oldguy

22 Feb 2026
07:58:07pm

Someone brought our attention to these "card decks(?). I was looking for that discussion, but could not find it. Any help would be appreciated.

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AgathaWatson

22 Feb 2026
09:27:34pm

re: Looking for a previous post, but cannot find it. Need help.

I had listed a number of these top deck cards in an approval book and they all sold.
I also included some background information on them in the book's introduction which I am supplying below.

Deck Cards (Top Deck Cards)
Stamps are accountable paper, just like cash, and are sent under seal to the local post offices. When the Bureau of Engraving and Printing began shrink-wrapping bundles of stamps (booklets, panes) for shipping to post offices a piece of card stock was placed inside the shrink wrap on top of the bundles of stamps to identify the contents and with detailed instructions for the postmaster. This practice has continued as private contractor printers began to produce stamps and these pieces of card stock, known as top deck cards or deck cards, can come in a wide variety of sizes, colors and paper types. The cards often include an image of the stamp(s) in the bundle, an item number, how many stamps are included, a barcode and a pane position diagram and are created for all new issues.
Postal employees view the deck cards as paper waste and are usually discarded. Thus they are not easy to come by unless you can find a friendly postal employee to save them for you. They are not listed in the Scott catalogue and have minimal value, but make an interesting addition to a United States stamp collection. The local post office takes a table at my club’s annual show and the postal employee staffing the table often brings me a bag full of these cards that she has saved for me. Some collectors will affix a relevant stamp to the card and get a first day or event cancel, which I have done for a few of these items.

I hope you find this useful.

Fred

 
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