# 2129 - 1987 8.5c Transportation Series: Tow Truck, 1920s

U.S. #2129
1987 8.5¢ Tow Truck, 1920s
Transportation Series

• Pictures a 1920s-style tow truck
• Paid the non-profit rate for mail presorted to three digits of the Zip code

Stamp Category:  Definitive
Series:  Transportation Series
Value:  8.5¢; rate for non-profit mail presorted to three digits of ZIP code
First Day of Issue:  Tucson, Arizona
First Day City:  January 24, 1987
Quantity Issued:  17,600,000
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method:  Engraved
Format:  Coils of 500
Perforations:  10 Vertical
Color:  Dark Prussian green

Why the stamp was issued:  To pay the rate on non-profit mail presorted to three digits out of the five-digit ZIP code.

About the stamp design:  William H. Bond, who designed three Transportation stamps, created a pen and ink drawing for his Tow Truck illustration, based on several early tow trucks.  Because it’s a combination of multiple trucks, it didn’t depict one specific model.

Special design details:  The 9.3¢ Ambulance stamp was available with and without a precancel.  #2129 has no precancel, while #2129a has a precancel.  Precancels are stamps canceled before being sold, to make mailing faster and cheaper for customers with large amounts of mail.  Bulk mailers use precancels, then pre-sort their mail and save money.  The USPS makes these stamps available with and without precancels for two reasons.  One reason is to create another variety for stamp collectors.  The other, is so the stamps can be used as add-on postage for packages slightly overweight.

About the printing process:  Both pre-canceled and non-precanceled Tow Truck stamps were printed on the B press.  The same unit that applied the precancel to the precanceled stamps applied the tagging to the non-precanceled stamps.  As a result, they were printed in one press run together.  These stamps are also believed to be the first instance in which the precancel was printed in red.  Red was chosen so that the precancel would show up against the dark stamp ink.

First Day City:  The First Day ceremony for this stamp was held at the ARIPEX ’87 stamp exhibition in Tucson, Arizona.

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 and the largest US coil stamp series in history. 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:  Initially lightweight and lacking force, the tow truck has become larger, more powerful, and very useful. Today, with an estimated 350 million cars in the world - one third of them in the United States, these trucks have become a necessity in the automobile industry. In the 1920s, when the truck pictured on this stamp was in use, mud was the number-one driving hazard.