1973 8c Postal Service Employees: Machine Sorting

U.S. #1495

8¢ Machine Sorting
Postal Service Employees

Issue Date: April 30, 1973

City: Washington, DC

Quantity: 48,602,000

Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Printing Method: Photogravure

Perforations: 10 ½ x 11

Color: Multicolored

To highlight “Postal Week,” ten special stamps were issued in 1973 “designed to emphasize to the American people the important duties performed by the men and women” who are employed by the United States Postal Service. Originally issued attached, each of the ten stamps depicts one of the many jobs performed by postal workers and contains a message written by the Post Office.

Window Clerk – 8¢: “Nearly 27 billion U.S. stamps are sold yearly to carry your letters to every corner of the world.”

Mail Pickup – 8¢:  “Mail is picked up from nearly a third of a million local collection boxes, as well as your own mailbox.”

Conveyor Belt – 8¢: “More than 87 billion letters and packages are handled yearly – almost 300 million every delivery day.”

Sorting Parcels – 8¢:  “The people in your Postal Service handle and deliver more than 500 million packages yearly.”

Mail Canceling – 8¢: “Thousands of machines, buildings, and vehicles must be operated and maintained to keep your mail moving.”

Manual Sorting – 8¢: “The skill of sorting mail manually is still vital to the delivery of your mail.”

Machine Sorting – 8¢: “Employees use modern, high speed equipment to sort and process huge volumes of mail in central locations.”

Loading Truck – 8¢: “Thirteen billion pounds of mail are handled yearly by postal employees as they speed your letters and packages.”

Letter Carrier – 8¢: “Our customers include 54 million urban and 12 million rural families, plus millions of businesses.”

Rural Delivery – 8¢: “Employees cover 4 million miles each delivery day to bring mail to your home or business.”