to a ward when declared incompetent by a court. They will be paid only to the committee, guardian, or other duly authorized person.

(6) To minors. A money order payable to a minor may be paid to the father or mother as natural guardian unless prohibited by court order.

(e) When orders will not be paid(1) When there is a second endorsement. A money order with more than one endorsement is invalid. For proper procedure to obtain a duplicate, see § 171.1(g) (1).

(2) When there is a question on a COD parcel. No payment will be made when a money order has been issued in return for a COD parcel, and is presented by the addressee (purchaser) and the money order has not been endorsed by the payee (shipper) or the payee has not expressly authorized payment to the purchaser by written approval.

(f) Examination of the order. The postal employee shall examine the order to see that:

(1) It is not a form reported stolen. If it is, he shall try to delay the person; immediately notify local police, nearest postal inspector, or postal inspector in charge; and hold order for instructions.

(2) It is properly stamped and drawn by the issuing office. Machine-issued orders are payable in the amount imprinted by the machine and for no more than the amount stamped between the words "not valid for more than" and the word "pay."

(3) It does not bear any alterations or

erasures.

(4) It is presented by the payee, endorsee, or purchaser. (A duplicate money order is payable only if presented by the payee or by his endorsee.) Money orders may be accepted from responsible individuals or business firms bearing rubberstamp endorsements, provided a specimen of the form of endorsement to be so used is filed with the postmaster over the signature of the individual, or an authorized officer of the company, accepting responsibility for the payment of orders so endorsed.

If in doubt as to the date or amount on a domestic order, an inquiry shall be sent to the issuing postmaster for verification, using POD Form 31, Office Memorandum.

(g) Identification of payee. If the payee presenting the money order is not personally known to the postal employee, he must prove his identity. Social security

cards are not acceptable. Drivers permits, military identification cards, or other credentials showing signature of bearer and having serial numbers or other indicia which can be traced to the holder are helpful in identification. The owner must sign the money order in the presence of the postal employee. The postal employee shall compare signature with identification, if possible; shall enter on the back of the order the license or serial number and full description of the identification, including street address, city, and State; and shall also initial the back of the order. This will aid in apprehending persons attempting forgery or other wrong payment. If the postal employee has taken proper care under the circumstances, the Department will recommend that he be relieved of financial responsibility for wrong payment. This procedure must be followed carefully in the case of endorsed money orders, as they might bear a forged endorsement and be in the hands of the wrong person.

(h) Disposition of paid orders. The postal employee shall put the office dating stamp and his initials on the back of the money orders paid and handle them as postal funds. When a patron regularly presents a large number of money orders for payment, write to Bureau of Finance and Administration, Money Order Division, for special instructions on handling.

(i) Cashing money orders issued by foreign countries. Money orders issued in countries listed in § 171.2 (a) (7), either with or without an advice, and money orders issued by the International Money Order Branch for the countries listed in §§ 171.2(a) (8) and (9), are valid for 1 year from the last day of the month of original issue. Except for the period of validity, payment shall be made in accordance with instructions covering domestic money orders.

(39 U.S.C. 505) [32 F.R. 20642, Dec. 21, 1967] § 171.4

Inquiries.

(a) Who may receive information. Information about money order transactions may be given to purchaser, payee, or endorsee, or their agent, or to a representative of the Department. Compliance with requests from others must be authorized by Headquarters. (See § 113.1 (a) and (e) of this chapter.)

(b) Inquiries regarding payment. Postal employees shall handle as follows:

(1) Orders issued on domestic form. Send Form 6401 to the Money Order

Division. Do not accept until 60 days after the issue date of the money order.

(2) Orders issued on international form. Send Form 6684, Inquiry Concerning International Money Order Issued in the United States, to International Money Order Branch, Post Office Department, General Accounting Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20260, for order issued in the United States. Do not accept until 30 days after the issue date of the money order. When reply is received from the International Money Order Branch, Post Office Department, General Accounting Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20260, enter the required information on Form 6860 Reply to Inquiry Concerning Payment of International Money Order, and forward it to the patron.

(3) Orders issued by other countries. Send directly to the country of origin all inquiries, applications for duplicates and requests for photostats of money orders issued in countries with which business is conducted on the domestic-international basis. See § 171.2(a) (7) for addresses. (39 U.S.C. 505) [32 F.R. 20642, Dec. 21, 19671 § 171.5 Requests for photostats of paid money orders.

