Sunday, January 27, 2019

W is for White...

...and Black?

Eva sent me this great pawn-shaped stamp. I am impressed with her careful removal of the stamp from its sheet. In reality the blue writing on the stamp does not show up in person, I think the camera revealed it. The first time I saw it I thought it was a sticker :) Fortunately Eva told me the stamp's secret.



The amazing part, and the link for today's letter, is that when heat is applied, the thermal ink changes the pawn's color to white, the color that traditionally starts the chess match.



Sent on the back of this postcard made from a beer carton, which spent a long time getting here (almost a month) with no evidence as to why.




For more W themes on stamps, wander through the links at Sunday Stamps.

Update:

Here is the full sheet of stamps, which I think is presented in a really nice way. And now I can see why there is still a little bit of black on the left edge of the stamp sent to me.


___________________________________

Don't forget that postage rates change today in the US.

First class machinable letters:

1 ounce - goes up 5c to 55c
2 ounce - goes down 1c to 70c
3 ounce - goes down 7c to 85c
3.5 ounce - goes down 13c to $1.00

First class non-machinable letters (square or odd-shaped)

1 ounce - goes down 1c to 70c
2 ounce - goes down 7c to 85c
3 ounce - goes down 13c to $1.00
3.5 ounce - goes down 19c to $1.15

First class domestic postcard - remains at 35c

International letters and postcards - remains at $1.15

21 comments:

  1. Timbre doublement original ,sa forme (à détacher avec délicatesse) et sa réaction à la chaleur ,cela me rappelle le timbre sur l’éclipse qui réagissait à la chaleur !

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree - Eva did a very nice job of removing the stamp from the selvage.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If I ever receive a stamp like that I hope they also tell me about the colour change. Definitely a different kind of stamp - to me at least,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just let me know if you wish to get one of those :)

      Delete
  4. It did make me wonder if I should check all stamps that arrive for heat sensitivity :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. very cool. it would have been disappointing to not have known about the colour change.
    in light of this news of the postage increase, I have had some (old) stamps for awhile that I thought you might be interested in using. will send them to you if you'd like them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. $1.15 is still cheap, if you compare to our 2019 rates! :|

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think all the letter (and domestic postcard) rates are cheap compared to other countries. Packages, on the other hand, seem expensive to me.

      Delete
  7. You managed to turn the chess piece into white! Mine stayed grey (maybe it is too cold, here :-) )

    How nice that postal rates can get down, nowadays (esp. the non-machinable mail, that must be good news for mail artists :-) )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder if there is some difference in quality control? This stamp changes very quickly to white, and stays white for several minutes after holding my thumb on it.

      You are right about the heavier and non-machinable rates - very good news for those of us who like to send odd-shaped mail.

      Delete
    2. I don't think there is any difference on the stamps, as both were detached from the same sheet. The difference must be in your fingers! :D

      Delete
    3. I just went looking for the sheet online and it is very nice!

      Delete
  8. En France il n'y a pas de différence entre le courrier mécanisable ou non mécanisable et trois tarifs pour la France,lettre verte ,prioritaire ou économique et depuis 2019 il y a un seul tarif pour l’international ,lorsque j'envoie un courrier à Eva en Espagne ou à Phillip au USA je paye le même prix 1.30 euros pour 20 g et 2.60 pour une lettre entre 21g et 100 g .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is surprising that they got rid of the Europe rate - although it sounds like La Posts will make more money. I sometimes wonder how many square envelopes are delivered with the normal amount of postage... although I try to always use the correct amount.

      Delete
    2. Le tarif pour l’Europe a disparu mais celui pour le monde n'a pas augmenté depuis 3 ans je crois

      Delete
    3. So no more blue Marianne's then.

      Delete
  9. I like the sheet, and the colour change. Eva must have a steady hand to remove that neatly, it looks quite large. Nice that your international postage remains the same, our prices always change in April and they always keep it secret until March.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely happy to see the international rate stay the same - in fact I'm surprised it has stayed the same since April 2016 at $1.15.

      Delete
  10. Quelle belle feuille de timbres !

    ReplyDelete