Market Matters Buy high face value FDC in REGISTERED. I have aways been surprised why so many earlier FDCs were not sent Registered mail. The Registered fee was only 3d for decades here, so in most cases, frankings of even 6d covered the 2d or 3d postage cost, plus the 3d Registered Fee. So even just 6d covered both services, yet was often not used - oddly. When we get into the high values it really becomes a mystery why the sender did not ask the PO clerk to add a Registered label. The fee for that, plus post, was often overpaid DOZENS of times by the franking on the cover, so it seems a no-brainer to me anyway, to have asked for it. It is much like buying a First Class ticket on Qantas to London for $9,000, and then choosing to sit back in row 48 for some reason next to the $900 seat passengers! No-one EVER does that, so why spend sometimes a week’s wages on a FDC, and then be happy it went totally untracked mail? Back then, Registered mail was treated as IMPORTANT. Covers were backstamped along the journey. This was most important. Back then in the 1940s, FDC here were NOT cancelled and handed back as POs cheerfully do today. They HAD to go via the mailstream. PO staffers needed to sign for all Registered mail that passed through their hands. So “losing” a pretty envelope, with a new stamp set or high value, especially sent overseas, simply did not occur. I sold the FDC shown nearby and it is a fine example of my point - Australia 1949 £1 “Arms” stamp, on a superb Registered FDC to USA, and was amazed how clean it was after 70 years. Having literally travelled 10,000 miles via many plane flights, and as can be clearly seen,
FAKE FAKE FAKE - Reserve $1,500. 58 - Stamp News
Half a week’s gross wages. has all the relevant transit backstamps. The AVERAGE annual UK wage in UK 1950, was just £100, I kid you not – tinyurl.com/UKwage - around TWO quid a week gross before tax. That was the average national wage, not the minimum wage. Our wages here were rather similar, so this FDC cost half a week’s gross wages basically or $500 on today’s relativity, so little wonder not many are about! No backstamps - be suspicious. I am always pleased to see such high face values sent Registered, as they have all the relevant “Proving” backstamps. As you can see, this has these backstamps - “Sydney GPO RS” of Nov 29, 1949, then a San Francisco transit of November 30, and Newtown CT arrival of Dec 1 - way faster than it would go today to East Coast USA! And remember they were using fairly tiny and slow planes back then.