... Part I, Chapter 83, Section 1720, says:
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Sec. 1720. - Canceled stamps and envelopes
Whoever uses or attempts to use in payment of postage, any canceled postage stamp, whether the same has been used or not, or removes, attempts to remove, or assists in removing, the canceling or defacing marks from any postage stamp, or the superscription from any stamped envelope, or postal card, that has once been used in payment of postage, with the intent to use the same for a like purpose, or to sell or offer to sell the same, or knowingly possesses any such postage stamp, stamped envelope, or postal card, with intent to use the same or knowingly sells or offers to sell any such postage stamp, stamped envelope, or postal card, or uses or attempts to use the same in payment of postage; or
Whoever unlawfully and willfully removes from any mail matter any stamp attached thereto in payment of postage; or
Whoever knowingly uses in payment of postage, any postage stamp, postal card, or stamped envelope, issued in pursuance of law, which has already been used for a like purpose -
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; but if he is a person employed in the Postal Service, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
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Makes it pretty clear that this is a no-no -- and that it is not simply a matter of "ethics". You could actually go to prison for doing it. Therefore, the only good legal advice would be don't do it.
And I certainly wouldn't suggest in a public forum that there isn't one chance in a million that you'd ever get caught if you did it with an occasional stamp that "skipped" through the cancellation process unscathed. Or that under those circumstances, even if you did get caught the feds almost certainly wouldn't waste their time prosecuting you (unless you are doing it large scale and more likely by violating the first provision of this section regarding the removal of cancellation marks). Or that it isn't like they don't have better things to do with their time.
----- jim o\-S
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