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Count the digits in the zip code

Many photographers and publishers included their mailing address in the photo stamp. If a photographer’s stamp with address has a 5 digit United States zip code, the stamp dates to 1962 to or later. The United States changed the zip code from 2 to 4 digits in 1962.

The 2 digit or no digit zip code was used by some after 1962, so the lack of a 5 digit doesn’t automatically prove the stamp is old.

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