Reduced Letter Rates to Belgium

Since 1875, the first weight letter rates from the Netherlands to neighbouring Belgium were less than the rates to other foreign destinations. There were no reductions for other classes of mail.
 

The 10 cent letter rate to Belgium was effective until September 30, 1957.


1. March 1, 1921 - September 30, 1925 : 15c

 Leiden to Dinard (Poste restante) May 5, 1925

15c reduced letter rate to Belgium

Poste restante fee 20c

2. October 1, 1925 - October 31, 1928 : 12 1/2c

Veendam to Brussels, July 25, 1928

12 1/2c reduced letter rate to Belgium

Rotterdam to Brussels, November 6, 1927

12 1/2c reduced letter rate to Belgium

3. November 1, 1928 - September 30, 1957 : 10c

s'Gravenhage to Dinant (Poste restante), July 8, 1936

10c reduced letter rate to Belgium

Poste restante fee 30c

Hoogezand to Brussels, March 29, 1940

10c reduced letter rate to Belgium

Haarlem to Antwerp, April 10, 1940

10c reduced letter rate to Belgium

Amsterdam to Louvain, September 13, 1932

35c paying the reduced letter rate + international express fee (no reduction)

Rotterdam to Brussels, June 7, 1934

35c paying the reduced letter rate + international express fee (no reduction)

Occupation Years

Maastricht to Brussels, May 17, 1941

10c reduced letter rate to Belgium

Haarlem to Antwerp, February, 1941

10c reduced letter rate to Belgium

Rotterdam to Antwerp, July 14, 1943

10c reduced letter rate to Belgium

Rotterdamsche Bankvereeninging correspondence

Breda to Antwerp, April 20, 1942

10c reduced letter rate to Belgium

Rotterdam to Brussels, June 29, 1942

20c paying the reduced letter rate to Belgium + international registration fee

Veendam to Brussels, May 13, 1941

30c paying the reduced letter rate + international express fee (no reduction)

 Amsterdam to Brussels, November 4, 1943

 30c paying the reduced letter rate + international express fee (no reduction)

International Change of Address : 1925 - 1946

Domestic change of address cards were first issued by the Netherlands PTT in 1919. The change of address rate was the same as the first weight domestic printed matter rate.  Domestic change of address cards were the subject of an earlier post.

The domestic change of address cards could be sent to international destinations but had to be uprated, not to the international printed matter rate, but to the international post card rate. This was confusing and resulted in the underpayments shown in this post.

In 1940, the international change of address rate was decreased to the international printed matter rate with the release of the 2 1/2c  international change of address card. The 1 1/2c domestic cards could also be uprated to 2 1/2c for use to foreign destinations.

1) October 1, 1925 - October 31, 1928 : 10c

The international post card rate applied to domestic change of address cards mailed to foreign destinations.

To the United States

Haarlem to Arlington, Mass., May 29, 1926

2c domestic change of address card uprated to 10c foreign post card rate

2) November 1, 1928 - 1940

The 7 1/2 c international post card rate was charged for change of address cards mailed to foreign destinations.

a) Fully Paid

To Canada

Bussum to Toronto, April 3, 1934

1 1/2c domestic change of address card uprated to 7 1/2 c foreign post card rate

s'Gravenhage to Detroit, March 29, 1935

1 1/2c domestic change of address card uprated to 7 1/2 c foreign post card rate

(1/2 c convenience overpayment)

To Germany

s'Gravenhage to Vienna, March 1, 1939

1 1/2c domestic change of address card uprated to 7 1/2 c foreign post card rate

To Palestine

Amsterdam to Haifa, October 19, 1939

1 1/2c domestic change of address card uprated to 7 1/2 c foreign post card rate

The sender, aware that the  international  post card rate applied to change of address cards, wrote the following:

It's a pity to send this card without any words as the whole porto is wasted. So I write these lines that we are in great health and that we four work closely together.

Both sides of the card were used for the message.

b) Insufficiently Paid

To Germany

(Not taxed)

Utrecht to Cologne, April 19, 1932

1 1/2c domestic change of address card incorrectly uprated to 2 1/2 c foreign printed matter rate

The card should have been taxed 10c (double the 5c deficiency) or 20 gold centimes. The German amount due would have been 10 pfennig (25pf = 50 g. centimes)

To the United States

 

Apeldorn to San Francisco, October 23, 1937

1 1/2c domestic change of address card  uprated to 3 c 

Netherlands tax 20 g centimes - U.S. postage due 4 cents

3) 1940 - November 1, 1946

The first international change of address card was issued in 1940.

To France

Amsterdam to Paris, November 4, 1940

2 1/2c international change of address rate

Domestic change of address cards could be uprated to 2 1/2c for use to foreign destinations.

To Sweden

Amsterdam to Kiruna, September 30, 1941

2 1/2c international change of address card rate

To Finland

Dorn to Kotka, May 6, 1946

 2 1/2c international change of address card rate

International Printed Matter Rates : 1921 - 1946

According to the  Universal Postal Union regulations,  printed papers were not to contain any personal correspondence and were to be made up in such a way as to allow their contents to be easily examined.

The international newspaper rates were the same as the printed matter rates.

1) March 1, 1921 - September 30, 1925 : 5c/50g

To Belgium

 Haarlem to Bergen,June 6, 1926

5c printed matter rate

To the United States

 Newspaper

Dordrecht to Chester, N.Y., December 4, 1934

5c international newspaper rate for 50g.

