A CATALOGUE OF OVAL POSTAGE METER INDICIA OF POSTAGE ...

I. PITNEY BOWESA. Pitney Bowes Square Indicia Type BAPitney Bowes placed the first of its early postage meters into service on December 10,1920. The design of the first indicium is known as Type BA1 using the United StatesPostage Meter Stamp Catalog (USPMSC). It should be noted that the wavy lines oneither side of the design were required by the Post Office authorities to representcancellation of the stamp. Postage meter stamps from the beginning were considered precancelled.This practice continues to the present day. A meter stamp may be run through acanceling machines if the date is not clear, but usually the metered envelope becomesmixed with stamped mail.Figure 1.Square Indicium USPMSC Type BA1The table below offers rate data for the 68 meters which used the Square Indicium. Twometers (10 and 1006) were used with two different permit numbers so the total numberaccounted for is 70. Douglas Kelsy (4) published and discussed a Type BA listing basedon the lists provided earlier by Pike (1,2) and Steiger (3). The table of BA meters providedhere is more complete than data from those earlier reports.All the meters in this group were single value meters that had to have their printing dieschanged in order to print a different postage value. The ink color was changed as well tofollow the colors of postage stamps of that time. The values printed were:1¢ Green 11 meters2¢ Red 51 meters4¢ Brown 6 meters5¢ Red Meter 1057, Permit 610¢ Yellow Meter 2, Permit 1Because this design was so similar to the common postal permit design of the time, thePost Office Departement required PB to change the design. The meters were refitted withthe Oval (USPMSC Type C) designs by April 15, 1922. Two examples dated in December1922 are known but are thought to have been used with incorrect dates set.12