Post office stamps as currency (1862)

Re:Post office stamps as currency (1862) by afarrell on Monday April 17, 2017 @03:58PM (#14133920)

> It must either be of intrinsic worth, like metal coins, or represent somebody's credit, -- that of the Government, of a corporation, or of private individuals. The only intrinsic value of these stamps consisted in the fact that they might be used to pay postage.

This seems to be a contradiction. The stamp is a demand upon the credit of the US Postal Service to perform an act of value. What is the difference between that and a piece of paper which is a demand upon the credit of a bank to perform the act of handing you silver?

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Re:Post office stamps as currency (1862) by hammock on Monday April 17, 2017 @04:06PM (#14133965)

It's not. They explain that a stamp DID have intrinsic value, UNTIL (if you read on they explain) the credit of the USPS had been taken away by policy that a smudged/circulated stamp is invalid

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Re:Post office stamps as currency (1862) by kirykl on Monday April 17, 2017 @04:04PM (#14133959)

I think the original authors point is, that the US Postal Service's performance of letter delivery, is not a denominated currency like ounces of gold or cents and dollars. But the real value of a stamp would be ounces of mail, and not only the act of delivery

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