1984 7.4c Baby Buggy, precancel
# 1902a - 1984 7.4c Baby Buggy, precancel
$0.60
| Image | Condition | Price | Qty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mint Stamp(s)
Ships in 1-3 business days.
Ships in 1-3 business days.
Free with 140 Points
$ 0.60
|
$ 0.60 |
|
Mounts - Click Here
| Mount | Price | Qty |
|---|
U.S. #1902a
1984 7.4¢ Baby Buggy, 1880s
Precanceled
Transportation Series
- 14th stamp in Transportation Series
- First Transportation stamp without service description in design
- Also issued without a precancel
Stamp Category: Definitive
Series: Transportation
Value: 7.4¢; third-class carrier route presorted bulk rate
First Day of Issue: April 7, 1984
First Day City: San Diego, California
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving & Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Format: Coils of 500 and 3,000
Perforations: 10 vertical
Color: Brown
Precancel: Blk. Rt. CART-RT SORT
Why the stamp was issued: This stamp paid the third-class carrier route presorted bulk rate that went into effect in May 1983. Despite a planned increase in the first-class rate, this bulk rate was decreasing from 7.9¢ to 7.4¢.
About the stamp design: This was the 13th stamp design for Jim Schleyer, and his fifth for the Transportation Series. He based his pen and ink drawing on a buggy from the Nicholas Toy Company of Chicago from an 1887 spring mail-order catalog. The buggy was described as “a large rattan carriage with wire wheels, upholstered in either cretonne or ramie.” It was priced at $18.50.
Special design details: The Baby Buggy stamp was the first Transportation stamp issued without the specific service (bulk rate or nonprofit) included in its design. Special reduced-rate decimal stamps had been issued with these inscriptions dating back to 1976.
At the time, collectors often purchased as many as 53 coil stamps in order to get plate numbers or line markings. This left them with large numbers of excess bulk-rate or nonprofit stamps. These stamps were valid for personal use, so some collectors began using them as regular postage on their letters. However, postal clerks sometimes refused their letters or returned them to the sender, stating the stamps were being used illegally.
In 1984, concerns grew that the USPS was going to reverse its policy allowing the stamps to be used for personal use. The announcement came in June that the stamps weren’t valid for personal use effective April 7, the day the Baby Buggy stamp was issued. With the announcement coming after the effective date, collectors were left invalid stamps and no time to use them up. Protests sprung up immediately from collectors and philatelic journals. The USPS promised to take a closer look at the problem, and within three weeks, arrived at a solution. Going forward, mailers could still use these service-inscribed stamps. However, they’d need to write “First Class Postage” beneath them so they wouldn’t receive the slower third-class delivery or be opened for postal inspection.
About the printing process: This stamp was also issued without a precancel – #1902.
First Day City: This stamp didn’t have a First Day ceremony, but it was first released for sale at the SANDICAL ’84 stamp show held by the San Diego County Philatelic Society in California.
About the Transportation Series: On May 18, 1981, the USPS issued the first stamp in the Transportation Series, US #1907, picturing the Surrey, a doorless four-wheeled carriage. For the first time in US history, a coil stamp featured its own unique design rather than simply copying that of the current definitive stamp. Over 50 more coil stamps would be issued over the course of the next 15 years, each picturing a different mode of transportation. All of these types of transportation were used since American independence.
The various denominations provided face values to exactly match the rates for several categories of Third-Class mail (bulk rate and quantity-discounted mail). As the rates changed, new stamps with new values were added. Never before had a stamp series included so many fractional cent values.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing printed most of the stamps in the Transportation Series, although private contractors printed a few. All but a few of the later stamps were produced by engraved intaglio. Differences in precancels, tagging, paper and gum provide a large number of varieties.
Scott Catalog separates the Transportation stamps into four groups. The stamps in the first group (#1897-1908) generally have the denomination in small type with a “c” next to it. These stamps were printed on the Cottrell rotary press, which joined together two plates to make a sleeve. The gaps between these plates created depressions where ink would collect and create joint lines on the stamps. Later issues were printed on a different press and didn’t have these joint lines.
The second group (#2123-36) had larger numbers with no “c.” The third group (#2252-66) was similar in appearance to the second group, but service inscriptions were added to the designs. These stamps also used a variety of paper and gum as well as different types of tagging. The fourth group (#2451-68) marked the end of fractional values. Now bulk mailers would use either the 5¢ or 10¢ stamp and then pay the difference from the actual postage rate.
The last stamp in the Transportation Series, the 20¢ Cog Railway, was issued on June 9, 1995, at the TEXPEX ’95 stamp show in Dallas, Texas. This marked the end of the largest US definitive series up to that time. Three new series would eventually replace it – American Transportation, American Culture, and American Scenes. Additionally, the Great Americans would go on to become the largest American definitive series.
History the stamp represents: Originally called perambulators, baby buggies were widely used for infants and small tots in the 1800s. One of the first strollers was developed by William Kent in 1733. Tasked with building a device to transport the Duke of Devonshire’s children, he built a shell-shaped basket that sat on wheels and could be pulled by a goat or pony.
