United States Postal Service Full Service Approved
We've talked about the most famous American postage stamp. But the Inverted Jenny, though highly valuable, is not the rarest. That honor belongs to the stamp known as the Z Grill.
"Z-grill" - William H. Gross collection
In the stamp world, a grill is a pattern of indentations pressed into the paper. These indentations serve two purposes: first, they allow the ink of the cancellation to more readily be absorbed by the stamp, making it more difficult to reuse them. Second, the indentations are an anti-counterfeiting measure.
The Z Grill was a 1-cent stamp issued in 1868. It features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin in blue ink. The stamp's rarity stems from the unusual, Z-shaped grill. There were 10- and 15-cent stamps produced with the Z-shaped grill that are considered very rare as well, but there are only two of the Benjamin Franklin Z Grills known to exist today. Both of them are in circulated condition, and display cancellation marks that could be considered a testament to the effectiveness of putting grills on stamps.
One of the 1-cent Z Grills sold at auction in 1998 for (more…)
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As pre the DMM Advisory
October 22, 2010
DMM Advisory
Pricing — keeping you informed about the prices and mailing standards of the United States Postal Service
The press release included below was issued this morning.
Postal Service Appeals PRC Decision on Exigent Price Request
Petition to be Filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service today announced its decision to appeal the Sept. 30 ruling of the Postal Regulatory Commission denying the Postal Service exigent price request.
The Postal Service Governors' decision means that a petition will be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, seeking a review of the PRC’s interpretation of the law that governs how prices can be set under extraordinary and exceptional circumstances.
The Postal Service position is that the PRC misread the statute and applied an incorrect standard in evaluating the request for an exigent price increase.
“We have a fundamental disagreement with the PRC’s interpretation of the law,” said Postmaster General John E. Potter. “This action is an investment in our future. We need to understand and define the rules under the current law should the Postal Service find itself in a similar situation in the future.”
The Postal Service also asks the Court of Appeals to confirm the Postal Service right to pursue the exigent price increase as originally requested of the PRC.
It is expected that the Court of Appeals will ask for briefs from both the Postal Service and the PRC. Oral arguments also may be scheduled by the court once the petition challenging the PRC ruling is filed.
The Postal Service continues to evaluate other options to address the PRC’s ruling. The exigent price request would have generated about $2.3 billion in much needed revenue for the first nine months of calendar year 2011.
Filing for an exigent price change was the one tool the Postal Service had to use within the confines of the law to help address the impact the recession had on the its financial situation. But pricing is only one of a suite of solutions to address the dire financial situation the Postal Service faces. The long-term financial viability of the Postal Service will remain questionable unless the March 2 action plan is fulfilled.
A quick and timely resolution of the appeal is an important part of the Postal Service plan.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of products and services to fund its operations.
The Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) is available on Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com). To subscribe to the DMM Advisory, send an e-mail to [email protected]. Simply indicate “subscribe” in the subject line.