July 1, 2009
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Profile America — Wednesday, July 1st. The first stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office were sold on this date in 1847. A five-cent stamp pictured Ben Franklin, and one costing 10 cents honored George Washington. Before then, there were no uniform stamps — a haphazard system of private postal services around the country had issued their own. And on this date in 1963, the five digit ZIP Code was introduced to help speed mail to its proper destination. That year, Americans sent nearly 68 billion pieces of mail. Today, the postal service handles more than 212 billion pieces of mail annually — which works out to two items for every man, woman and child in the country every day. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureauonline at <www>.
Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 340, 342
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 804
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1085
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html
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