| M - Mint | A perfect card just as it comes from the printing press. No marks, bends or creases. No writings or postmarks. A clean and fresh card. Seldom seen. |
| NM - Near Mint | Like mint, but very very light aging or very slight discoloration from being in an album for many years. Not as fresh looking. |
| EX - Excellent | Like mint in appearance with no bends or creases, nor rounded or blunt corners. May be postally used or unused and with writing and postmark only on address side. A clean, fresh card on picture side. |
| VG - Very Good | Corners may be just a bid blunt or rounded. Almost undetectable crease or bend that does not detract from overall appearance of picture side. May be writing or postally used on address side. A very collectible card. |
| G - Good | Corners may be noticeably blunt or rounded with noticeably slight bends or creases. May be postally used or writing on address side. Less than VG. |
| AV - Average | Creases and bends more pronounced. May be writing in margins on picture side. Postmark may show through from address side but not on main portion of picture. Corners more rounded. |
| PR - Poor | Card is intact. Excess soil, stained, cancel may affect picture with writing on either side. Could be scarce card hard to find in any condition with heavy creases. |
| SF - Space Filler | Poor condition as above and may have corners torn or corners missing, etc. and breaks. Least desirable of all of the above. |
| Standard | Standard or regular sized postcards are 3 1/2 inchs by 5 1/2 inchs (9 cm by 14 cm). Most of the older postcards are this size. |
| Continental | Continental sized postcards are 4 inchs by 6 inchs (15 cm by 10.5 cm). Many of today's new postcards and international (outside US) postcards are this size. |
| Modern | Modern sized postcards are 4 3/4 inchs by 6 1/2 inchs (12 cm by 16.5 cm). Many of today's new postcards can be this size. |
| Oversized | Oversized postcards are generally anything larger than a continental size postcard. Mostly they are 5 inches by 7 inches, but can be found in larger sizes. |
| Antique Postcard | Generally an antique postcard is any postcard published before World War I. |
| Arcade Card | This is a postcard size card, but it does not have a postcard back. This type of card general came from vending machines. |
| Artist Signed | Any postcard that the artist's signature is reproduced along with the artwork on the postcard. |
| Chromes | This is a modern, glossy type of postcard. They are the most common type of postcard you will fine. First published in the 1950's, they continue to be published today. They are available in many different sizes. The term Chrome originated with Kodak's Kodachrome film. Chromes were the first color postcards produced from color film and printed with the photo mechanical process. Union Oil postcards of 1939 were the first chromes. |
| Deltiology | The collecting and study of postcards. The word is derived from "delti" (little picture) and "logy" (theory, science or study of). |
| Greetings | Greeting postcards were generally produced in the early 20th century. They were made for special occasions, like Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, etc. They were generally available in the standard size. |
| Linens | They are a non-glossy type of postcard. Generally they were made from the 1930's to the 1950's and were mostly available in the standard size. The postcard paper has the appearance and feel of linen cloth. In fact if you look closely at the postcard, you can see the postcard has a woven look. |
| Pioneer Postcard | A postcard produced prior to July 1, 1898. |
| Private Mailing Card | A postcard mailed between 1898 and 1902. |
| Real Photos | Real photo postcards are a reproduction of a real photograph. Generally this type of postcard is made directly on photographic paper. The postcard has the real photo on one side and the other side has a standard postcard information from the time. Most real photo postcards are antique, vintage or older postcards. |
| Undivided Back | A postcard produced prior to July 1, 1898. |
| White Borders | The white border postcards were before the linen postcards. They were generally available in the standard size only. They have a white border and were not printed on linen like paper. They were printed in the early 20th century, up to the 1930's. Most of the time, they have a stamp box that reads: "Place one cent stamp here". |
| 1869 | First postcards appear in Austria. They were proposed by Dr. Emanuel Herrmann. They were government issued. Many European countries followed with their own government issued postcards. |
| 1893 | The United States begin issuing Postal Cards. They were postcards with the postage printed right on the postcard. Private postcards were printed, but were charged a higher standard mailing rate than the government postcards. |
| 1898 | The Private Mailing Card Act of 1898 eliminated the difference in private postcards and government issued postcards. Writing was not allowed on the address side of the postcard. |
| December 24, 1901 | The term "Postcard" is allowed to be used on private, non-government issued postcards. |
| 1902 to 1907 | Undivided Back postcards were the most common type of postcards. The back or address side of the postcard was limited to only the address. Any message had to be written on the front of the postcard |
| March 1, 1907 | Divided Back postcards are now permitted. This allowed messages to be written on the address side of the postcard. |
|
Date
|
Rate
(Cents) |
Comments
|
| May 1, 1873 |
1
|
The start of postal cards in the United States |
| November 2, 1917 |
2
|
A War Tax of 1 cent was placed on all first class postage, including postcards |
| July 1, 1919 |
1
|
At the end of World War I, the War Tax was repealed |
| April 15, 1925 |
2
|
The postal card rate (government issued postcards) remained at 1 cent, only private printed postcards increased. |
| June 30, 1928 |
1
|
The private printed postcard rate was returned to match the government postal card rate |
| January 1, 1952 |
2
|
|
| August 1, 1958 |
3
|
|
| January 7, 1963 |
4
|
|
| January 7, 1968 |
5
|
|
| May 16, 1971 |
6
|
|
| March 2, 1974 |
8
|
|
| September 14, 1975 |
7
|
A short-lived Postal Rate Commission decision to lower postcard rates |
| December 31, 1975 |
9
|
|
| May 29, 1978 |
10
|
|
| March 22, 1981 |
12
|
|
| November 1, 1981 |
13
|
|
| February 17, 1985 |
14
|
|
| April 3, 1988 |
15
|
|
| February 3, 1991 |
19
|
|
| January 1, 1995 |
20
|
|
| July 1, 2001 |
21
|
|
| June 30, 2002 |
23
|