Postage Stamps

Cost Of A Postage Stamp No Less

Postage stamps do something the Stock Market wishes it could: they always go up in price. The very first one ever issued, the Black Penny, printed in 1840 for use in Great Britain, cost (as its name implies) a penny. It allowed a person to send a one-half English ounce letter anywhere in the country. Today, the cost is considerably higher.

As a comparison, when the first United States stamps were issued in 1847, they were five and ten cents. As a little side note, Benjamin Franklin was the first U.S. Postmaster General, so it was quite fitting that his likeness appear on the first stamp, along with George Washington. Yet another little bit of trivia: no living person may appear on a stamp of the United States. While in the United Kingdom, the opposite is true. In fact, the reining monarch usually appears on nearly all British stamps.

Over the years, the cost of stamps in every country on Earth has steadily gone up. In the case of the United States, all increases must be approved by the government. However, that is merely a formality. After all, when have you known the government to turn down the idea of making more money?

Ah, never! And yes, many people complain about the cost of mailing a letter. Yet, if you really think about it, the price is more than reasonable. Back in the 1700's, sending a letter from London, England to Edinburgh, Scotland was just over a shilling. That might not sound like much, but that was a day's pay for the average laborer back then! Today, as of this writing, a first-class stamp in the United States is forty-one cents. How does that compare to the average person's income today?

Also, give a little thought as to what those forty-one cents gets you. You can mail a standard letter anywhere in the United States and send it to any address in the country, and it will get there in (we hope) a few days. Now, think about that. Consider what is involved in transporting a piece of mail from one place to another.

A letter carrier (we can't say mail-man in these politically correct days) picks up the letter from either your home or a local mailbox. It is taken to the local post office and sorted (sometimes by hand) into the correct bin. From there, it goes out via truck and/or plane (sometimes even train and/or boat!) to yet another post office. Sometime it has to be routed through still another (and maybe another) office, and given to the correct letter carrier for delivery. And then that person brings it right to your door.

Now, short of something you order online, what other business does that for you? And bear in mind the old postal motto; they deliver in pouring rain, heavy snow, blinding sleet and all manner of other environmental hardships. And also consider just where they have to make those deliveries. Now sure, a major city is easy, even the suburbs. But, how would you like to deliver mail to the City of Gosnold on the Island of Cuttyhunk? Daily, a small seaplane lands in their harbor, taxis over to the pier and drops off and picks up their mail. All this for a population of about fifty people.

The USPS gets a lot of bad raps - we still have that saying: "Going Postal", but they do an incredible job given the stresses and conditions under which they have to work.