International reply coupon
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An international reply coupon (IRC) is a coupon that can be exchanged for one or more postage stamps representing the minimum postage for an unregistered priority airmail letter sent to another Universal Postal Union (UPU) member country. IRCs are accepted by all UPU member countries.
UPU member postal services are obliged to exchange an IRC for postage, but are not obliged to sell them.
The purpose of the IRC is to be able to send someone in another country a letter, along with the cost of postage for them to reply. If the addressee is within the same country, there is no need for an IRC because a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) will suffice; but if the addressee is in another country an IRC removes the necessity of acquiring foreign postage or sending appropriate currency.
[edit] History
The IRC was introduced in 1906 at a Universal Postal Union congress in Rome. At the time an IRC could be exchanged for a single-rate, ordinary postage stamp for surface delivery to a foreign country as this was before the introduction of airmail services. As of 2006 an IRC is exchangeable in a UPU member country for the minimum postage of a priority or unregistered airmail letter to a foreign country.
As of February, 2007, the current IRC is called "Beijing Model No. 2" and is available from post offices in more than 70 countries. They have an expiry date of 31 December 2009. IRC's are ordered from the UPU headquarters in Berne, Switzerland, by postal authorithies. They are generally available at large post offices; in the U.S., they are requisitioned along with regular domestic stamps by any Post Office that has sufficient demand for them.
Prices for IRCs vary by country; as of January, 2007, the price was $1.85 USD within the United States, and $3.50 CAD in Canada.
[edit] Trivia
The theoretical profit that can be made by exercising arbitrage over the varying price of an IRC in two different countries was the notional profit generator for the eponymous Ponzi Scheme.
IRCs are often used by Ham radio operators sending QSL cards to each other; it has traditionally been considered good practice and common courtesy to include an IRC when writing to a foreign operator and expecting a reply by mail.[1]