A photostat of a paid money order will be furnished to the purchaser, payee or endorsee by the Money Order Division upon payment of a charge of 30 cents. Form 6065, Request for Photo Copy of Money Order, shall be completed to show the name and address of the person or firm applying for the photostat. The photostat will be mailed directly to the applicant. The charge for the photostat shall be accounted for by affixing and canceling 30 cents in postage stamps on the back of Form 6065 to the left of the Money Order Division address.

[31 F.R. 4208, Mar. 10, 1966. Redesignated at 31 F.R. 15350, Dec. 8, 1966]

§ 171.6 Wrong payment.

(a) Through error only. If a money order intended for one person or firm is paid to another through error and without fraudulent intent and both parties live in the same city, the postal employee may recover the amount from the one wrongly paid and deliver it to the other. If impractical to settle in this manner, he shall report the case to the Money Order Division for adjustment.

(b) Through alleged fraud. When improper payment is alleged, the postal employee shall obtain the photostat of

the paid order for examination. No fee for the photostat of the money order is required in such case. If the claimant denies proper payment, he must complete Form 6337, Affidavit Relative to Alleged Wrong Payment of a Money Order, in duplicate. The postal employee shall send the two copies of the completed Form 6337 with the photostat of the paid order to the postal inspector in charge.

[29 F.R. 2758, Feb. 27, 1964, as amended at 31 F.R. 4208, Mar. 10, 1966. Redesignated at 31 F.R. 15350, Dec. 8, 1966]

(a) Where sold. Documentary internal revenue stamps are sold at all first- and second-class post offices, and at thirdand fourth-class offices located in county seats. Sign 35, notifying the public of the availability of these stamps, shall be posted in the lobby.

(b) Use of stamps. These stamps are sold for the payment of taxes on the following documents:

(1) Issuance of capital stock and certificates of indebtedness of a corporation.

(2) Sales or transfers of capital stock and certificates of indebtedness of a corporation.

(3) Real estate conveyances, deeds,

etc.

(4) Steamship passage tickets. (5) Policies by foreign insurers.

Postal employees must not advise or instruct purchasers of documentary internal revenue stamps on matters relating to the administration of the law, other than that they are for the payment of taxes on these documents.

(c) Denominations. Documentary internal revenue stamps are furnished in denominations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20, 25, 40, 50, 55, and 80 cents; 1, 1.10, 1.65, 2, 2.20, 2.75, 3, 3.30, 4, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 60, 100, 500, and 1,000 dollars. The 30, 50, 60, 100, 500, and 1,000 dollar stamps are each furnished in books of 40 stamps and the other denominations are furnished in sheets of 100. All denominations are for sale singly or in quantities desired.

(d) Accounting for stamps. Stubs to which stamps of $30 denomination and over are attached shall not be completed. Stubs shall be destroyed after all stamps in a book are sold. Money from sales shall be treated as postal funds.

(e) Redemption. Stamps shall not be redeemed, repurchased or exchanged. Persons desiring to sell, exchange or redeem internal revenue stamps shall be directed to apply to the nearest District Collector of Internal Revenue.

[26 F.R. 11601, Dec. 6, 1961, as amended at 27 F.R. 225, Jan. 9, 1962. Redesignated at 31 F.R. 15350, Dec. 8, 1966]

§ 172.2 Migratory-bird hunting stamps.

(a) Where sold. Migratory-bird hunting stamps are sold at all first- and second-class post offices, and at certain designated third- and fourth-class offices where there is a demand for them. current migratory-bird poster shall be displayed in the lobby.

A

(b) Price. Migratory-bird hunting stamps cost $3 each.

(c) Instructions on administration of the law. Postal employees must not instruct purchasers of migratory-bird hunting stamps on matters relating to the administration of the law. Refer them to the Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C., 20240, or to the local game warden.

(d) Redemption from public. Stamps shall not be redeemed from the public except unsold stamps returned, within 30 days after close of season, from persons regularly engaged in retailing hunting or fishing equipment or from persons authorized to sell State or county hunting or fishing licenses. Stamps validated by signature or stamps that appear to have been removed from a hunting li

cense or identification card shall not be accepted.

(e) Accounting for stamps. (1) Receipt to evidence payment shall not be issued if no stamps are available.

(2) Money from sales shall be treated as postal funds.

(3) Refunds shall be made from postal funds, and redeemed stock shall be treated as nonsalable.

