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> It must either be of intrinsic worth, like metal coins, or represent somebody's credit, -- that of the Government, of a corporation, or of private individuals
by afarrell 10y ago
> It must either be of intrinsic worth, like metal coins, or represent somebody's credit, -- that of the Government, of a corporation, or of private individuals. The only intrinsic value of these stamps consisted in the fact that they might be used to pay postage.
This seems to be a contradiction. The stamp is a demand upon the credit of the US Postal Service to perform an act of value. What is the difference between that and a piece of paper which is a demand upon the credit of a bank to perform the act of handing you silver?
- kirykl 10y agoI think the original authors point is, that the US Postal Service's performance of letter delivery, is not a denominated currency like ounces of gold or cents and dollars. But the real value of a stamp would be ounces of mail, and not only the act of delivery
- hammock 10y agoIt's not. They explain that a stamp DID have intrinsic value, UNTIL (if you read on they explain) the credit of the USPS had been taken away by policy that a smudged/circulated stamp is invalid