This catalogue is devoted to the beta testing material of the Neopost webenabled stamp program; the program produced the first webenabled stamps in the world. The Krause-Minkus 2003 United States catalogue has appeared, with these stamps listed in the on-demand stamp section, but there are many errors and omissions, which the reader will note by comparing this work and that one. An incomplete listing of the stamps is also available on page 1136 of the International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog, eds. Joel Hawkins & Richard Stambaugh (available for $88.50 plus shipping: U.S. - $7.50 / Canada - $20 / UK - $35 / Rest of Europe - $26 / Asia - $37. Order from Joel Hawkins, 3102 N 150th LN, Goodyear AZ 85338, or joel5215@aol.com.). In collecting this material, the goal of every collector must be historical completeness, that is, a complete showing of what was available for purchase in both formats, the four-stamp sheet (five sets) and the ten-stamp sheet (the various denominations in all the sets available for each denomination--a very challenging 24 sets). The complexity of the material and its scarcity, are what make so challenging the collecting of these first webenabled stamps; the sudden, unannounced end of the beta testing made everything just that much more difficult to acquire, not to mention, pricier.

So far, stamps are the only physical product of the internet technology, and these are the first, which is why they were the cover story in the Meter Stamp Society Bulletin in the Fall 2002, issue. Everyone is quite well aware of their importance, but their maddening elusiveness has frustrated collectors in search of information. Several factors have combined to lift--in a remarkably short time--these stamps to the highest level of U.S. philately. First is Neopost's willingness to share its data--this has facilitated prodigies of census-taking (it has also left the contemporaneous IBM/Neopost labels in the dust--Big Blue does not share data). Exhibitability is a huge factor: it is simply very, very difficult to round up a complete representation of what the machines could produce, and yet this is the premier factor in judging; almost all collectors will have to be satisified with what Neopost specialists call "strays"--single sheets broken out of sets. Apart from being unexhibitable, the value of these pathetic remnants languishes because it is virtually impossible to assemble the complete set from which a single sheet is extracted.

On the other hand, in most of the other great fields of philately, it is time--upwards of a century--which allows one to gain expertise in numbers extant. Fortunately, Neopost has accelerated this to real time, with great documentation, particularly of the four-stamp sheets. Nevertheless, the amount of available material is small, even compared to the classic fields. Consider the 1875 and 1880 Special Printings. About 1150 stamps are extant (remember that these are not regular issues), and it took over a century to assess this total, and of course new examples may still come to light. By way of contrast, there are only about 1700 extant four-stamp Neopost sheets, almost all known in complete sets (of which there are about 600), and almost all of these sets are in larger sequences or show varieties thus reducing even further the number of effective collecting units. Adding to collecting difficulty is just that extraordinary degree of subspecialization and microphilately shown by the Neopost stamps. Here it is fair to say that the field is loaded with the material of single-frame exhibits. Any field containing the "royal family" must of necessity be regarded as a supreme philatelic category. American philately is beginning to come to terms with rarity-as-rarity as the sole determining philatelic criterion, although we are not there yet. Thus, recently a six-value set of the comparable Chinese automat "blues" (about 4000 stamps are extant) fetched $2600 and was reported in Linn's. Could a similar price be obtained for a Neopost five-sheet $6.80 set? Well, as of 6/24/03, a First Design (34-cent) National Postal Forum sheet with SEVERE adhesive toning has sold for $676 on Ebay and a variety v "large flag" sheet has sold as of 7/5/03 for $762 (this is item 2937856482, with 30 bids). So a five-sheet $6.80 set might well achieve something like the price paid for a similar Chinese automat set. And once the Neopost stamps achieve Scott listing and album spaces, we should see the average retail price of $2500 for a four-stamp sheet, and probably $4000 for a ten-stamp sheet.

