This is a key week in postal history. The first stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office went on sale in 1847. A five-cent stamp pictured Benjamin Franklin, while one costing 10 cents honored George Washington. Before then, there were no uniform stamps –a haphazard system of private postal services around the country had issued their own. And in 1963, the Postal Service introduced the five-digit Zip Code to help speed mail to the proper destination. That year, Americans sent nearly 68 billion pieces of mail. Today, the Postal Service handles 170.5 billion pieces of mail annually. Profile America is produced by the U.S. Census Bureau: Measuring America–People, Places, and Our Economy.
Discuss and more on the Open Lines!
(And don’t forget about our weekend contest!)
That same 10 cents in today’ money would be $22.214 each! Seems the USPS commenced with “high” cost to users!