Politics

President
Franklin Pierce

Postmaster General
James Campbell

Postage Rates

From July 1, 1851 - March 31, 1855 the following rates applied:
Domestic Letter Rate under 3000 mi. per ½ oz.: Prepaid: Three cents Not Prepaid: Five cents
Domestic Letter Rate over 3000 mi. per ½ oz.: Prepaid: Six cents Not Prepaid: Ten cents
Foreign Letter Rate under 2500 mi. per ½ oz.: Ten cents - except where otherwise adjusted by treaty
Foreign Letter Rate over 2500 mi. per ½ oz.: Twenty cents - except where otherwise adjusted by treaty
Drop Letter Rate: One Cent - prepayment not required - no weight restrictions
Rate for Newspapers and Circulars up to 3 oz.: One cent, with one cent for each additional oz.

From April 1, 1855 the following new rates applied:
Domestic Letter Rate under 3000 mi. per ½ oz.: Three cents - Prepayment compulsory, but stamp not necessary
Domestic Letter Rate over 3000 mi. per ½ oz.: Ten cents - Prepayment compulsory, stamp not necessary
Foreign Letter Rate under 2500 mi. per ½ oz.: Ten cents - except where otherwise adjusted by treaty
Foreign Letter Rate over 2500 mi. per ½ oz.: Twenty cents- except where otherwise adjusted by treaty
Drop Letter Rate: One cent - prepayment not required - no weight restrictions
Rate for Newspapers and Circulars up to 3 oz.: One cent, with one cent for each additional oz.
The Registry Service Began on July 1, 1855 - Registry Fee: 5¢ (no return receipt to sender)
Payment could be made in coin, no stamp was necessary.

Stamps

10¢ Washington Type I - EDU: Nov. 11, 1855 - about 500,000 issued
10¢ Washington Type II - EDU: May 12, 1855 - about 2.3 million issued
10¢ Washington Type III - EDU: May 19, 1855 - about 2 million issued
10¢ Washington Type IV - EDU: July 10, 1855 - about 200,000 issued