Most collectors are aware that various worldwide countries create cancelled to order stamps (called CTO stamps) and sell them to collectors and dealers to make a profit. Love them or hate them, they are part of the philatelic community. Is it time the USPS issues CTO stamps too?

Many collectors are looking for used copies of modern stamps. But there is a very tiny supply. Many people don’t use the modern commemorative stamps on mail. Most people use whatever Forever booklet stamp is available, usually in the design of the US Flag. Therefore, most stamp dealers don’t offer used copies of modern commemoratives because there is no reliable supply of them. And I wrote previously about the difficulty in removing these issues from paper. Therefore, many dealers don’t stock them. The cost to handle them is high and customers are going to expect to buy these issues for well under $1 like other used US stamps from the 1940s into the 1990s.

The USPS could print these stamps on the same paper as the self-adhesive stamps and just not add the self-adhesive material or backing paper. Cancel the stamps with a legitimate USPS postmark. And sell them to collectors or wholesalers. Because they are cancelled, they can’t be used to pay postage.

This won’t get the USPS out of the red ink. Assuming the printing costs are tiny, it could end up generating thousands of dollars in revenue for the USPS. And collectors would be able to obtain used copies for their collections.

What do you think?