Necessarily, this catalogue is not a comprehensive account of the postal history of these stamps, although any cover, philatelic or nonphilatelic, from the 34-cent rate is one of the great pieces of contemporary postal history (within this field, NON-philatelic usages are known in only one example to date[4/16/03]). There are two discrete groups of philatelic usages: one is a group of covers using official commemorative cancels from the 2002 Olympics; the other is a grand sequential complete transactions first day cover set from the first day of the ten-stamp sheets at the Baltimore machine on July 3, 2002. Both are described at http://cvpcollector.tripod.com. A complete list of ten-stamp sheets produced at Baltimore by the author of the website, is also listed on that website. In general, the webenabled stamps were not distinguished by the public from other examples of computer vended postage or meter stamps, and nothing in the appearance of webenabled stamps distinguished them from CVP or meters. Thus, few were saved mint and, doubtless, an even smaller number of examples used on cover. There are so few of the four-stamp sheets that one can, for several reasons, truly say that there is no such thing as an unimportant Neopost four-stamp sheet. First, they are the prelude to philately's new "royal family," varieties ii, jj, mm, nn and oo (see Section 2.3). Second, and of utmost importance to postal historians, webenabled stamps are the wave of the future: it has not generally been known that Neopost and IBM are in competition to put kiosks in every United States post office, replacing stamp machines. In fact, the end of Phase I occurred so that USPS could assess the Neopost effort in this ongoing competition. Now the IBM/Neopost machines are in 2500 post offices, and we have yet to see the release of the Neopost "Metro" kiosk competitor. The benefit to USPS is that each stamp is a secure, traceable frank, and there is no problem accounting for and stocking stamps. One day, most stamps sold in the U.S. will be webenabled stamps, and these first pure webenabled examples will be seen as important artifacts quite apart from their connoisseur interest. Webenabled stamps represent a great turn in stamp production, away from traditional stamps, meters and other forms of CVP, to the internet as the control source of production. There has not been a change in franking so important since the introduction of the postage stamp itself. This is why there has been considerable mystery and secrecy surrounding the Neopost webenabled stamps, and the reason they are so avidly sought by savvy collectors, even those who do not normally collect CVP. A NOTE ON FADING: those familiar with the first U.S. CVP stamps are aware of the fading issue as it relates to thermal-printed stamps. Neopost stamps are also thermal-printed. On most CVP stamps, the chemical process involved means that the printing will fade out. The Neopost stamps use a different process: here, the chemical process means that the sheets themselves will darken to the printing. However, this is only after exposure to intense light over a long period. I have seen sheets which were exposed to flourescent light over an extended period. One is the First Design sheet which, as of 6/16/03, is on Ebay as Item 2935052156. There is adhesive toning, but the printing has not faded (as with traditional thermal printing) nor has the paper darkened. In short, these stamps are as color-fast as engraved stamps. That said, no stamps should be exposed to light for an extended period. The only deleterious effect I have noticed so far, is exposure to circulating air. This has the effect of slight toning of the adhesive at the edges, an effect which occurs on most self-adhesive stamps. The remedy is that usually recommended for all stamps: keep them in a cool, dark, dry place with still air; exhibit rarely and only for brief periods.

The four-stamp sheets rival the special printings of 1875 and 1880 in terms of the sheer importance of each item. When the ten-stamp sheets began to be produced, on June 21, 2002, they had nothing like the same cachet. Phase I seemed to be not only ongoing, but also, expanding. The first Hayward ten-stamp sheets were seen as important because the ten-stamp sheets were introduced on this machine, among them new denominations which USPS was authorizing Neopost to issue for the first time (all the four-stamp sheets are 34-cent stamps). Since Scott lists first day stamps for CVP, this is of huge importance to connoisseurs. In addition, the first regular denominated $3.85 and $13.65 stamps ever issued in the United States, are the Neopost stamps on June 30 (on July 30, 2002, the United States issued its own denominations for these stamps); these two denominations are the first regular denominated postage stamps ever issued by a private vendor before first being issued by the United States itself; as with many aspects of the Neopost program, this was little noted at the time, but now it is clear that it is a remarkable milestone in U.S. postal history. The first Baltimore ten-stamp sheets were seen as important because they include the first ten-stamp sheet mint sequential complete transactions and also--importantly--they include the first-day stamps of the 80-cent denomination, the only Neopost stamps not first issued at Hayward. The ten-stamp sheet $3.85 and $13.65 stamps issued by the Baltimore and Hayward kiosks in the period June 30-July 29, 2002, are known as the "forerunners," and are among the most important stamps ever issued in the United States. However, stamps from these and other machines issued after July 30 were, with the exceptions noted below, regarded as being of little philatelic value because the Neopost kiosk ten-stamp sheet program looked ready to expand greatly--and sheets are known to have been produced in Chicago (two machines), Dallas and Rosslyn.