Benjamin Potter Crandall is credited as selling the “first baby carriages manufactured in the US” in the 1830s. Jess Armour Crandall and his father’s F.A. Whitney Carriage Company were also pioneers. Jesse held several patents that improved upon previous designs. He added brakes, made folding models, designed buggies with parasols, and one with umbrella hangers.
U.S. #1902a
1984 7.4¢ Baby Buggy, 1880s
Precanceled
Transportation Series
- 14th stamp in Transportation Series
- First Transportation stamp without service description in design
- Also issued without a precancel
Stamp Category: Definitive
Series: Transportation
Value: 7.4¢; third-class carrier route presorted bulk rate
First Day of Issue: April 7, 1984
First Day City: San Diego, California
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving & Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Format: Coils of 500 and 3,000
Perforations: 10 vertical
Color: Brown
Precancel: Blk. Rt. CART-RT SORT
Why the stamp was issued: This stamp paid the third-class carrier route presorted bulk rate that went into effect in May 1983. Despite a planned increase in the first-class rate, this bulk rate was decreasing from 7.9¢ to 7.4¢.
About the stamp design: This was the 13th stamp design for Jim Schleyer, and his fifth for the Transportation Series. He based his pen and ink drawing on a buggy from the Nicholas Toy Company of Chicago from an 1887 spring mail-order catalog. The buggy was described as “a large rattan carriage with wire wheels, upholstered in either cretonne or ramie.” It was priced at $18.50.
Special design details: The Baby Buggy stamp was the first Transportation stamp issued without the specific service (bulk rate or nonprofit) included in its design. Special reduced-rate decimal stamps had been issued with these inscriptions dating back to 1976.
At the time, collectors often purchased as many as 53 coil stamps in order to get plate numbers or line markings. This left them with large numbers of excess bulk-rate or nonprofit stamps. These stamps were valid for personal use, so some collectors began using them as regular postage on their letters. However, postal clerks sometimes refused their letters or returned them to the sender, stating the stamps were being used illegally.
In 1984, concerns grew that the USPS was going to reverse its policy allowing the stamps to be used for personal use. The announcement came in June that the stamps weren’t valid for personal use effective April 7, the day the Baby Buggy stamp was issued. With the announcement coming after the effective date, collectors were left invalid stamps and no time to use them up. Protests sprung up immediately from collectors and philatelic journals. The USPS promised to take a closer look at the problem, and within three weeks, arrived at a solution. Going forward, mailers could still use these service-inscribed stamps. However, they’d need to write “First Class Postage” beneath them so they wouldn’t receive the slower third-class delivery or be opened for postal inspection.
About the printing process: This stamp was also issued without a precancel – #1902.
First Day City: This stamp didn’t have a First Day ceremony, but it was first released for sale at the SANDICAL ’84 stamp show held by the San Diego County Philatelic Society in California.
About the Transportation Series: On May 18, 1981, the USPS issued the first stamp in the Transportation Series, US #1907, picturing the Surrey, a doorless four-wheeled carriage. For the first time in US history, a coil stamp featured its own unique design rather than simply copying that of the current definitive stamp. Over 50 more coil stamps would be issued over the course of the next 15 years, each picturing a different mode of transportation. All of these types of transportation were used since American independence.
The various denominations provided face values to exactly match the rates for several categories of Third-Class mail (bulk rate and quantity-discounted mail). As the rates changed, new stamps with new values were added. Never before had a stamp series included so many fractional cent values.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing printed most of the stamps in the Transportation Series, although private contractors printed a few. All but a few of the later stamps were produced by engraved intaglio. Differences in precancels, tagging, paper and gum provide a large number of varieties.
Scott Catalog separates the Transportation stamps into four groups. The stamps in the first group (#1897-1908) generally have the denomination in small type with a “c” next to it. These stamps were printed on the Cottrell rotary press, which joined together two plates to make a sleeve. The gaps between these plates created depressions where ink would collect and create joint lines on the stamps. Later issues were printed on a different press and didn’t have these joint lines.
The second group (#2123-36) had larger numbers with no “c.” The third group (#2252-66) was similar in appearance to the second group, but service inscriptions were added to the designs. These stamps also used a variety of paper and gum as well as different types of tagging. The fourth group (#2451-68) marked the end of fractional values. Now bulk mailers would use either the 5¢ or 10¢ stamp and then pay the difference from the actual postage rate.
The last stamp in the Transportation Series, the 20¢ Cog Railway, was issued on June 9, 1995, at the TEXPEX ’95 stamp show in Dallas, Texas. This marked the end of the largest US definitive series up to that time. Three new series would eventually replace it – American Transportation, American Culture, and American Scenes. Additionally, the Great Americans would go on to become the largest American definitive series.
History the stamp represents: Originally called perambulators, baby buggies were widely used for infants and small tots in the 1800s. One of the first strollers was developed by William Kent in 1733. Tasked with building a device to transport the Duke of Devonshire’s children, he built a shell-shaped basket that sat on wheels and could be pulled by a goat or pony.
Benjamin Potter Crandall is credited as selling the “first baby carriages manufactured in the US” in the 1830s. Jess Armour Crandall and his father’s F.A. Whitney Carriage Company were also pioneers. Jesse held several patents that improved upon previous designs. He added brakes, made folding models, designed buggies with parasols, and one with umbrella hangers.