Postal Stagecoach - D Sheet Stamp

Front:
DEPARTMEN DEPARTME Domestic Mail ANGELER FEB 1985 90052 172 MAIL

Back:
POSTAL STAGECOACH — D SHEET STAMP First Day of Issue: February 1, 1985 First Issue Location: Los Angeles, California Like the pioneer and homesteader, the stagecoach played a vital role in the early development of the American West. Early on, letters and messages were carried by horse and rider, but their reliability was marginal at best. As the amount of mail being sent increased, its sheer bulk and weight made the horse and rider impractical. Thus, the stagecoach became the primary mode of trans- porting the mail. The earliest coaches covered a set distance each day in "stages" over a predetermined route and thus became known as stagecoaches. By the 1830s stagecoaches were carrying the mail over seventeen million miles of roads annually and were instrumental in helping settle new territories. This Maximum Card features a non-denominated D series sheet stamp, issued in anticipation of the Postal Rate Change of 1985. At the time the D stamps were to be printed for the 1985 postal increase, the amount of the rate change was uncertain. Consequently, for only the fourth time in U.S. history, the Postal Service issued non-denominated stamps. No. 85-3 ©1985 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by David K. Stone.