Postal Savings Certificates

And to pull back for a minute, here's the most direct connection between Postal Savings Certificates and stamps. The 10 cent postal savings stamps were initially issued for the purpose of saving up $1 for deposit into the system; that's what the cards with the stamp imprint and 9 blank spaces were for. The card was purchased for 10 cents (the value of the imprint)and then stamps could be added.

The cards come in orange and blue, just like the stamps do, and you can find examples with mixed orange and blue adhesives.

Around 1920, a new blank card was put into use that was free to consumers and didn't have the stamp imprint.

Here's an example of the Series 1913 certificate (only with a related postal savings form). I only have 4 examples from the entire series in my census

- these very seldom come up....if anyone has one I'd like to see it!

The 1917 series has been previously discussed in the thread, but there is an interesting variation. Some certificates (I've seen these issued from the mid 1920s through the mid 1930s, and with the signatures of PMGs Brown, New and Burleson) have a state name at lower right. I only have 11 in my census. They all seem to have handstamped office names, and my speculation is that the state name was added as a security device for issuance of otherwise "unnamed" blanks for smaller post offices, whereas post offices that did more savings business were provided with preprinted certificates.

This is only one of 2 certificates of any type that I've recorded from Hawaii.

My first series 1917

Impressive quality and price.

What makes this certificate so rare as to be priced at $3000?

Nothing. The seller has no idea what they're doing. It's a $20 item to me.

Was thrilled to find this on eBay last night: only the second 1917 series re-issued certificate I've seen! This would have been provided as a replacement to a lost, damaged, or destroyed certificate. It always surprises me to find these - an account holder paid enough attention to have the certificate re-issued, but then failed to redeem it in the end.

Well here goes nothing. First try to attach image. Slightly different than use to.

Guess they can go here as related to the postal saving system.
Best to all,
Pat

Good stuff, nice images. Well done!

A side note about the Anglo & London Paris National Bank of San Francisco is that it issued currency under 3 different titles.

The first was: London-Paris NB of San Francisco
The second was: Anglo and London Paris NB of San Francisco
The third was: Anglo California NB of San Francisco

I'll have to dig out my National Bank reference book to see when the title switched from the first to the second.

-MV

I came across this forum via Google. My wife came back from a visit with her mother yesterday and they found a $1 postal savings certificate Series 1917 that was issued in 1940 and signed by James Farley. It has not been cashed and of course it appears that it is too late for that. Our question is whether this is worth anything as a collectible. Sorry for the poor picture as it's a cell phone image.

Postal Savings certificates are no longer redeemable (not since the early 1980s). The one shown is pretty common (the 1917 and 1939 series are the most common) and would probably sell in the $10-$20 range on eBay.

Thought I'd bump the thread with this one that came in the mail today. Series 1917 certificates are relatively common, but finding them with signatures of postmaster generals other than Farley is rather more difficult.

But I like this one because the "date when interest begins" date is months earlier than the date of issued - this was a certificate issued to replace an existing certificate transferred from an account somewhere else (note the "Trans. Acct." manuscript on the date of issue line). I've never seen this before in any of the hundreds of certificates I've come across.

Did not see this thread until now -- thanks for the bump. I've seen a few items like this but never so much material in one place. Fascinating and educational. I especially like that last certificate.