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Non-denominated postage |
Non-denominated postage is postage intended to meet a certain postage rate that retains full validity for that intended postage rate even after the rate is increased. It does not show a monetary value on the face. In many English speaking countries, it is called no-value indicator (NVI) postage.
Invented to cope with the cost of printing large issues of low-value stamps to "top-up" old issues, this type of postage has been employed by a growing number of countries in recent years. Among the countries now issuing it are Britain, Singapore, Finland (and Åland), Israel, Belgium, France, Norway, Monaco, Sweden, Canada, and the United States.
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Non-denominated postage was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1989 for domestic mail, in part as a workaround to the problem of fast-changing rates.
In 1995, the Universal Postal Union approved its use on international mail.
The Post Office issued "non-value indicated" Machins using textual inscriptions "1ST" and "2ND" to indicate class of service rather than a numeric value. It has since then introduced a number of variations including those for worldwide and European use, for different weights, and for postcards.
In past years, non-denominated postage issued by the United States differed from the issues of other countries, in that the stamps retained their original monetary value. Some stamps, such as those intended for local or bulk mail rate, were issued without denomination.
This practice began in 1975, when there was uncertainty as to the timing and extent of a rate increase from ten cents for the first ounce of first class postage as the end of the year approached. Christmas stamps were released without denomination, giving the United States Postal Service flexibility to refrain from reprinting hundreds of millions of stamps in a new denomination. The rate increase, to thirteen cents (US$0.13), occurred just after Christmas.
The United States also issued stamps with letter denomination, beginning from A, B, etc., during postal rate changes. After reaching the letter "H", this practice was discarded in favor of simply indicating the class of postage (e.g., first class) for which the stamp was intended.
In 2006, the US Postal Service applied for permission to issue a stamp similar to non-denominated stamps in the UK, termed the "forever stamp", for first-class postage.1
On March 26, 2007, the US Postal service unveiled the first such stamp, which went on sale April 12, 2007, for 41 cents (US$0.41).2 The first NVI stamp issued by the USPS was the so-called "Liberty Bell" stamp, which is marked "USA FIRST-CLASS FOREVER".
Some fundraising (or semipostal) stamps have had this feature for years. For example, the breast cancer research stamp was issued in 1998.
Canada's NVI is called the "Permanent" stamp, which is a trademarked term.
In announcing its decision to adopt non-denominated postage in 2006, Canada Post noted that it had to print more than 60 million one-cent stamps following the last price increase in 2005. It is marked by a white capital P overlaid on a red maple leaf, which is itself within a white circle.
Both the Canadian and American NVI programs are essentially equivalent, both covering regular first-class mail. One NVI stamp covers the cost of mailing a standard letter up to 30 g in Canada, and up to 1 oz (28 g) in the United States.
Singapore has two NVIs today: 1st Local and 2nd Local.
The first Singapore NVIs were issued in 1995; almost every issue had a "For Local Addresses Only" stamp. Later, in 2004, a new NVI denomination was released: "2nd Local". Since then almost all issues have "1st Local" stamps, and some have "2nd Local" stamps, rather than the previous "For Local Addresses Only". 1st Local stamps are valid for standard letters within Singapore up to 20g, and 2nd Local stamps are valid for standard letters within Singapore up to 40g.
The Åland islands currently issue three NVI denominations: Inrikes (domestic), Europa (Europe) and Världen (the world).
Sweden currently issues one form of NVI: the Brev (literally 'letter') stamp: valid for letters within Sweden of up to 20g. "Brev" or "Brev Inrikes" ('letter domestic') is printed on the stamps.
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