2) October 1, 1925 to October 31, 1928 : 3c/50g

The international printed matter rate was reduced from 5c to 3c for each 50g.

To Hungary

 Rotterdam to Budapest, March 10, 1926

3c international printed matter rate

To Finland

Rotterdam to Pietarsaari, December 3, 1927

3c international printed matter rate

To France

 Amsterdam to Paris, June 24, 1927

3c international printed matter rate

To Germany

 Rotterdam to Leipzig, June, 1928

3c Lebau stationery post card used to prepay the international printed matter rate

Drachten to Berlin, December 3, 1927

3c printed matter rate

To the United States

Amsterdam Central Station to Brooklyn, May 11, 1928

3c printed matter rate

International Committee of Antimilitarist Clergymen

Ammerstol to Westfield, Ill., March 24, 1927

3 cents printed matter rate

Newspaper

Rotterdam to a passenger on board S.S. "Noord Holland, New-Castle, June 19, 1926

6c paying the double weight (up to 100g.) international newspaper rate

3) November 1, 1928 - October 31, 1946 : 2 1/2c/50g

The international printed matter rate was reduced to 2 1/2 c on November 1, 1928, and was unchanged for the next 16 years. This lengthy period is divided into three parts:

a) Pre-war years : 1928 - 1940
b) War and Occupation years : 1940 - 1945
c) Post-War: 1945 -1946


a) Pre-War years : 1928 - 1940

To the United States

The Port of Amsterdam

Amsterdam to Boston, August 6, 1931
2 1/2c international printed matter rate

 

 Wateringen to Norfolk, May 23, 1938

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

 

 Amsterdam to Charlotte, August 21, 1936

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Latvia

 Haarlem to Valgunde, October 15, 1937 (Redirected to Sipele)

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Luxembourg

AMSTERDAM-ARNHEM TPO, to Luxembourg, May 6, 1930

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Argentina

 Amsterdam to Baha Bianca, December 30, 1939  

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Norway

Zierikzee to Stavanger, November 4, 1931

 2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Colombia

Amsterdam to Barrabquilla, November 12, 1931

 2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To the U.S.S.R.

Purmerend to Nizhni Novgorod, September 22, 1931

 2 1/2c international printed matter rate

 Vlaardingen to Leningrad, December 18, 1936

 2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To South Africa

 s'Gravenhage to Johannesburg, November 3, 1937 (Unclaimed and returned to sender)

 2 1/2c international printed matter rate

 Rotterdam to Poschefstroom, November 30, 1937 (Redirected to Butawayo)

 2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Hungary

 s'Gravenhage to Budapest, December 25, 1926

 2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Great Britain

Amsterdam to Barnsley, December 5, 1939

 2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Switzerland

Gelukwensch "telegram" ( Congratulations "telegram")

 Hengelo to Zurich, May 31, 1937

2 1/2c international printed matter rate (1/2c convenience overpayment)

  
To Australia

Anti-racist label

 Apeldoorn to Melbourne, July 21, 1939

10c paying the >150g, ≤ 200g (4rth weight step) international printed matter rate


Racial Hatred
Not Dutch
Not Christian
Not human

  

To Germany

Rotterdam to Walsrode, January 17, 1933

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

On March 12, 1938, Austria was annexed by Germany.

 Amsterdam to Vienna, June 17, 1938

2 1/2c international printed matter rate 

b)  War and Occupation years : 1940 - 1945

To Italy

Oisterwijk to Rome, July 24, 1940

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Hungary

Amsterdam to Debrecen, September 9, 1941

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

Amsterdam to Debrecen, May 11, 1942

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Sweden

 s'Gravenhage to Huskvarna, November 15, 1940

 2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To the Philippines

Amsterdam to Iloilo, May 1, 1941

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Finland

 Amsterdam to Pietarsaari, June 17, 1941

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia

 s'Gravenhage to Tischnowitz, Moravia, June 23, 1943

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Germany

s'Gravenhage to Berlin, December 22, 1942

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

 Newspaper 

Bussum to Dresden, February 8, 1942

5c paying the 2nd weight step newspaper rate

Nijmegan to Innsbruck, July 5, 1941

 2 1/2c international printed matter rate

 To the United States

Eindhoven to Schenectady, January 13, 1941

 7 1/2c paying the 3rd weight printed matter rate

Registered

To the United States

Driebergen to Philadelphia, December 12, 1940

140c paying the registered, 52nd weight step (2.6kg) printed matter rate

To Germany

Auction catalogue

Amsterdam to Bad Oldesloe, November 26, 1943

30c paying the registered, 8th weight step (400g) printed matter rate

 Express

To Germany

 s'Gravenhage to Blankenfelde, April 1, 1941

32 1/2 c paying the express, 5th weight step (250g) printed matter rate

c) Post-War: 1945 -1946

 To Switzerland

Rotterdam to Zug, July 13, 1946

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Canada

Voorburg to London, Ont., February 12, 1946

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

 To Great Britain

Amsterdam to London, January 21, 1946

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

 To China

Amsterdam to Shanghai, December 6, 1945 (returned)

2 1/2c international printed matter rate

To Sweden

Radio Nederland

Hillversum to Orebro, May 3, 1946

2 1/2c international printed matter rate