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How Old is That Postcard?

A quick breakdown on how to determine the age of a postcard ...

Private Mailing Cards or PMCs (1898-1901) ... "Private Mailing Card" printed on back ...




Undivided Back Postcards (1901-1907) ... the backs of these cards were not divided. Only the address was supposed to be on the back, so many of these cards have the majority of writing on the front ...




Divided Back Postcards (1907-1915) ... the backs of these cards were divided. This allowed for the message and address to both be written on the back ...




White Border Postcards (1915-1930) ... these cards had a white border around the view on front ...




Linen Postcards (1930-1945) ... these cards were made from a linen-like paper and most have a fairly distinct grid-like pattern on front ...




Photochrome or Chrome Postcards (1939-present) ... progress in the printing industry led to the cards you'll see at the grocery store today ... they have a shiny front finish with much more detailed images ...




Real Photo or RPPC Postcards (1900-present) ... these cards were made using the negative from an actual photograph ... earlier RPPCs are pretty easy to date ...




... some of the newer RPPCs can be difficult to pinpoint an exact age ...




Other things to consider when determining the age of a postcard ...

- if a postcard has a postmark anywhere on it, you pretty much know the age

- if a postcard has a stamp, it can help you pinpoint the age also

- look at the clothes, cars, hair styles, etc., these can often give good clues to the age of a postcard

- there are often copyright dates on the back

- zip codes were introduced in 1963 ... if the publisher has their zip code printed in their address on back, then it is obviously newer than 1963