In 1874, the Treaty of Berne created the Universal Postal Union, an international, independent overseer of the mail, sort of like a NATO for your vacation postcards. Most all of the civilized world recognizes the UPU’s authority over getting the mail to its intended destination, and part of the UPU’s operation is to reconcile the funds for delivering international mail. When you purchase a international postage stamp, you go to your local post office, and your own nation’s postal service receives the payment for the postage. The country that actually delivers the mail, at the destination, doesn’t get paid for that particular stamp. Within a 
country, businesses use postage-guaranteed return envelopes, while private citizens can include a self-addressed stamped envelope, both of which ensures a return response by guaranteeing that postage is already paid to the delivering postal service. You cannot exactly put a bunch of U.S.A.-originated airmail stamps on an enclosed envelope and cross your fingers in hopes that France’s postal service will get your response back to you. While the internet reduces the impact of this sort of international postal morass, there has been a distinct efficient solution to this problem since 1906: the International Reply Coupon.
These slips are powerful little bits of international diplomacy: You purchase an IRC from your local post office, who postmarks the form, then gives it to you. When you mail your friend in London, you enclose an IRC, which they then present to their post office in exchange for the correct postage. This allows someone at the other end of the world to mail something to you internationally, without bearing the cost of postage.
As with most postal collectibles, there are two major aspects to desirability of these IRCs: Age and Country of Origin. While an IRC from your local post office might be a novel addition to a collection, collecting IRCs from other countries has a far greater scope than your hometown. Getting an IRC from another country is the difficult part, which accounts for their somewhat rarity: You need to get a local resident of that country to send one to you. This happens casually in other hobbies, such as QSL trading among Ham Radio operators (another CQ article in itself), or even philatelic trading groups who exchange local stamps with other international hobbyists. These IRCs will, of course, only have one single postmark, even though there are two blanks. The second blank is for your local country’s postmark, validating the return postage, but once the local postmark is added the IRC is traded for stamps and the post office keeps the IRC. As such, an IRC with two postmarks is probably quite rare – in my brief research, I found no examples with two stamps.
Throughout the life of the International Reply Coupon, the design of the Coupon has had only a single design at any one time, although the design has changed progressively over the years and languages varied in some versions within the same style. The earliest design had an allegory of international communication, a woman passing an envelope around two stylized globes. Today’s design, newly revised for the centennial of the IRC, returned to an allegorical design using two hands (a detail of the Creation, from the Sistine Chapel) in front of an outline of a postage stamp. Other versions existed between the two, with varying degrees of ornament and bureaucracy. The particular forms were printed in enormous numbers and distributed to the four corners of the globe, and largely serve for identifying the time period they were issued in. The first day the IRCs were issued was October 1st, 1907, and IRCs with that stamp are quite rare because they were only issued in very few post offices. As not every post office is able to issue an IRC, you cannot expect to find them from every city or postal code, but every UPU country has the ability to issue them — how often these were purchased and remain unredeemed is nearly impossible to determine, so great diligence is needed to identify examples you need for your collection. Another variance in IRCs occurred when postal rates occurred within a country. Just as when you had to add a three-cent stamp to get your local mail delivered, IRCs purchased within certain time periods may have both a postmark and an additional postage stamp attached to cover the difference in postage. Despite their general rarity, there is not a lot of demand for them as this is an overlooked collectible for the most part. Good examples dating back even to the 1930s can be had for under $10, while the earliest of them can go for hundreds of dollars.
Tags: collection, international postal service, philately, united nations
Permalink | 17 Comments »
February 25th, 2009 at 11:11 PM
Greetings:
A few comments re the above:
Many IRCs are not rare; particularly those issued after 1950 in major countries of the world. Prices for nice examples should be in the $1-5 range. Earlier Coupons and those from small, undeveloped countries are much harder to come by. Your best resource is eBay for its ongoing auctions (type in “reply coupon” to see them).
Periodic auctions are held by mail out of Bremen, Germany and Bala Cynwyd, PA. Books on British area Imperial and Commonwealth countries and an illustrated guide to all IRC types are available from peterrobin@verizon.net. With reference to demand, it is constantly growing; especially in Europe.
Peter Robin
April 18th, 2009 at 4:50 AM
Dear All
At the moment I am collecting International Reply Coupon (IRC) since year 1968, altogether have used from some state in European Continent, American, Australian, African, Asian and Australian amount to its 125 IRC’S target to Dily Timor Leste.
