About This Stamp
A 20-cent commemorative stamp recognizing the 25th anniversary of the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway was issued June 26, 1984, in Massena, New York. The First Day of Issue ceremony was held at the town hall. A similar stamp was issued the same day by Canada Post Corporation.
Both the U.S. and Canada stamps were designed by Ernst Barenscher of Kings City, Ontario. The U.S. stamp graphically depicts an aerial view of the overall route of the seaway, and the Canada stamp features a profile view of the entire inland waterway made navigable by the seaway. The modeler of the U.S. stamp was Richard Sennett.
The United States and Canada completed the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. The 2,342-mile waterway, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to Duluth, Minnesota, opened the industrial and agricultural heartland of North America to deep-draft ocean vessels.
The American Bank Note Company printed the St. Lawrence Seaway stamp. The numbering system, as with all the stamps printed by the firm, features the letter "A" as a prefix. The U.S. stamp was printed in the photogravure process, with 50 stamps per pane.
By agreement between the two postal administrations, the Canada stamp was sold by the U.S. Postal Service at a price of 32 cents, and the U.S. stamp was sold in Canada by Canada Post Corporation. Packets prepared by Canada containing either an individual plate number block of four or four-position plate number blocks (16 stamps) were sold by the U.S. Postal Service for $1.28 and $5.12, respectively.
The U.S. Postal Service sold both versions of the St. Lawrence Seaway stamp First Day Cover prepared by Canada Post Corporation. The versions feature an appropriate design on the left side. The single cover bore the Canada stamp and cancellation only, and the combination cover had both the Canada stamp and the U.S. stamp affixed, each bearing the cancellation of the respective country. They were sold for 52 cents and 72 cents, respectively. These fees included a 20-cent charge for the cover.
Canada's stamp, pre-packaged plate number blocks, and covers were sold in Massena, New York, on June 26 only. Following that, they were sold by mail order from the Philatelic Sales Division and at the L'Enfant Plaza Philatelic Center in Washington, D.C., until December 31. The first day covers only were available at 113 Philatelic Centers in the United States during the same period.
The U.S. Postal Service was authorized to apply the Canadian first day of issue cancellation to Canada's stamp on a hand-back basis in Massena on June 26 only and by mail order from Massena until July 26, 30 days after the issue date. However, customers placing mail orders for the Canadian stamp and cancellation on their covers also had to bear the U.S. stamp in the upper right corner of the envelope to allow for the cover's return by mail. Mail orders for covers bearing only the Canadian stamp were not accepted. Canada also was authorized to apply the U.S. first day of issue cancellation to U.S. stamps in Canada.
Neither the U.S. nor Canada stamp had the first day of issue cancellation of the other country applied to it. The U.S. cancellation was applied to the U.S. stamp only, and the Canadian cancellation was applied only to that country's stamp. However, covers bearing the stamps of both countries adjacent to one another, such that one of the country's cancellations would strike both stamps, were canceled with either cancellation, according to the customer's request.