US – Ranto cachet – SA 4.56

SA 4.56a – PO bulletin FDC

Stamp Posters w/First Day Cancels (SPFDC) are the forerunners of the USPO Souvenir Pages which have been issued since 1972. The USPO began distributing Stamp Posters to post offices in 1959. These 8 x 10-1/2 inch posters soon caught the eye of stamp collectors. Soon, some collectors had the idea of affixing a copy of the stamp(s) depicted to the poster and having the stamp(s) first day cancelled. Exactly, when collectors began this activity is uncertain, but by 1963, a stamp dealer started a service where he would apply the stamp(s) to copies of the posters for mailing to subscribers (Ranto). Usually, his work can be identified because he folded the posters twice for cancelation and mailing to his customers. All SPFDC are scarce, and many are rare, especially if they are flat (unfolded). In fact, SPFDC are unknown for quite a few issues. The shown poster bulletin here is unfolded and rare!