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. 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.

[[Category:I]]