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madrobinsIt started this morning because my husband forwarded a note from work about the change in first class postage taking effect on May 11. A first class letter will go from $.42 to $.44 cents. And I wondered what a first class postage stamp in the Before Time (the year I was born) was, so I looked it up with my trusty search engine, and discovered that it was 3¢.
Well, that doesn't seem like too much. But how long could they have run the USPS on three cents a letter? Roughly from July, 1932-August 1958, at which point Abe Lincoln took over from George Washington.
That's the stamp I dimly remember from my childhood, although the 7¢ airmail stamp (which is much cooler) I remember better, for some reason.
So that's sixteen years of the same postage. And I'm sure there was outrage when the prices went up, because we, the People, are human, and outrage is what we do. The next price increase was in January of 1963, to 5¢:
I note that the printing was getting nicer, and more colors were used. We're heading into the land of my memory. But that's only a four and a half year lifespan for 4¢ postage. How long could they keep that up?
I'll spare you all the images, but the short answer is: not all that long:
May 1968 - the price goes up to 6¢.
March 1974 - 10¢ (in the sixteen years since the hike to 4¢ we've more than doubled the price of a stamp)
December, 1975 - 13¢
May, 1978 - 15¢
March, 1981 - 18¢
November, 1981 - 20¢ (that's two hikes in one year, 5¢ total)
February, 1985 - 22¢
April, 1988 - 25¢
(1990: Sixteen years ago, the price went up to 10¢; price is now 2 1/2 times that)
February, 1991 - 29¢
January, 1995 - 32¢
January, 1999 - 33¢ (a 1¢ hike is beginning to seem kind of cute)
January, 2001 - 34¢
June, 2002 - 37¢
January, 2006 - 39¢ (sixteen years ago it was 25¢)
May, 2007 - 41¢
May, 2008 - 42¢
May, 2009 - 44¢
What does this all mean? Wikipedia has a chart that demonstrates that, with everything adjusted for inflation, the price of postage has remained fairly stable. It's just interesting to me.
It also shows what can happen when a stray thought crosses a writer's mind first thing in the morning, and she has the World and All The Internet at her fingertips. Research is a dangerous drug.
Well, that doesn't seem like too much. But how long could they have run the USPS on three cents a letter? Roughly from July, 1932-August 1958, at which point Abe Lincoln took over from George Washington.
That's the stamp I dimly remember from my childhood, although the 7¢ airmail stamp (which is much cooler) I remember better, for some reason.
So that's sixteen years of the same postage. And I'm sure there was outrage when the prices went up, because we, the People, are human, and outrage is what we do. The next price increase was in January of 1963, to 5¢:
I note that the printing was getting nicer, and more colors were used. We're heading into the land of my memory. But that's only a four and a half year lifespan for 4¢ postage. How long could they keep that up?
I'll spare you all the images, but the short answer is: not all that long:
May 1968 - the price goes up to 6¢.
March 1974 - 10¢ (in the sixteen years since the hike to 4¢ we've more than doubled the price of a stamp)
December, 1975 - 13¢
May, 1978 - 15¢
March, 1981 - 18¢
November, 1981 - 20¢ (that's two hikes in one year, 5¢ total)
February, 1985 - 22¢
April, 1988 - 25¢
(1990: Sixteen years ago, the price went up to 10¢; price is now 2 1/2 times that)
February, 1991 - 29¢
January, 1995 - 32¢
January, 1999 - 33¢ (a 1¢ hike is beginning to seem kind of cute)
January, 2001 - 34¢
June, 2002 - 37¢
January, 2006 - 39¢ (sixteen years ago it was 25¢)
May, 2007 - 41¢
May, 2008 - 42¢
May, 2009 - 44¢
What does this all mean? Wikipedia has a chart that demonstrates that, with everything adjusted for inflation, the price of postage has remained fairly stable. It's just interesting to me.
It also shows what can happen when a stray thought crosses a writer's mind first thing in the morning, and she has the World and All The Internet at her fingertips. Research is a dangerous drug.