International reply coupon

An International reply coupon, or IRC, is a small voucher of sorts purchased from a post office that can be sent to someone in another country. There, it can be redeemed for first class airmail postage stamps. So, it provides a way for the recipient to reply to the sender, considered good practice in the case of those collecting QSL cards.

IRCs, a creation of the UPU, were first issued in 1906 and paid for an international first class stamp for surface mail for many years, later for airmail. International reply coupons are still used today, although the US and Great Britain have stopped selling them since 2012 and Italy is phasing them out. Unlike the Forever stamps of today, IRCs have an expiration date.

 File:IRC US.jpg|IRC from the US. Note country designation, price indicated and 1947 postmark. As always, click on the images here for a bigger view. File:IRC France.jpg|IRC from France. Note that just an office name was used instead of a dated cancel. File:IRC Poland modern.jpg|Very modern IRC from Poland. Note the security features like the hologram and microprinting. 

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