[Dx-qsl] GS vx IRC's

Fri Jan 8 20:41:21 EST 2010

W9OL added:
>I gave up on IRC's.
>>VR2BG's analysis shows they aren't worth the effort.
>>I go to the bank, and get crisp new 2ドル bills.
>I find that one 2ドル bill works better than 2 1$ bills.
>Maybe it's the uniqueness.
>>Whatever, it may be a tad over what is necessary.
>But the GS/IRC chart shows that many many countries, 1 IRC isn't enough.
>>http://www.qsl.net/w9ol/IRC_Chart.htm
>>Always looking for updates from hams REPORTING ON THE POSTAGE NEEDED IN
>THEIR homeland.

One IRC _is_ enough. Relevant bits from current UPU LM:
Article RL 142
International reply coupons
3. Reply coupons shall be exchangeable in any member country for postage
stamps and, if not precluded by the internal legislation of the country of
exchange, for postal stationery or postal prepayment marks or impressions
representing the minimum postage prepayable on an unregistered priority
letter-post item or an unregistered airmail letter sent abroad, whatever the
country of destination.
Commentary
142.2 Up to the 1989 Washington Congress, the value of the reply coupon
was aligned with the amount of the highest charge for a letter of 20 g (100%
increase in the basic charge authorized since the 1979 Rio de Janeiro
Congress). When the 1989 Washington Congress changed the basic rates to
guideline rates, and as a result abolished the upper and lower limits of the
charges, it fixed the value of the reply coupon at double the basic 
charge for a
20 g letter.
142.3 The exchange of reply coupons is compulsory for all countries even
though their sale is optional. If the sender asks - in exchange for a reply
coupon - for a commemorative stamp or stamps on which a supplement is
payable, he will have to pay the supplement himself (decision C 5/Brussels
95).
Reply coupons intended for exchange against the postage stamps necessary
for prepaying items to be sent to countries with which a designated operator
has an agreement on reduced charges must be exchanged against the value
of the postage prepayable for countries with which no agreement on reduced
charges exists (decision C 6/Paris 947).
In countries applying the provisions relating to standardized items (art RL
106.9 and RL 128) two different rates may be applied to letters up to 20 g. To
take account of this situation, the 1974 Lausanne Congress replaced the
expression "postage prepayable on an unregistered letter of the first weight
step" by "minimum postage prepayable on an unregistered letter" to specify
that in such countries the equivalent value of a reply coupon is that of the
postage payable on a standardized letter.
Is very clear, since 1974 one IRC shall be exchanged by the postal authority
of UPU members for postage to send a 20 gram unregistered airmail letter to
anywhere in the world. This more-than-one-is-needed thing comes from the
time when IRCs were for surface mail & obviously >1 would be required for air.
Postal pariah states based on what has been reported to Bill are: EY, HB, OD,
ON, PJ, PZ, TU, XU, YV & ZS. For 35 years now, one air mail IRC has been
enough. Second-string postal pariah states were: 5B, EU, HB, HK & TI for
refusing to exchange older IRCs (issued before 2002) prior to the UPU doing a
dirty & retroactively applying a use-by date on them of 2007年08月31日.
IRCs only make cents for POs. Because everybody accepts them not being
honored as they must, the best use for them I can see now is where it isn't a
good idea to post cash.
73, ex-VR2BG/p.