Question? When did Canada start issuing special international stamps?
Might be organizing a new collection in my future and wondering what year would be the starting point...All help is appreciated?
Not sure what you mean by "International" stamps. To my knowledge, there are no designated "International" rate stamps, unlike the domestic rate "P" stamps. The current international rate (excluding USA) for letters up to 30 grams is C$2.50. These higher rates occasionally appear as part of a set or souvenir sheet. The last I am aware of is the UNESCO booklet of 6 x $2.50.
If I am wrong in this, I would love to be educated.
Of course, there are the whole series of Postpaid picture postcards. These are prepaid for use anywhere in the world. As a side note, if you send postcards from Canada, look for these occasionally in discount postage lots. They can be purchased quite cheaply when available.
Roy
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Thanks When I go to mail an envelope out of Canada esp to the US the postal clerk will automatically go for the official non domestic stamp with the correct postage unless I intervene with an assortment of stamps...I am wondering when Canada Post started issuing the exact postage stamp for non domestic mail. Is it a relatively new idea or has it been around for 60years more or less.? Just curious. Some issues are marked as international eg UNESCO and the Zodiac stamps .....I was looking for a starting point for a collection of such Canadian stamps
Thanks Roy for the info on the postcards....interesting
All those blue stamps from the 1890s onward are the UPU rate to a non-UK, non-US country. Blue was the official UPU colour code for an international rate. That's why there are all those colour changes in the Canadian definitive sets, from 8c down to 5c etc in the 1930s and the Admirals. Also why the 5c Queen Victorias are blue. You will find rate notes beside each of the definitive sets in a current Unitrade catalogue.
In more modern times, the UPU colour code was dropped, but when Canada has issued a 3 or 4 stamp set with different denominations, one of them was almost always the "international" rate.
Roy
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I just had a quick look. I didn't see any earlier ones, but there are a bunch of great examples of single franking international rates starting about page 5 of the Canada listings, from the 15c international rate through 25c, 30c and up to 60c.
Roy
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For members (and visitors) who aren't familiar with Canada's Imperial Penny Postage stamp, mentioned by Shibumi, here is one of them (the other has lavender oceans):
Because of the slogan at the bottom. It's also known as the "Has Been Stamp". The "Penny Postage" part of the stamp's name refers to the one-penny rate for the British Empire; the other penny was for postage within Canada, if I recall correctly.