This Collection have been presented by at exhibition in Honggaria 1995 and get silver certificate.
this is rare collection.
If there are any enthusiastic I will sell it.
Price earn in negotiation of is including certificate.
Johny S Pandie
jspandie@yahoo.com
phone +62818640800
West Java Indonesia
April 18th, 2009 at 4:57 AM
Hi
Do you want to sell your International reply Coupon collection?
How much does it price.
Khandaly
spore
April 29th, 2009 at 12:30 AM
What happens with the IRCs when they are exchanged at the destination for postage stamps? Is it possible to buy or get used IRCs for collecting purposes?
Bye, Enrique Setaro / Miami, FL US
June 16th, 2009 at 6:51 AM
Collecting IRC.s is unicue, because after the IRC’d received into destination, the IRC’s can be change with stamp.But if you celloceting after mark on the circle it will unicue, because the IRC will be sent to Bern Swiss and the postal will burn it. as I know.
So collecting IRC’s was an unique collecting.
I doe not matter who want or need the collection its just a hoby.
Yoman
Bali
July 28th, 2009 at 6:55 PM
This Collection have been presented by at exhibition in Honggaria 1995 and get silver certificate.
this is rare collection.
If there are any enthusiastic I will sell it.
September 8th, 2009 at 3:06 AM
Hi Johny Do you intent to sell your collection?
Can you sent to me the copy of your collection.
How much that you will sell your collection.
I am waiting your respond
Sincerrly yours
Khandaly
September 27th, 2009 at 10:51 PM
Mr. Setaro: In the U.S. according to my information, redeemed IRCs are audited and, presumably destroyed, by a private accounting firm in, if I remember correctly, Minnesota. This company did not respond to two letters that I sent them requesting further information.
That said, it is not particularly difficult to acquire IRCs with a canceling postmark. Perhaps 2-3% of coupons which one sees have been officially redeemed. Dealers who handle this material such as I will provide commoner varieties for a couple of dollars.
Peter Robin
January 1st, 2010 at 6:23 AM
Dear Sir,
I am trying to find a 2007 IRC for the 100th anniversary mint or used with 1907-2007 on it. could somebody point me in he direction of 1 for sale
regards
Terry Wagg
January 7th, 2010 at 2:27 PM
Just one remark on purchasing IRCs as collector´items.
Ebay is not too bad but you´ll find many more IRCs at http://www.delcampe.net –
same as on ebay just type in “reply coupon”
Wolfgang
January 12th, 2011 at 6:21 PM
I need IRC CHILE, 1906 to 1975.
July 11th, 2011 at 5:28 PM
Hello. I have an IRC from Greece, possibly 1919 or 1909 “AEIITA” 30 and wonder if there are any collectors out there who would like to buy it. The postal stamp is not clear but here is what I can make of it:
XANIA
27 MAY -9-9
-EYETHME–
Please contact me if you are interested or if you know what the stamp should say.
July 11th, 2011 at 5:30 PM
here’s my email.
July 11th, 2011 at 5:30 PM
lewis.marina@yahoo.com
December 12th, 2011 at 8:55 PM
I have 2 IRC’s. One issued in Czechhoslovakia in the amount of 2 Ke, 75 h. and the other issued in Germany for 35 Reichspfenning. The post mark on the former is too smudged to read well, but the German form shows “Meerane” on top, “-9 5:3 15-16″ in the center and “Isachsen_(blur)_(blur)”. Anyone have an interest? Both are in very good condition.
January 30th, 2012 at 3:28 PM
DOES ANY ONE WANT TO SELL OR GET RID OF THEIR INTERNATIONAL REPLY COUPONS
COUNTRIES AND QUANTITY DOES NOT MATTER
THESE WILL BE GIVEN TO YOUNG COLLECTORS THAT ARE STARTING TO COLLECT STAMPS AS MOST ARE NOT AWARE WHAT THESE COUPONS ARE
March 15th, 2012 at 6:11 AM
Dear All
At the moment I am collecting International Reply Coupon (IRC) since year 1968, altogether have used from some state in European Continent, American, Australian, African, Asian and Australian amount to its 125 IRC’S target to Dily Timor Leste.
This Collection have been presented by at exhibition in Honggaria 1995 and get silver certificate.
this is rare collection.
If there are any enthusiastic I will sell it.
Price earn in negotiation of is including certificate.
Johny S Pandie
jspandie@yahoo.com
phone +62818640800
West Java Indonesia