Then everything changed. The program ended suddenly and without announcement on August 31, 2003, and initial assessments of extant examples revealed that the ten-stamp sheets very much rare rarer and more valuable than the four-stamp sheets. Even those with access to ten-stamp sheet kiosks had not purchased many, because prices were low on Ebay and it was felt there was no hurry to secure sheets. So, although about 50,000 ten-stamp sheets all told (of all denominations at all kiosks) were probably produced (mostly 37-cent stamp sets), probably fewer than 750 individual sheets were saved by collectors, making these these sheets two and one-half times as rare as the four-stamp sheets. Sources of ten-stamp sheets dried up instantly, and all the material went into strong hands. Even the 750-sheet figure disguises the true rarity of some of the denominations (for example, there are only 280 50-cent stamps). Complete sets are scarce, with 418 known of all denominations. This number, too, disguises the true rarity of the various sets. For example, since there are only six sets of the 20-stamp 23-cent postcard stamp set, and six sets of the 10-stamp $13.65 stamp set, there can only be six sets showing the complete production of the 10-stamp sheet era of Phase I; this is much more difficult to acquire than a showing of the five available transactions of the four-stamp era (there are 58 sequential complete transactions, including multiple-SCTs). In addition, most of the extant ten-stamp sheet sets were produced at Baltimore. Sets from any of the other cities can only be described as hyperrarities, and have never appeared on the market. Here is a list of numbers of extant mint ten-stamp sets from all kiosks. Needless to say, if you find one of these sets, or even a sheet from one of these sets, jump on it:

