“A Rate Study for the Decimal Issue of pre-Confederation Canada” with Ron Majors

BESG Hosts ThursdayOctober 8th, 2026 6PM ET NY

“A Rate Study for the Decimal Issue of pre-confederation Canada” with Ron Majors

Could a common stamp be hiding an uncommon story? You don’t have to collect Canada to benefit from Ron Majors’ exploration of the Cents era, 1859–1868. By examining what it cost to send a letter and the stamps chosen to pay that charge, Ron demonstrates an approach collectors can apply to covers from any country: understanding unusual combinations, recognizing scarce uses and discovering the significance that the stamps alone might never reveal.

The period provides a fascinating setting. Before Confederation, the lands that became Canada comprised separate British colonies with their own governments and postal arrangements. The Province of Canada’s transition from postage denominated in pence to cents in 1859 preceded political union in 1867 and the introduction of more uniform postal rates in 1868. Ron focuses on the rates during this changing decade, touching on routes where they help explain the charges.

How do we know whether a particular use is rare? Dealer Charles “Chuck” Firby’s pioneering census recorded known covers and the stamp combinations used to pay their postage. Ron has been working to expand that record with additional discoveries, helping collectors distinguish frequently encountered uses from those seldom seen. His examples range from domestic and cross-border letters to stamped and stampless mail sent to exotic destinations.

Join the British Empire Study Group on Thursday, October 8, at 6 p.m. Eastern for Ron Majors’ “Canadian Postal History: A Rate Study using Decimal-Franked and Stampless Covers (1859–1868).” Come for the Canadian covers; leave with fresh questions to ask of your own collection.

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