special delivery stamp

noun

a stamp of special design, having a value indicating an extra fee in addition to the regular postage, and affixed to an item of mail to ensure its special delivery.

Origin of special delivery stamp

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

The date of the first issue of the special delivery stamp to postmasters is given as the 28th June, 1898.
Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal Stationery | Clifton Armstrong Howes
Then, as though he could hurry the trains East, he put a special delivery stamp on it.
The Breaking Point | Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Black Star had sent a letter to the evening paper also, but through the mail, with a special-delivery stamp affixed.
The Black Star | Johnston McCulley
Do you s'pose it come in a registered letter, with a special delivery stamp on it?
In Pawn | Ellis Parker Butler
I did not have a special-delivery stamp; so, in order to get one, I would have had to go to the post-office and buy it.
Kindred of the Dust | Peter B. Kyne

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