23 Cents (Postcard) sets

20 stamps (2 sheets)--28

30 stamps (3 sheets)--7

40 stamps (4 sheets)--7

50 stamps (5 sheets)--7

Total number of 23 Cents (Postcard) stamps--1400

23 Cents (2d ounce) sets

10 stamps (1 sheet)--26

20 stamps (2 sheets)--6

Total number of 23 Cents (2d ounce) stamps--380

37 Cents sets

20 stamps (2 sheets)--31

30 stamps (3 sheets)--7

40 stamps (4 sheets)--8

50 stamps (5 sheets)--11

Total number of 37 Cents stamps--1700

50 Cents sets

10 stamps (1 sheet)--28

Total number of 50 Cents stamps--280

60 Cents (2 ounces) sets

10 stamps (1 sheet)--29

20 stamps (2 sheets)--8

Total number of 60 Cents (2 ounces) stamps--450

60 Cents (foreign) sets

10 stamps (1 sheet)--26

Total number of 60 Cents (foreign) stamps--260

70 Cents sets

10 stamps (1 sheet)--26

Total number of 70 Cents stamps--260

80 Cents sets

10 stamps (1 sheet)--28

Total number of 80 cents stamps--280

3.85 sets

1 sheet (1 stamp)--31

1 sheet (2 stamps)--8

1 sheet (5 stamps)--8

1 sheet (10 stamps)--7

Total number of 3.85 stamps--157 stamps

13.65 sets

1 sheet (1 stamp)--34

1 sheet (2 stamps)--8

1 sheet (5 stamps)--7

1 sheet (10 stamps)--6

Total number of 13.65 stamps--145 stamps

Collecting computer vended postage is fraught with difficulties. Documentation usually belongs to private corporations and is not accessible. Production is erratic and often unannounced. All aspects of stamp design are subject to frequent change. An intriguing CVP stamp often appears for the first time on the market (these days, on Ebay) with virtually no background information to support a price, because of which the field lags in collector interest even behind many of the other back-of-the-book fields, although CVP stamps are not special purpose stamps. No collector is going to spend serious money on an item of dubious provenance or for which there are not hard numbers—and those usually take years, if not decades, to obtain. Fortunately, the Neopost webenabled four-stamp sheets are superbly documented—especially fortunate considering the importance of these stamps in CVP history. Contrary to the usual state of affairs with CVP, Neopost decided that connoisseurship and research would be at a very advanced stage with every new development of its four-stamp sheet program; after the successful introduction of the ten-stamp sheets, Neopost ITSELF lost interest in documenting the varieties and numbers produced. It is also important to note that there is a substantial body of test material produced in the course of the program, some of which looks to be issued stamps. In fact, the Warrenton machines were test machines only--they issued no stamps to the public--but some of the material looks like the issued stamps. Also, the Redwood City and Hayward machines--which did issue stamps to the public--were also used for test purposes and produced stamps in denominations (such as 57 cents, or 22 cents) which are merely test stamps, not issued stamps. The only valid stamps were those issued in denominations approved by USPS, and on or after the dates approved for issuance. Since material in this field is still coming out of collections for the first time, check carefully to see if a design, or machine, or denomination, is actually for an issued stamp, or is simply test material.

AFTER JUNE 30--It should be noted that the first extant sequential sets were produced on July 11: 5519-5520 (b3a), 5521 (b5a), 5522 (b2a), 5524 (b1a), 5525 (b4a), 5536 (b5Aa), 5527 (b6a), 5528 (b7), 5529(b9a) and 5530 (b3a). The second occurred on July 12: 5539-41 (b9a), 5542 (b8a), 5543-54 (b5a), 5546 (b1a) and 5548 (b3a). The third occured on July 22: 5621 (b9b), 5622 (b7b), 5626 (b6b), 5627 (b5b), 5628 (b4b), 5629 (b8b), 5630 (b2b), 5632 (b5Ab), 5633 (b3b) and 5636 (b1a). The fourth occurred on July 26: 5659 (h2a), 5660 (h5a), 5561 (h3A), 5663 (h6a), 5664 (h8), 5665 (h4a), 5666 (h7a), 5669 (h7b). The fifth occurred on August 21: 5862 (b3b), 5863 (b5b), 5864 (b2b), 5865 (b8b), 5866 (b1b), 5867 (b4b), 5868 (b5Ab), 5869 (b6b), 5870 (b7b) and 5871 (b9b).

Odd as it seems for material so recent, the story of the Neopost webenabled stamps is a story which is over. Nevertheless, it is testimony to what can be learned—and preserved—when philatelist and stamp manufacturer cooperate to record a chapter in philatelic history. Hopefully, it will encourage other such businesses to support archives and archivists in their firms. This can be done without prejudice to trade secrets or competitiveness and it can build a valuable asset for the firm while saving collectors time, money and many missteps.

Collectors need to check Neopost sheets carefully for the presence of a very long list of factors, and this is another reason why every four-stamp sheet is important: nearly every one shows a more or less important variety. Neopost webenabled stamps are not meter stamps or computer postage the software for which is in a secure meter device in each machine (an offline solution), or even internet postage where some instructions do not come over the internet (IBM/Neopost labels), or for which printing is done by a machine separate from that which directs production (the Neopost 33-cent stamps are of this sort; in fact, the Neopost 33-cent stamps are arguably not CVP at all, but, rather, a new type of meter label). Instead, every aspect of stamp production is controlled from a central location over the internet and printing directions and printing both occur in one device—the first true webenabled computer vended postage. Thanks to the use of credit or ATM cards for purchases, and the preservation of this database, it is possible to form a highly accurate estimate of the total number of sheets purchased and, by analysis of purchasing patterns, to separate those sheets which went into collections from those which were used. Approximately 15,000 four-stamp sheets were produced: about 1700 sheets are extant. All sheets came from six machines. Scott numbers accompany the discussions of each variety, indicating earlier stamps with approximately equivalent numbers of extant Neopost sheets (not, in most cases, individual Neopost stamps); one must reach far back in the classic period for comparable examples of the regular varieties, although for the error varieties comparable contemporary examples are easier to find. Of course, many even of the classics are terribly undervalued (Scott 161, for instance), but it is the purpose of this article to preempt such a fate in the case of these stamps.

