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An international reply coupon (IRC) is a coupon that can be exchanged for one or more postage stamps representing the minimum postage for an unregistered priority airmail letter sent to another Universal Postal Union (UPU) member country. IRCs are accepted by all UPU members countries. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...
A postage stamp is evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services. ...
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, French: Union postale universelle) is an international organization that coordinates postal policies between member nations, and hence the world-wide postal system. ...
UPU member postal services are obliged to exchange an IRC for postage, but is not obliged to sell them.
The purpose of the IRC is to be able to send someone in another country a letter, along with the cost of postage for them to reply. If the addressee is within the same country, there is no need for an IPC because a self-addressed stamped envelope ("SASE") will suffice; but if the addressee is in another country an IRC removes the necessity of acquiring foreign postage or sending appropriate currency. A self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE), or just stamped addressed envelope (SAE) in the UK, is often just that: an envelope with the senders name and address on it, with affixed paid postage and mailed to a company or private individual. ...
History
The IRC was introduced in 1906 at a Universal Postal Union congress in Rome. At the time an IRC could be exchanged for a single rate ordinary postage stamp for surface rate to a foreign country as this was before the introduction of airmail services. As of 2006 an IRC is exchangeable in a UPU member country for the minimum postage of a priority or unregistered airmail letter to a foreign country. 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area - City 1285 km² (580 sq mi) - Urban...
Airmail imprint on an envelope (Thailand) Airmail (or air mail) is mail that is transported by aircraft. ...
For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...
The current IRC is called Beijing model No. 2, is available in more than 70 countries and have an expiry date of 31 December 2009. IRC's are ordered from the UPU headquarters in Berne, Switzerland, by postal authorithies. February 2007 is the second month of that year and has yet to occur. ...
Location within Switzerland The city of Berne (German , French Berne , Italian Berna , Romansh Berna , Bernese German Bärn ), is the Bundesstadt (administrative capital) of Switzerland and the fourth most populous Swiss city (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel). ...
A postal authority organises collection and delivery of mail (US) or post (UK) within its area of control. ...
Trivia The theoretical profit that can be made by exercising arbitrage over the varying price of an IRC in two different countries was the notional profit generator for the eponymous Ponzi Scheme In economics, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price differential between two or more markets: a combination of matching deals are struck that capitalize upon the imbalance, the profit being the difference between the market prices. ...
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high returns (profits) to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business. ...
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