10 Cent Special Delivery Stamp

Which 10-Cent Special Delivery Stamp?

The title does not identify one single stamp. The United States issued several 10-cent Special Delivery designs and varieties. A useful starting point is the 1902 Messenger on Bicycle issue: it is blue, reads “SPECIAL DELIVERY” and “TEN CENTS,” and shows a messenger riding a bicycle. The Smithsonian National Postal Museum records the 1902 design and notes that Special Delivery issues from this series remained in use until 1922. Paper, perforation, watermark, and later printings can separate catalog varieties, so a color photograph alone is not enough for a catalog number.

A Second Design Helps Prevent Misidentification

In 1922 the service received a new 10-cent Messenger on Motorcycle design. A 1927 version changed design details again. A bicycle, motorcycle, date, denomination, and inscription therefore matter when identifying the stamp. Do not describe every blue 10-cent Special Delivery stamp as the same issue.

What the Stamp Originally Paid

Special Delivery was an added service fee for expedited delivery after the mailpiece reached the destination Post Office; the Special Delivery stamp did not by itself pay all ordinary postage required to carry the letter. Its historical use should be evaluated with the other postage, cancellation, date, and cover. The discontinued service should not be equated with modern Priority Mail Express or a present delivery guarantee.

It cannot now be counted as 10 cents of ordinary postage. USPS DMM 604.1.3 lists Special Delivery stamps among the categories that are not valid to pay postage for U.S. domestic or U.S.-originated international mail.

Identify and Value the Exact Version

• Record the central design, inscriptions, color, perforations, watermark if safely identifiable, gum, cancellation, and faults.
• Check whether it is loose, on cover, or part of a plate block or other multiple.
• Match those characteristics to a specialized U.S. catalog and museum record.
• Compare completed sales for the same catalog number and condition; an asking price is not a sale.

Do not clean, trim, regum, reperforate, or remove the stamp from a cover while researching it.