[codva]

I'm not surprised at all. I have a relative who sends out Christmas cards every year using cancelled stamps from those 1000 stamps for a dollar stamp collector starter kits. He has been doing this for 15+ years. It is amusing though to get a Christmas card in 2012 covered in multiple 8 cent Eisenhower stamps.

Apparently stamp fraud is not a high priority issue at USPS.

[meric]

Are those real, but used, Eisenhower stamps, or fake ones?

[Wingman4l7]

They'd be real, but used stamps. I can't imagine anyone cheap enough to bother faking 8 cent stamps -- although apparently there are people cheap enough to use cancelled ones! =P

Kidding aside, I think it'd be awesome to get cards like that -- and maybe the USPS thinks so too, which is maybe why they're letting them through. =)

[snogglethorpe]

> Kidding aside, I think it'd be awesome to get cards like that -- and maybe the USPS thinks so too, which is maybe why they're letting them through. =)

haha, totally agree, I suspect that the canceled stamps are detected, probably automatically, but when a human gets involved, he thinks it's funny/cool/nostalgic ("why those are the same stamps my grandma used!"), and just laughs and passes them on...

Also, you know, Christmas... :]

[dredmorbius]

I've seen uncanceled, but taped-on (adhesive had gone bad) stamped mail returned for invalid postage.