[26 F.R. 11601, Dec. 6, 1961, as amended at 30 F.R. 8622, July 8, 1965. Redesignated at 31 F.R. 15350, Dec. 8, 1966]

§ 172.3

United States savings stamps.

(a) Availability. United States savings stamps may be purchased at any post office where there is a demand for them. Postmasters sell savings stamps to business houses, schools, institutions, or other organizations that desire to purchase them for resale. Postmasters will furnish savings stamps for schools without prepayment, on a consignment or a fixed-credit basis, to selected volunteer workers who shall be established as Treasury savings stamp agents. These agents will be qualified by State directors of the United States Savings Bonds Division of the Treasury Department. tailed information and the name and address of State directors may be obtain from postmasters.

De

(b) Denominations. Savings stamps are furnished in sheets in denominations of 10, 25, and 50 cents, and $1 and $5. The 10-cent and 25-cent stamps are also available bound in books. Books of fifty 10-cent savings stamps sell for $5; "gift books" of ten 25-cent stamps for $2.50; and "gift books" of twenty 25-cent stamps for $5. Stamps in these books are not detached and sold separately, but they must be detached and affixed in an album before they may be redeemed at a post office.

(c) Savings-stamp albums. Savings stamps will not be redeemed until stuck in an album of the appropriate denomination. Savings-stamp albums for each denomination are furnished free by postmasters to schools, individuals, and nonprofit organizations. Postmasters will not furnish business concerns with savings-stamp albums in any quantity. The 10-cent albums may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. The albums sell for 5 cents per single album or at a special quantity price of $1.50 for 100 albums.

(d) Payment for stamps by purchaser. If payment is made by check, delivery of stamps may be delayed until check has cleared. Postal employees shall dispose of funds received in payment of stamps as postal funds.

(e) Redemption from public. (1) Payment to bearer. Savings stamps are transferable, and are payable to bearer at any post office if affixed to albums or on cards designed for the purpose. Postal savings stamps formerly sold shall also be redeemed if mounted in an album or on cards. Savings stamps will be redeemed for cash if presented by banks and other institutions that have accepted them in payment for United States savings bonds. Payment shall be made out of postal funds.

(2) Cancellation of redeemed stamps. Postal employees shall enter the value of savings stamps in each album on the back cover of the album in the space provided, or near the top if no specific space, and place a clear impression of the post office dating stamp nearby. They shall cancel redeemed stamps promptly after acceptance. The stamps shall not be defaced or mutilated.

(3) Disposition of redeemed stamps. Postal employees shall submit redeemed savings stamps to main office with Form 1412, "Daily Cash Report", where used.

(f) Mutilated stamps. (1) The postmaster will accept at face value any savings stamp that has been torn, burned, or badly mutilated, when one or more fragments can be identified as constituting clearly more than one half of the same stamp. If the fragment or fragments are not so identifiable, the owner should send them (with the entire album, if the stamp had been stuck in an album before it was mutilated) to the Treasurer of the United States, Washington, D.C. 20220.

(2) If stamps have adhered to each other so that they cannot be separated and their value determined (which can usually be done by soaking the stamps in warm water), the owner should forward them to the Treasurer of the United States.

[26 F.R. 11601, Dec. 6, 1961, as amended at 32 F.R. 3096, Feb. 21, 1967. Redesignated at 30 F.R. 8622, July 8, 1965; further redesignated at 31 F.R. 15350, Dec. 8, 1966] § 172.4 United States savings bonds.

(a) Availability. The Post Office Department acts as agent of the Treasury Department for the sale of Series E U.S.

(b) Application for bonds. "Application for U.S. Savings Bonds", Form 920, is supplied by the postmaster. The purchaser must state on the form, by denomination, the number of bonds applied for, the total amount of the purchase, and the name and address to be inscribed on the face of the bond. Form 920 may also be used in applying for bonds by mail to a Federal Reserve bank or to the Treasury Department.

(c) Acceptance of funds. Funds shall be accepted the same as for money orders. (See § 171.1(b) (3) of this chapter.) If the postal employee does not want to accept a check, he shall advise the patron that a check will be accepted by the Treasury Department or a Federal Reserve bank in the purchase of bonds by mail. If a check is accepted and it fails to clear, the purchaser must either make the check good or return the bond. If neither the money nor the bond can be recovered, the post office shall notify the postal data center. No money may be accepted for bonds unless they are available for immediate delivery. Funds received shall be treated as postal funds.

