Many people ask us if the postage stamps expire or not? Well, the answer is they do not expire. Considering they are in a good condition, you can use them anytime. Most of the countries in this world follow this rule. In the United States of America, the Postage Stamps issued after the 1860s are valid and will not expire at all.
The countries issue postage stamps to facilitate minor postage. The stamps are priced according to the freight charges. The users have to apply the postal stamps equivalent to the postage charges. We usually buy postage stamp books, which contain multiple stamps.
So, it’s quite normal to think do postage stamps expire or not. Fortunately, they do not expire at all. The older the stamps, the more value they possess due to uniqueness and rarity. They become an antique commodity and you may earn handsome money by selling postage stamps collection.
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Do Postage Stamps Lose their Value Overtime?
Each postage stamp has a specific value. Over time, the stamps have less value due to inflation. We cannot do anything with the same, as inflation is not in our hands. As the postage stamps are not worth the value you’ve spent on the same, it doesn’t mean that you should throw them away.
If you have old stamps that are depreciated in value, you should use them smartly. When you have the old postage stamps, you can use them to ship your parcel. The only thing you have to do is to pay the difference in the postage charges in cash. In this way, your old stamps will be used and also not waste money.
To avoid such issues, it’s important to keep the bought postage stamps safe. You can keep them in a plastic bag so the external dirt and moisture doesn’t affect the stamps. It’s always better to use the stamps that are in mint condition rather than the used and torn stamps.
Read Also – Does Wawa Sell Stamps? How to Buy Stamps at Wawa?
Can We Reuse the Postage stamps?
Reusing stamps is not permitted in any country on this planet. Usually, the stamps are defaced by the United States Postal Workers to prevent them from reusing. Even if they are not defaced, it’s not permitted to reuse the stamps by any means. You can only keep them in the personal collection and not sell them.
Well, if you are thinking can you go to jail for reusing stamps? Then it’s highly possible. If caught reusing the postage stamps, you may receive appropriate punishment according to the state laws.
Torn or Defaced Stamps are Considered Valid?
No. Torn or defaced postage stamps are not considered valid. If you use them on your parcels, then the Postal services will automatically reject them. Any postage stamp, with significant damage that makes it unrecognizable, is not usable at all.
If the stamp is torn in any corner, but the pieces can still glue together, then it’s acceptable in the majority of the cases. But make sure not to use such stamps to avoid further issues with your parcel. If the stamps are ruined, defaced, torn, or are unrecognizable, then you should not use them as they are invalid.
Read Also – How Many Stamps Do I Need?
Do FOREVER Stamps Expire?
The Forever Stamps were introduced in the United States in 2007. They are the special lifetime stamps, that doesn’t have any denomination printed on them. When someone says you to use the Stamps with no price on them, they mean the Forever Stamps. Instead of the denomination, Forever stamps have the word “FOREVER” written on them. The best thing about these stamps is that they never Expired. The Forever Stamps never expire and that’s what their main aim was. They will be useful for a lifetime. Not just that, but the Forever Stamps value in 2021 will be the same as it was in 2007. So, any existing Forever stamp will be valid for a lifetime.
Final Words
Back in the days, postage stamps were used pretty commonly. Nowadays, people are not using postage stamps for sending parcels. Only a few people use it for sending their mail through the postal services. Well, the Postage stamps do not expire at all and they will possess their value all the time. The only exception here is the government deciding their expiry date.
Most of the times, Stamps do not expire and they will possess their value for a lifetime. As we deal with postage stamps all the time, we tried to share our knowledge with you. With this information, you can proceed further and use the older stamps that you’ve kept safe in your lockers to send the parcels to anywhere in the United States of America.