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1971 PO Special Delivery label

Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 6:50 pm
by ldhaber
Hi,

I've got this label franked with 3 x 10p, 6d and 1/- . The postmarked date is difficult to read but my best guess is 14 January 1971, just prior to the postal strike and D Day. Hence, I would calculate the total postage as being 7/6.

I am not familiar with the green special delivery label and would appreciate some background? I also note that at the bottom of the label there is a typewritten note "EXPRESS POST." and pre-printed "Carriage".

The piece onto which the label is affixed feels like very heavy kraft paper, but it is not corrugated cardboard. Very stiff.

I'd like to get some insight into the rate here.

Thanks for any help here.

-Larry

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Re: 1971 PO Special Delivery label

Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 7:47 pm
by mozzerb
Hi Larry,

The green special delivery labels were described by Austin Davis in his recent article in GBJ 54/1 -- basically, they were introduced in 1963 for the most commonly used version of inland express delivery (transmission by ordinary post then special delivery on arrival if that would be quicker, with the item picked out at intermediate offices), with the red express labels reserved for foreign express mail and express-messenger-all-the-way.

The postmark on the 10p stamps looks like a rectangular parcel post type as far as I can tell. My Post Office Guide doesn't say definitely either way whether or not parcels could be sent special delivery, but it does say definitely that second class letters could not be, so I'd assume that parcels were included under the term "postal packet" that was used.

If this is 14th January 1971, then the inland special delivery rate was 3/-, and the third step rate for a standard (non-local) parcel between 2lb and 6lb was 4/6, which would fit for your 7/6 rate. More to the point, there wasn't a 4/6 letter post rate. (See the GBPS rates subsite - express delivery, parcel rates 1966-87, and letter rates 1968-2006.)

Very nice pre-decimalisation usage of the 10p stamps, by the way!

Re: 1971 PO Special Delivery label

Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 7:56 pm
by ldhaber
thanks, very helpful.

Very much appreciated.