*Varieties b1b, b2b, b3b, b4b, b5b, b5Ab, b6b, b7b, b8b, b9b.

HIGHLIGHTS

Given the diversity of the collecting areas produced by Neopost's small program, there is bound to be debate as to the highlights of that program. This list--in order of importance--is meant to stimulate that debate:

1. The most important regular denominated United States stamps ever issued, the great "forerunner" stamps, varieties h4-h4a and h7-h7b and b8-b8a and b9-b9a. The Neopost $3.85 and $13.65 stamps issued before July 30, 2002, are the first stamps ever issued in the United States before the USPS issued stamps itself for the same denominations. Issued beginning June 30 through July 29, there are, from both kiosks, 33 mint $3.85 stamps and 21 on first day cover. There are 44 mint $13.65 stamps and 22 on first day cover. With the exception of a single philatelic usage, the first day covers are the only usages before July 30.

2. Variety bb--there are three varieties on this sheet, one of which is unique.

3. Variety mm--only five examples of this $12.45 Express Mail stamp were ever issued, and only one example remains. There are two examples of the Z Grill--and another candidate for unique U.S. stamp, but there is always the possibility of more examples of these being found. That is not possible with the $12.45 stamp, because all the examples issued have been accounted for. This $12.45 stamp thus becomes the only unique regular, documented denominated United States stamp, the key to a complete collection. Published in the Meter Stamp Society Bulletin (Fall 2004).

4. Two Variety hh singles, the "Twin Blue Moons"--unique examples of computer glitches which happen once in a blue moon.

5. Varieties nn and oo--these eleven $3.50 Priority Mail stamps are the only ones issued by Neopost, roughly of the same order of rarity as Scott 82 or 321.

6. Varieties ii and jj--these one hundred twenty-one cent stamps are the only ones issued by Neopost.

7. Variety t--these are the only overprints on Neopost mint four-stamp sheet stamps.

8. Four ULS $6.80 sets--the only four, found in varieties o, s(2) and x.

9. Varieties m and s--the only incomplete transactions of which only a single sheet was produced.

10. Variety ff--the only mint first day ten-stamp sheet stamps bearing overprints.

11. Variety b7--these twenty 80-cent stamps are the only first day Neopost stamps issued in Baltimore rather than Hayward.

12. A suite of four first day covers on small envelopes bearing various combinations of regular U.S. stamps, blanks, overprinted stamps and examples of varieties x, n and ff--these are the most important Neopost covers. One shows the first overprint U.S. CVP stamp on cover.

13. Variety n--a full four-stamp sheet on cover, unique during the 34-cent rate.

14. Varieties ff and First Design (37 cents)--both first day on the unique double Neopost first day cover from two different rate eras.

15. Varieties First Design, h1, h5, h3 and h6--the largest combination Neopost first day cover.

16. Variety h7--unique denomination on first day cover: surprising given the diversity of first day covers produced in Hayward and Baltimore. This "forerunner" stamp is the first regular denominated $13.65 stamp on cover, well before the U.S. issued its own $13.65 stamp on July 30, 2002. The Neopost "forerunner" $3.85 and $13.65 stamps (this is the third of them, chronologically) produced before July 30 are the only regular denominated U.S. stamps ever issued before the U.S. issued its own stamps for the same denomination.

