HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Official mail is
mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
sent from, or by, an authorized department of government, governmental agency or international organizationHorning (1970), pp. 97–98 and normally has some indication that it is official; a certifying
cachet In philately, a cachet () is a printed or stamped design or inscription, other than a Cancellation (mail), cancellation or pre-printed postage, on an envelope, postcard, or postal card to commemorate a postal or philatelic event. There are both ...
,
return address In postal mail, a return address is an explicit inclusion of the address of the person sending the message. It provides the recipient (and sometimes authorized intermediaries) with a means to determine how to respond to the sender of the message ...
or other means of identity, indicating its user. In some countries,
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
s have been issued specifically for official mail. Official stamps were intended for the same purpose as regular postage stamps except that they were unavailable for purchase at post offices. While most stamps are denominated some have no value imprint.


History

Some of the earliest official mail were the messages sent by kings, emperors and other rulers. The
Cursus publicus The ''cursus publicus'' (Latin language, Latin: "the public way"; , ''dēmósios drómos'') was the state mandated and supervised courier and transportation service of the Roman Empire, the use of which continued into the Eastern Roman Empi ...
was the official mail courier (and transportation) system created by the Roman Emperor,
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
. Much later, one of the functions of the Thurn-und-Taxis-Post postal system was to carry the mail of Emperor Maximilian I in the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. Official mail stamps are related to the end of franking privilege that granted certain elected officials of a government the privilege to send mail for free. The person usually signed their name on the mail but it was a highly abused system. In the UK the rules were changed requiring the sender to indicate the date and place of mailing in addition to their signature, but this too was abused and this led, in part, to the introduction of postage stamps. Most governments use envelopes with an indicia indicating its official status; the United Kingdom's official mail most often shows, O.H.M.S. or On His/Her Majesty's Service, the United States uses the silhouette of an eagle,
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
shows a hand holding a cleft stick with a letter is wedged into it, while
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
uses a harp. After the
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, the
United States Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, established in 1792. From 1872 to 1971, it was officially in the form of a Cabinet of the Un ...
had a large deficit and according to the Postmaster General's 1869 report 31,933 had the franking privilege at an estimated cost of $5 million, so in 1872 the Republican party included a proposal to eliminate the free frank as part of their election platform. Between 1873 and 1891, there was no free franking in the USA because special official mail stamps had been issued, but by 1891 free franking had been restored.


Official mail stamps


In Great Britain

The first official mail postage stamp, known as the VR official, was issued by the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
at the same time as the
Penny Black The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public Mail, postal system. It was first issued in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1840 but was not valid for use until 6 May. The stamp features a profile of Queen Victoria. ...
and Two pence blue. The VR Official utilised the same design as the Penny Black except that the stars in the top corners were removed and replaced by the letters V and R that gives the stamp its common name. On May 7, 1840, W.L. Maberly, Secretary to the British post office, sent a notice to all postmasters to which was affixed a pair of VR specimens as well as a pair of two penny blues. The notice charged the postmasters to note the letters in the upper corners of the stamp that was to be: ''applied to the correspondence of Public Departments, and other Persons formerly enjoying the privilege of Official Franking.''


In the United States

Legislation passed by the United States Congress on March 3, 1873, stated that: "the Postmaster General shall cause to be prepared a special stamp or stamped envelope, to be used only for official mail matter for each of the executive departments", to this end, the official stamps were issued on July 1, 1873, for the Executive Branch and the departments of ''Agriculture'', the ''Interior'', ''Justice'', ''Navy'', ''Post Office'', ''Treasury'' and ''War'' following the ending of the franking privilege though the stamps were only in use for seven years mainly due to the need for departmental postage accountability. The Post Office also printed official stamped envelopes for their own use. In March 1877, stamps became unnecessary due to a congressional act allowing government departments to use their own envelopes endorsed "Official Business". Private use of these envelopes incurred a $300 fine. Official stamps were officially discontinued on June 30, 1879, but they remained in use until supplies were exhausted. The stamps and envelopes were finally abolished on July 5, 1884, however, for a four-year period between 1910 and 1914 official stamps were used for the postal savings program. The first US stamps to have the words "Official Mail" printed on them were issued on January 12, 1983, when the departmental postage accountability again became a concern. The
Great Seal of the United States The Great Seal is the seal of the United States. The phrase is used both for the Seal (emblem), impression device itself, which is kept by the United States secretary of state, and more generally for the impression it produces. The Obverse and r ...
became the central design on these 20¢ stamps and envelopes. A 32¢ stamp and envelope superseded the 20¢ issue in 1995.


Elsewhere

Several countries, such as, Australia, Canada, New South Wales, New Zealand and Niue, have issued official stamps that can often be identified because they bear the words like, "official", "service", "dienstmark", or the initials "O.S." (Official service) or OHMS (On Her/His Majesty's Service) in the design, as an
overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...
, or a perfin. Even Tibet had official postage stamps around 1950.


References

Notes Sources * *


External links


Federal agencies make use of Official mail
Refresher Course: Linns.com

18th century British Parliamentary Papers

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620062929/http://www.junior-philatelists.com/USStampsHistoryOffi1.htm , date=2012-06-20




VR One Penny stamp
British Postal Museum & Archive Philatelic terminology