|
You
affix an 80 cents stamp for an aerogramme and post it to India.
Will the entire 80 cents revenue go to US? Or part of it to
India too?
Yes,
India too will receive its share in this revenue. It's called
terminal due revenue sharing system. Similarly when you get
a 15-Rs stamped envelope from India, part of the revenue goes
to US. Mail exchange (weight-in-tonnes per annum) between
two countries is the yardstick to determine the ratio of this
revenue share. UPU decides the policy.
ZIP
codes in US
The ZIP
(Zonal Improvement Plan) code was instituted in 1963 and allows
for electronic processing and delivery of mail. An envelope
that does not include a ZIP code in the delivery address must
be manually sorted, which increases the cost of sorting the
mail and causes mail to be delayed en route to the delivery
address. In 1983, the Postal Service began to use an expanded
ZIP code called ZIP+4. It is composed of the original five-digit
code plus a four-digit add-on. The four-digit add-on number
identifies a geographic segment within the five-digit delivery
area such as a city block, an office building, an individual
high-volume receiver of mail, or any other unit that would
aid efficient mail sorting and delivery.
 |
 |
For
example, in Chicago, the famous Sears Tower itself is
assigned one ZIP code (60606). Similarly, ZIP code 12345
is assigned to General Electric company's Schenectady
office in New York.
The
bar code which you see below your address in the mail
you receive is ZIP code + error-checking digit in binary
format, generated by OCR.
USPS
- ZIP Code Lookup - Search By City
|
When you
are sending an envelope to India, let PIN code be NOT the
last line in the address. Instead, write "INDIA"
in last line. This is because, if you write PIN code in last
line, the outgoing mail sorting machines (OCRs) in US may
wrongly identify it as some digits of ZIP code and will not
push the envelope into International bin. Then it will be
manually picked up, delaying the sorting of your mail.
Commemorative
Postage Stamps
Making
stamps is a function of the federal government, and as is
the case with most governmental projects, a committee has
been appointed to get the job done. The fourteen members of
the Citizen’s Advisory Stamp Committee, representing expertise
in American art, business, history, and technology, and sharing
an interest in philately, are handpicked by the postmaster
general to recommend subjects for commemorative stamps.
 |
The
committee convenes every two months to sift through the
thousands of suggestions that pour in continuously from
different states. Of the twenty thousand or so subjects
submitted by the general public each year, twenty-five
to thirty-five eventually make it through the committee
to the postmaster general; once he gives final approval,
they can become stamps. |
During
the watershed postal reorganization in the early 1970s, one
of those events that go largely unnoticed by the public but
retain deep significance within the government, the postmaster
general, with the help of the CASC, established the elementary
criteria by which stamp subject selections are made. Since
then the list has been expanded to include twelve points:
 |
 |
-
U.S.
postage stamps and stationery will primarily feature American
or American-related subjects.
-
No
living person shall be portrayed on U.S. postage
-
Stamps
honoring individuals will be issued in conjunction with
anniversaries of their birth, but not sooner than ten
years after the individual’s death. U.S. presidents are
the only exception to the ten-year rule, and may be honored
on the first birth anniversary following death.
-
Events
of historical significance shall be considered for commemoration
only on anniversaries in multiples of fifty years.
-
Only
events and themes of widespread national appeal will be
considered.
-
No
commercial enterprise; specific product; or for-profit
fraternal, sectarian, political, service or charitable
organizations shall be recognized.
-
Towns,
cities, counties, municipalities, schools, hospitals,
libraries, or similar institutions shall not be considered.
-
Postage
stamps commemorating statehood anniversaries will be considered
only at intervals of fifty years from the state’s entry
into the Union.
-
Stamps
shall not be issued to honor religious institutions or
individuals whose principal achievements are associated
with religious undertakings or beliefs.
- No
“semipostals,” stamps to be sold at a premium over their
postal value to raise money for charitable organizations,
shall be issued.
- Significant
anniversaries of universities and other institutions of
higher learning shall be considered only in regard to Historic
Preservation Series postal cards featuring an appropriate
campus building.
- No
subject, except traditional themes such as Christmas, the
U.S. flag, Express Mail, Love, and so forth, will be honored
more than once every ten years.
Other
FAQ from United States Postal Service.
Questions ansered include:
1. Why
doesn't the Postal Service offer a service guarantee for International
Express Mail?
2. How can I get a ZIP Code directory?
3. Why can't I get my mail delivered earlier in the day?
4. How come vendors can mark up the price of stamps when they
resell them?
5. Where can I buy stamps when I don't have time to stand
in line at the post office?
6. FORWARDING: How come the Postal Service forwards mail for
only one year? and Why don't you forward it indefinitely?
7. Why does the Postal Service have minimum size standards?
8. I am trying to find the address of a friend, can you help
or provide the change of address information?
9. What happens to nondeliverable mail?
10. What Criteria Determines Eligibility of Subjects for Commemoration
on U.S. Stamps and Stationery?
11. How can I Have my Name added to the Postal Service's Auction
List for "Loose-In-The-MailItems"?
 |
Anyone
can petition the CASC with an idea, and if the proposed
subject meets the guidelines, it will be considered
and possibly recommended to the postmaster general.
The
rules, in addition to telling when and how something
can be commemorated, dictate to some degree the subject
matter itself.
A
stamp might be issued, for instance, to celebrate food
in general, but rule number six will prevent a specific
product, like burger or hotdog, from ever gracing U.S.
postage.
Likewise,
the government will not issue a stamp to honor one particular
hospital, but health care in the abstract could be saluted.
|
Useful
Links:
|