17. Three "same day" suites from different kiosks: variety s and two varieties a-dd sheets (May 9, 2002); variety n and an April 3, 2002, test dummy/essay, capturing the transition from the four-stamp sheets to the ten-stamp sheets; and variety s and varieties kk, ll and mm sheets showing production of four-stamp sheets and ten-stamp sheets on the same day (June 25, 2002. An exhibitor who can show any of these suites is guaranteed a medal.

18. A chronological sequence of sheets showing the transition from four-stamp sheets to ten-stamp sheets: variety ee, which was produced on May 20, 2002, and variety ff, which was produced on May 21, 2002.

19. 650 mint 34-cent stamps in the ten-stamp sheet format. Only 650 of the 34-cent stamps in the ten-stamp sheet format were ever printed, that is, these are the only Neopost webenabled denominations which come in two formats. 22 were used on cover, leaving 628.

20. Varieties b1, b2, b5, b5a and b9--these contain the first extant mint ten-stamp sheet complete sequential transactions of individual denominations, and the only ones produced first day. Plus the magnificent earliest preserved set sequences, from the glory days of the ten-stamp sheets, which didn't last long, before the whole business fell prey to amateur speculators: July 11, 12, 22, 26 and August 21.

21. The "three strikes" cover--a First Design (37 cents) first day cover showing a unique combination of three errors--and the "three strikes" First Design stamp showing errors in three features of the stamp.

22. The "shade combination" covers. The members of the "Originals Club" (the original purchasers of Neopost four-stamp sheets, whose credit card information appears on the selvage) acted responsibly and were parsimonious in their philatelic usages. Nevertheless, before the blue shades were identified, they unwittingly created combination covers with four-stamp sheet stamps in different shades. There is a unique blue-blue2 shade combination (discussed in connection with variety h2 and mentioned in #12 above), and two covers with blue-light blue combinations (discussed in connection with variety o).

23. The first mint stamps of the 37-cent era--the 41 stamps (11 overprinted) which comprise the June 30, first day 37-cent stamps, First Design-variety h2. Every overprinted stamp is unique.

Three cheers for philatelic ignorance! This endearing trait makes so many wonderful things possible for true connoisseurs. How else could we obtain used U.S. newspaper stamps, or Northwest Pacific Islands stamps perfined "OS," for a few hundred dollars? As Oscar Wilde once said, never tamper with natural ignorance. Early in 2003, there appeared, on Ebay, a variety u sheet, of which, as you will see, there are a whopping three examples. It was not labeled as that variety, nor was any reference made to this catalogue. It also appeared without a reserve. It fetched a few hundred dollars--one of the rarest stamps in the world. This is what makes contemporary philately so exciting for those few people who actually know what they are doing. Happily for purchasers, dolts like this seller do not realize that, in philately, maximum value is obtained only after THOROUGH DESCRIPTION. In general, sales of Neopost sheets have proved to be no guide to values. In essence they are bets: the bet is that the Neopost sheets are like the contemporary IBM/Neopost labels, that is, unregulated and undocumentable--garbage. No sheet--except for the First design sheets--has gone for as much as $300. And yet it turns out that few contemporary philatelic series have provided so many rarities, which are also Scott listings, as Neopost webenabled stamps. Even after the appearance of this catalogue, idiots continue to break up sets and sell individual sheets--admittedly, this has an upside for those with enough sense to keep their sets together. But sellers of individual sheets from sets simply throw away value, because it is highly unlikely that the set can be completed by the buyer. Of course, Scott's CVP section is loaded with dashes, indicating the spotty market record for CVP. However, a close study of recent CVP retail and auction sales--in conjunction with a study of sales of material in philatelic areas with similar-size collector bases--provides a good guide to the worth of the material. The following guide is for sheets, except where the catalogue discusses individual stamps or covers. The numbers are for extent sheets of any variety:

2. THE STAMPS OF THE 34-CENT RATE ERA

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CONTENTS