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From: alanj@orca.TEK.COM (Alan Jeddeloh)
Newsgroups: net.internat
Subject: Re: postage for mail to foreign countries
Message-ID: <2220@orca.TEK.COM>
Date: Wed, 5-Nov-86 12:06:59 EST
Article-I.D.: orca.2220
Posted: Wed Nov  5 12:06:59 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Nov-86 20:55:47 EST
References: <1275@ttrdc.UUCP> <21937@rochester.ARPA> <532@comp.lancs.ac.uk>
Reply-To: alanj@orca.UUCP (Alan Jeddeloh)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Wilsonville, OR
Lines: 23

In article <532@comp.lancs.ac.uk> craig@comp.lancs.ac.uk (Craig Wylie) writes:
>This certainly seems the most likely, a letter posted in the UK will be
>delivered even if it carries another countries stamp. I don't know if the
>stamp value is checked or not.

Is this because the stamps are officially honored, or because they just
slip by?  US stamps are phosphor "tagged" so they glow green under short-wave
UV.  I think it is short wave --- the wavelength used to erase EPROMs,
anyway.  In the US, most letters go through high-speed "facer-cancellers"
which look for the green glow.  Letters without a glowing spot are kicked
out for manual handling.  There is also a human operator, who is supposed
to check for the correct rate as the letters go by, but they are, after
all, human.

Are UK stamps tagged, also?  I think they are, but I only collect US, and
don't follow the rest of the world too much.

Are we getting somewhat afield of the purpose of this newsgroup?  Probably.
-- 

	-Alan Jeddeloh
	Tektronix GTD
	tektronix!orca!alanj