San Juan Record | 1943-07-15 | Page 6 | Postal Rates Were High out of Gold Fields in '48

postal rates were high out of gold fields in 48 fifty cents was the charge for sending a single page letter from oregon to missouri in 1846 but in 1848 mail service established in the gold fields of the western states broke all records for exorbitant postal rates for each letter delivered the addressee had to pay an ounce of gold dust worth then about 15 newspapers were used as letters in the middle of the century because it cost 25 cents to send a letter by mail to save money many economical people sent newspapers instead at a much lower rate and underlined words to form messages