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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.
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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:
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U.S.
postage stamps and stationery will primarily feature American or American-related
subjects.
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No
living person shall be portrayed on U.S. postage
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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.
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Events
of historical significance shall be considered for commemoration only
on anniversaries in multiples of fifty years.
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Only
events and themes of widespread national appeal will be considered.
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No
commercial enterprise; specific product; or for-profit fraternal,
sectarian, political, service or charitable organizations shall be
recognized.
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Towns,
cities, counties, municipalities, schools, hospitals, libraries, or
similar institutions shall not be considered.
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Postage
stamps commemorating statehood anniversaries will be considered only
at intervals of fifty years from the state’s entry into the Union.
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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"?
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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.
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Useful Links:
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