Penny Postcards

Penny Postcards are postcards that cost 1¢ to mail. Postage was temporarily raised to 2¢ from 1917 to 1919 to cover the cost of World War I. Sending a postcard through the mail for a penny was an affordable link with the outside world for farm families in the early 1900s.

The U.S. government had issued plain, penny postal cards since 1873. The Penny Postcard was developed by Post Master General John Creswell.