(d) Issuance of bonds—(1) Authority to issue. Bonds may be issued at post offices in the names of natural persons in their own right only. Persons desiring to purchase them in other forms of registration authorized by Treasury Department Circular 530 may obtain them from Federal Reserve Banks and Branches and from the Treasury Department, Washington, D.C., 20220.

(2) Accepting applications. The postal employee shall check Form 920, "Application for United States Savings Bonds", to see that inscription requested is in a form authorized by the latest edition of Treasury Department Circular 530 (circular may be obtained from the

regional controller); write serial number of issued bond on Form 920; initial; and file alphabetically.

(3) Filling out bonds. The postal employee shall:

(i) Issue bonds in the names of individuals only, as follows:

(a) One person: "John A. Jones." (b) Two persons-coownership form: "John A. Jones or Mrs. Ellen S. Jones".

(c) Two persons-beneficiary form: "John A. Jones, payable on death to Miss Mary L. Jones". Payable on death may be abbreviated as p.o.d.

(ii) Use a typewriter if available and fill out the bond and stub in one operation.

(iii) Enter the full names on the bond and stub. Men's names may be preceded by any applicable title. Women's names must be preceded by Mrs. or Miss. A married woman's own given name must be used, not that of her husband.

(iv) Enter the full address of the owner on the bond. The address of the coowner or beneficiary is not necessary.

(v) Enter the month and year in the upper right corner of both the bond and the stub. Stamp the date of issue with the post office dating stamp in the circles provided on the bond and its stub.

(vi) Be sure that all entries are legible and exactly the same on the bond and its stub.

(vii) Detach stub from bond. Deliver bond to purchaser and retain stub for submission by postmaster with his accounting period bond report.

(4) Errors on bonds. (i) If an error is discovered on a bond after it is issued, it should be returned to the postmaster for correction. If returned during the accounting period of issue, and if the error was made by the postmaster, he shall spoil the bond and stub, write the name of the office on them, and issue a new bond in its stead. He shall correct his records if necessary.

(ii) If an error is discovered after the accounting period of issue, or if the error was not the fault of the postmaster, the postmaster shall prepare a receipt for the bond in triplicate; give a copy to the owner; keep a copy; and send the original with the bond to the postal data center for reissue. The reissued bond will be mailed direct to the owner.

(5) Errors on stubs. If an error is on the stub only and the bond is correct, or if an inscription needs explaining (as when a feminine owner's given name is one generally accepted as masculine), an

explanation shall be made on the stub. The postmaster or a designated supervisory official must initial the notation If the address or date is omitted from a stub, the postmaster must find out from the purchaser whether the bond is complete and, if the bond is complete, insert the missing data on the stub. If the bond is not complete, the address or date must be filled in on the bond and stub. The addition shall not be initialed.

(e) Undeliverable bonds. Bonds issued and mailed by other agents, which are undeliverable by mail, shall be handled in the following manner:

(1) Bond shall be forwarded to the addressee if change of address is on file. If no change of address is on file or if addressee is deceased, bonds shall be returned to issuing agent without further action.

(2) Bonds that cannot be delivered or returned to issuing agent and unclaimed bonds found loose in the mail shall be held for 60 days. After 60 days, they shall be sent to the Treasury Department, Division of Loans and Currency, 536 South Clark Street, Chicago, Ill., 60605.

(f) Examination of stock of bonds. Clerks who issue bonds shall check each bond and stub to see that the denomination and serial number agree. If the stubs are attached to the wrong bonds, they must be reassembled so that the two parts of each assembly agree. The postmaster shall hold bonds that cannot be reassembled, report the discrepancy to the postal data center, and await instructions.

(g) Certification for payment---(1) What to certify. Postmasters shall not cash savings bonds but will certify them for payment if sufficient identification is furnished and if the bonds are to be forwarded by the owner to a Federal Reserve bank or to the Treasurer of the United States for payment. The certification may be made on the bond itself or on a detached request for payment, Treasury Department Form TD 1522. Bonds that are to be presented to banks or trust companies for payment shall not be certified.

(2) How to certify. The certifying officer must require positive identification that the person presenting the bond is the person whose name is inscribed on the bond and must be sure there is no alteration or erasure on the bond. If the registered owner signs by mark, his mark must be witnessed by at least one