 Dear
Dr. Don,
I have a Postal Savings System certificate
for $1.00 dated Sept. 16, 1935. I was wondering
what it is worth and how I might go about selling
it.
-- Marylin Moneymaker
 Dear
Marylin,
Your Postal Savings System certificate may have
some numismatic value to a collector but it hasn't
had a cash value as a deposit in the system since
the mid-1980s.
The U.S. Postal Service describes
the history of the Postal
Savings System on its Web site. I've presented
the relevant information from that history below.
 |
Postal Savings System history: |
|
|
| • |
On April 27, 1966, the system stopped accepting deposits. |
| • |
The Postal Savings System officially ended July 1, 1967. About $60 million in unclaimed deposits was turned over to the Treasury Department to be held in trust. |
| • |
Under
a law of Aug. 13, 1971, the Treasury
was authorized to turn the money over
to the various states and jurisdictions
involved. |
| • |
The Postal Savings System Statute of Limitations
Act, Public Law 98-359 of July 13,
1984, provided that "no claims for
any Postal Savings System deposit
may be brought more than one year
from the date of the enactment of
the act," concluding this chapter
in postal history. |
|
So, no Postal Savings System certificates
have been redeemed since 1985. The Web site
for the National
Postal Museum has pictures of the certificates
and further describes the program.
Your certificate stopped earning interest in 1966 to 1967. Prior to that, it earned 2 percent annual interest. A dollar invested at 2 percent for 32 years would be worth $1.88. If it had earned interest through to today it would be worth approximately $4.16.
Selling it as a collectible will
depend on its condition, but it's bound to be
worth more than its cash value, which is zero.
A recent eBay auction closed with a winning
bid of about $40 for what the seller described
as a mint condition certificate.
|
