Palm
Harbor Letter Carrier Linda Dees (above) holds a Savings Card filled with
10-cent stamps. She found the personal treasure when her father, a lifelong
stamp collector, was going through his collection. “The savings account belonged to my Mom, who passed
away over 20 years ago. I had no idea
she owned a United States Postal Savings System account,” said Dees, who has
been a postal employee for 28 years.
An
Act of Congress on June 25, 1910, established the Postal Savings System in
designated Post Offices, effective January 1, 1911. The
Savings Stamps were available in denominations of 10-cents, 25-cents,
50-cents, $1 and $5. After the war, banks raised their interest rates and began
offering the same governmental guarantee as the Postal Savings System. In
addition, United States savings bonds gave higher interest rates, causing
deposits in the Postal Savings System to drastically decline in 1964. The savings system ended July 1, 1967.
Dees,
who was a Franciscan Sister of Allegany nun in a convent for seven years, said the unexpected discovery of
her mother’s United States Postal Savings System account was “like a blessing from above” and has
sentimental value.
