1,590,187,000 |
|
1991 |
497,081,000 |
2,560,724,000 |
2,070,419,000 |
|
1992 |
609,834,000 |
2,506,719,000 |
1,469,650,000 |
|
1993 |
535,208,000 |
2,378,412,000 |
1,401,376,000 |
|
1994 |
437,908,000 |
2,561,614,000 |
1,768,583,000 |
|
1995 |
440,529,000 |
2,576,651,000 |
1,934,292,000 |
|
1996 |
454,006,000 |
2,598,099,000 |
1,956,017,000 |
|
Fiscal Year |
Stamped Cards and Postcards |
Presorted Postcards |
|---|---|---|
|
1997 |
3,003,755,000 |
2,353,333,000 |
|
1998 |
2,971,751,000 |
2,555,124,000 |
|
1999 |
2,850,770,000 |
2,442,946,000 |
|
2000 |
2,719,298,000 |
2,761,407,000 |
|
2001 |
2,653,454,000 |
2,842,078,000 |
|
2002 |
2,669,202,000 |
2,798,088,000 |
|
2003 |
2,551,592,000 |
2,661,507,000 |
|
2004 |
2,525,931,000 |
2,904,901,000 |
|
2005 |
2,521,714,000 |
3,107,701,000 |
|
2006 |
2,295,825,000 |
3,386,571,000 |
|
2007 |
2,141,488,000 |
3,656,291,000 |
|
2008 |
1,845,860,000 |
3,555,997,000 |
|
2009 |
1,616,231,000 |
2,944,297,000 |
|
2010 |
1,436,994,000 |
2,931,565,000 |
HISTORIAN
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
JANUARY 2011
