0193 Collector’s Guide - Meter Stamp Society

1 PageMETER Stamp Society collector s GuideSpring 2016 MSS Website EditionCollector s GuideThe Meter Stamp SocietyEst. 19480193 What Is a Postage Meter ?The Postage Meter has a long history aroundthe world. The United States has a slightly differ-ent story. While the focus for thisGuideis on stamps, the guidelines, suggestions, andexamples shown here areuniversallyapplicableandaredesignedto serve collectors no mat-ter what areas of theworld they collect. ThisGuidewill be revisedand reprinted as neces-sary so any suggestionsand additions are from a Pitney-BowesBooklet, Thepostage Meter is a gov-ernment-licensedmail-ing machine that printspostage as required, di-rectly on the envelope(or on an adhesive tape)for any t ype of mail -first, second, third, orfourth class; air mail,registered mail, specialdelivery, or other special services.

2 In a single op-eration, it prints a prepaid postage Meter Stamp ,including dated postmark, of any value models also seal an envelope, or moistenthe gummed tape at the same time the Meter isbeing postage Meter s Stamp is non-negotiable,and requires no cancellation in most countries. Itcan be used only by the licensed user whose as-signed Meter number appears in the Meter stampitself. The Meter does its own bookkeepingthrough sealed but visible registers, which showpostage used and postage on hand, in dollars andcents. Except for the smallest desk models, the post-age Meter is a detachable unit of a larger mailingmachine. The Meter contains the postage print-ing die and the recording mechanism.

3 Wheneverthe private user needs to fill the Meter , he usedto take it to the post officeto be set . Today mostmeters are set over is paid for in ad-vance, and need not beentirely used before themeter is reset. But if post-age is allowed to run out,themeterautomaticallylocks against further and collect Gov-ernmentrevenueunderofficial lock and seal, inthe United States they canonly be leased from thevendor. However they canbe owned in some coun-tries. These vendors areheld responsible for theproper operation, service,location, and replacementof all of their meters in mailing machine, as distinguished fromthe Meter , has nothing to do with the collectionof postage revenue.

4 The complete mailing ma-chine can be quite large and can prepare themail, insert it into the envelope, print the ad-dress and advertisement (some models in color)and finally print the postage. They were availa-ble in a wide range of hand and electrically driv-en models, for large and small firms, and areusually sold outright. Today they are fully , so what exactly are Meter stamps? This isnot as obvious as it sounds. They are used toWhatcontinued on page 2 Spring 2016 Meter Stamp Society collector s GuidePage 2 What is a Postage Meter ?..1 Meter Stamp sa r y, Abbre via tions a nd S ym bols ofTra ditiona l Pos tage Me te rs ..4 Glos sa r y, Abbre via tions a nd S ym bols of CVPM e te rs.

5 6 Early History of Traditional Meter Types of Postage to to to House a Variable Denomination Stamps . Postage Meter Country theCollector s GuidePresident: Richard Stambaugh100 Elder CourtPrescott AZ 86303email: President:Joel Hawkins3102 North 150th LaneGoodyear, AZ 85395email: Treasurer:Harold Effner27 Pine StreetLincroft, NJ 07738email: President: Stephen P. Kaplan3659 S. Green Road, Suite 100 Beechwood, OH 44122email: Editor: David Crotty1305 Old State RoadPark Hills, KY 41011-2750email: StambaughAuctions Chairman: Rick StambaughAnnual dues:First Class USA:$24 one year, $45 two Airmail: $45 one year, $85 two Delivery$10 per year (Provide email)(Contact Secretary Treasurer)Dues may be paid by PayPal w/voluntary $1 money using PayPal to Meter Stamp Society is a non-profit organizationunder Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue financial donations to the Secretary Stamp Society Complete Indexes 1948 to PresentMeter Stamp Society Data by Alan DravesMeter Stamp Society Discussion Group: related topic.

6 Open to join send an email us on Facebookcollect postage revenue just like other stamps,but what makes them DIFFERENT from otherstamps?Some people call non-metered stamps adhesives , but this distinction is meaningless sincemeters are often printed on gummed paper. Per-haps we can say that meters are different be-cause they can be printed directly on the enve-lope while other stamps are stuck down, but thisignores postal stationery stamps which certainlyare printed directly on the envelope. Anotherdistinction often made is that meters have atown/date mark while other stamps don t. Meterstamps are usually dated for the day of use butsome classes of mail are supposed to be undated,and prepaid return mail is usually undated.

7 Inearly models the date was inserted by hand andwere often forgotten, inserted in odd order orinverted. Some countries, like New Zealand,never had a date as part of a Meter was given for the worldwide introduction offranked mail on 30 November 1920 at the 7th UniversalPostal Union Congress in Madrid: ARTICLE 13. Pre-payment; reply coupons; exemptions from postage. of postage on every description of articlecan be effected either by means of postage stamps validin the country of origin for the correspondence of pri-vate individuals, or by means of impressions of Stamp -ing machines, officially adopted and working under theimmediate control of the Administration. Detailed Reg-ulation VI: Impressions produced by stamping ma-chines must include an indication of the country oforigin.

8 They must be bright red in color, whatever thevalue represented by them.. The impressions of Stamp -ing machines must also be applied in that place[topright-hand corner] . (Window envelopes were also ap-proved at this Congress.) The UPU regulation came intoforce on 1 January 1922: ARTICLE 30. Duration of theConvention. The present Convention shall come intoforce on the 1st of January 1922, and shall remain inoperation for an indefinite period. The definition of a Meter Stamp has blurredin recent years. In the the USPS has extend-ed the definition of metered mail to a ratherbewildering array of postage devices. This willinclude the traditional office postage Meter , andwhat the USPS calls PC Postage (see Glossa-ry).

9 PC Postage is considered by the USPS to beWhatcontinued from page 1 Whatcontinued on page 15 Page 3 Meter Stamp Society collector s GuideSpring 2016 While the collection of postage Meter stamps wasoriginally simply a problem of determining the coun-tr y, maker and Meter type of a particular item inhand, today the Meter world is much more 1988 the Postal Syste m (USPS) opened aPandora s box by allowing several new types of stamps that could pay postage. The full story waswritten up in the MSSQB issue 289 Autumn, are three types of meters, if you allow us alittle freedom of Postage Meter . The postage meterstamp from the beginning was dated and generallyhad to be used on that date (there are a few excep-tions to this).

10 The Meter Stamp must show theamount of postage paid. Generally the Stamp alsoindicates the country of origin as well as the makerof the postage Meter . The postage Meter itself is amachine that is capable of printing the Meter stampand keepingtrackof( Meter )theamountofpostage paidfor and theamountofpostage de-vice is cata-loged by theInternationalMeter Post-ageStampCatalogbyHawkinsandStam-bau gh and iscurrently provided online at or Custom Postagewas originallydesigned by the USPS in the years leading up to thefirst days of use in1988. These types ofpostage were generallyprintedinsheetsbyone of several desig-natedvendors(todaytherearethreewit hman ysub-licensees).