A study of rates of postal items during Ahmad Shah era (1909 - 1925)
Letters
Three things could impact the rate of an domestic cover: 1- the distance to destination, 2- additional services, and 3- charity tax. In the next three sections we investigate each one of these in more detail. In the 4th section, I present items that do not conform with the rules provided in section 1 to 3.
1 - Distance
The basic rate of covers was determined based on the distance between the source and the destination:
- Intra city: the destination city is the same as the sender's
- Local: the destination city is less than 2 Farsakh (roughly 6.5km) away
- Country: more than 2 Farsakh
The rate of sending a cover to a destination within the same city was 2 Chahi for the whole era.
List of cities with local rates:
- Tehran <-> Shemiran
- Recht <-> Enzeli
The rate for local letters in this era was 2 Chahi.
From this date, the rate increased to 3 Chahi and stayed the same until the end of the era.
In this period, the rate of a letter up to 2 Miskal was 6 Chahi. For each extra Miskal the rate would go up by 3 Chahi.
In this period, the rate of a letter up to 2 Miskal was 10 Chahi. For each extra Miskal 5 Chahi was added to the rate.
2 - Additional Services
There were other services available to the sender to request:
- registration: The sender receives a receipt that the letter is delivered to the post office. [is there more to this?]
- Advice of receipt (AR): a receipt to be sent to the original sender once the receiver receives the letter.
- Insurance: A tax for insuring the letter for sending money.
The registration rate at this time was 16 Chahi.
The registration rate was decreased to 12 Chahi.
The registration rate was decreased yet again to 12 Chahi.
To ask for a receipt to get sent back to the sender from the receiver cost 6 Chahi for the whole era.
This service provided insurance for when the letter contained money. The insurance was 1% of the total money being sent.
3 - Charity Tax
During certain period, due to natural disaster, a charity was tax imposed for domestic letters in some cities.
1 Chahi charity tax was imposed in Tehran during XX/XX/XX to XX/XX/XX.
Tabriz charity tax was imposed during XX/XX/XX to XX/XX/XX.
4 - Out of ordinary letters
The foreign letters cost is consisted of three factors: 1- the basic rate, 2- special premiums, and 3- extra services. In the next three sections I go through each one of them and then I go through out of ordinary cases in section 4.
1 - Foreign letter rate
The foreign letter rate changed several times during this era.
2 - Special Premiums
Toward the end of the era, there was two more options available to senders on how to send their letters.
Overland Mail was a service that would expediate delivery of parcels to Europe by carrying them in an armored vehicle through the desert from Baghdad to Haifa. Senders from Iran that wanted to use this service had to pay its premium.
The Basra-Cairo air route become available in 1922. Senders could pay the extra air fee for their letters to go to Basra and then go to Cairo by air and then get shipped to its final destination.
3 - Extra services
The two main services available to senders were registration and Advice of receipt (AR).
The registration rate at between 29/11/1913 and 08/08/1921 was 12 Chahi.
4 - Out of ordinary letters
During the civil war and the Russian occupation of Tabriz, some of the letters From Tabriz were routed through Russia and the foreign rate applied to them despite being sent to a city in Iran.
Postcards (To be completed)
The rate of cover before 27/7/21 was 2 Chahi.