The first day of issue is the day on which a postage stamp A postage stamp is adhesive paper evidence of a fee paid for postal services. Usually a small rectangle attached to an envelope, the stamp signifies the person sending it has fully or partly paid for delivery. Postage stamps are the most popular way of paying for retail mail; alternatives include postal stationery such as prepaid-postage envelopes,, postal card or stamped envelope is put on sale, within the country or territory of the stamp-issuing authority Postal Administration is an umbrella term used to collectively characterize all the functional entities within a country that participate in the regulation and operation of domestic and international postal services. The term is widely used in diplomatic documents and international conventions and treaties that establish relationships between. Sometimes the issue is made from a temporary or permanent foreign or overseas office. There will usually be a first day of issue postmark A postmark is a postal marking made on a letter, package, postcard or the like indicating the date and time that the item was delivered into the care of the postal service. Modern postmarks are often applied simultaneously with the cancellation or killer that marks the postage stamp as having been used (though in some circumstances there may be a, frequently a pictorial cancellation, indicating the city and date where the item was first issued, and "first day of issue" is often used to refer to this postmark.
A first day cover (FDC) is an envelope whereupon postage stamps have been cancelled on their first day of issue. Depending on the policy of the nation issuing the stamp, official first day postmarks may sometimes be applied to covers weeks or months after the date indicated.
Unofficial first day of issue postmarks can also occur when a stamp collector Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects, such as covers . It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with estimates of the number of collectors ranging up to 20 million in the United States alone.[citation needed] purchases the stamps in question from a post office in the first day of issue city and then takes them (on that same day) to a post office in another city to have them cancelled, or when stamps are affixed to envelopes that are simply dropped into the mailstream on the first day and receive that day's normal postmark.
(Computer vended postage A postage meter is a mechanical device used to create and apply physical evidence of postage to mailed matter. Postage meters are regulated by a country's postal authority; for example, in the United States, the United States Postal Service specifies the rules for the creation, support, and use of postage meters. A postage meter imprints an amount stamps issued by Neopost had first-day-of-issue ceremonies sponsored by the company, not by an official stamp-issuing entity.[1] Personalised postage stamps of different designs are sometimes also given first-day-of-issue ceremonies and cancellations by the private designer. The stamps issued by private local posts can also have first days of issue, as can artistamps The term artistamp or artist's stamp refers to a postage stamp-like artform used to depict or commemorate any subject its creator chooses. Artistamps are a form of Cinderella stamps in that they are not valid for postage, but they differ from forgeries or bogus stamps in that typically the creator has no intent to fool postal authorities or stamp.)
Postal authorities may hold a first day ceremony to generate publicity for the new issue, with postal officials revealing the stamp, and with connected persons in attendance, such as descendants of the person being honored by the stamp. The ceremony may also be held in a location that has a special connection with the stamp's subject, such as the birthplace of a social movement, or at a stamp show.
US first day postmarkEvent covers, instead of marking the issuance of a stamp, commemorate events both big (say, the launching of a space shuttle) and small (say, the opening of a supermarket). A design on the left side of the envelope (a "cachet") explains the event or anniversary being celebrated. Ideally the stamp or stamps affixed relate to the event. Cancels are obtained either from the location (e.g., Cape Canaveral, Anytown) or, in the case of the United States, from the Postal Service's Cancellation Services unit in Kansas City.
The earliest known use (EKU) of a stamp may or may not be the same as the first day of issue. This can happen in several ways:
- Stamps may be inadvertently sold or stolen, and cancelled on an envelope or package by unaware postal officials prior to the first day of issue.
- Minor changes, such as a different perforation, may not be noted by postal officials, and no one knows when they first went on sale. This is also true of some major stamp issues, especially during periods of civil unrest or if government records have been lost.
- Some earlier stamps, especially high values, may not have found any customers using them on the day of issue, or those uses have been lost. EKUs for these may be weeks or even months after the official first day.
- Some stamps may not have had an officially designated first day of issue and instead were simply placed on sale whenever the stamps were needed.
The search for EKUs of both old and new stamps is an active area of philately Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare or exist only in museums, and new discoveries are regularly announced.
First day digital color postmark
ArtCraft First Day Cover with Digital Color PostmarkIn 2004 the United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly referred to as the "Post Office", "Postal announced plans to introduce first day digital color postmarks to be used to cancel some first day covers for commemorative stamps in 2005.[2] The postmarks are designed by the artist or art director who designed the stamp.
The digital color postmark is used on select issues, such as, the 2008 41 cent Year of the Rat stamp.
References
Categories: Stamp collecting | Postal markings | Envelopes | Philatelic terminology
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