# Q2 - 1913 2c Parcel Post Stamp - City Carrier

Issue Date: 1913
City: Washington, DC
Quantity: 206,417,253
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Perforations: 12
Color: Carmine rose 

In 1912, the U.S. Postal Department introduced parcel post service for sending items weighing 16 ounces or more through the mail.  The mail is divided into four classes, with parcel post making up the fourth class. Almost any type of merchandise can be mailed parcel post, including day – old chicks, baby alligators, and honeybees.  Only items that could be dangerous to handle cannot be sent through Parcel Post. Rural Americans used the new mail class to access goods and merchandise they could not have gotten before, giving rise to mail order giants like Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Montgomery Ward and Co.

 

Twelve stamps with various denominations were issued in 1912-13 to prepay the fourth-class rate.  Although different vignette designs were featured, all twelve stamps used the same border and color, which caused a great deal of confusion for postal workers.

 

The four Parcel Post stamps with the lowest denominations feature Postal Service employees at their jobs. The 2¢ stamp pictures a city carrier, who delivered and collected mail in the cities and suburbs, either by foot or by vehicle. Before mailboxes, the postman delivered mail directly to the residents of each home or business on the route. The 2¢ Parcel Post stamp was first issued on November 27, 1912. Over 206 million of these stamps were printed.

 

Less than a year later, the Postmaster General authorized ordinary postage for use on parcel post.  Parcel post stamps were then made valid for all classes of mail and were used as regular postage until the supply was depleted.