Oh hi seagull, long time no see! Thank you, I always like to know about the stamps on possible Z communications. He used one that tied in to the Swindles murders, so I am always looking. Good to hear from you and thank you!

Sandy I checked a little more on that stamp. First class postage of 37 cents was in effect from June 30, 2002 until January 8 2006 when the 39 cent stamp went into effect.

So, if the letter was really sent in 2010 it should have a postage due stamp on it. By 2010 it was 44 cents to mail a first class letter. Maybe the letter was sent in 2003 to 2006 but wasn’t revealed until 2010. It’s kind of curious and I’m 99% sure I found the correct stamp.

Sandy I checked a little more on that stamp. First class postage of 37 cents was in effect from June 30, 2002 until January 8 2006 when the 39 cent stamp went into effect.

So, if the letter was really sent in 2010 it should have a postage due stamp on it. By 2010 it was 44 cents to mail a first class letter. Maybe the letter was sent in 2003 to 2006 but wasn’t revealed until 2010. It’s kind of curious and I’m 99% sure I found the correct stamp.

I am very sure that you found the correct stamp, I wish I remembered if Kevin told me if there was postage due on it or not? It would make more sense if it was sent earlier. My theory wouldn’t work if it was sent before Graysmith’s interview, which was 2007. He gave us that date of Oct 27th 2010. I will have to ask Zamantha if we saw the date on that envelope or not? Thanks for checking ! One thing that Zodia always made sure of and that is he would use more stamps than needed! He didn’t just drop it off at the Chronicle, because it looks like it went through the mail.

I just look at the envelope again and it looks like it was cut out and pasted on the envelope? If I am right about that ,the sender took it off of a older envelope an pasted on the envelope because it was important to use that stamp. So he must have dropped it off in person? Or is that a 44 on the bottom corner of that stamp?

Wow, it just gets more curious. I agree the stamp must be significant.

LOL I just saw it became a 44 cent forever stamp in 2011

It looks like it has 44 at the bottom right side

This appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on May 12th 2002: "The murder mystery that wouldn’t die / Graysmith’s second book on the Zodiac reveals the killer’s identity — but that’s not really news. In short, "Zodiac Unmasked" is a compelling indictment of Allen as the likeliest of all suspects. But even revealing Allen’s name is not precisely Page One news; Allen was identified as the top suspect of the San Francisco and Vallejo police departments during a press conference about the case in 1993. Even before the conference, several newspaper stories had appeared suggesting Allen was the killer".

It is very likely that this Halloween card was mailed on October 27th 2002, rather than 2010. The stamp was issued on June 30th 2002. But it’s what the author of the card wrote on this communication while Zodiac Unmasked was still riding high. The author wrote "Hope that you are thinking about writing another book. I’ll help you". If the author of the Halloween card was pretending to be (or was Zodiac), they are effectively saying Arthur Leigh Allen wasn’t Zodiac and hope you are thinking about writing another. I can help you with that because I am the real Zodiac.

The communication went on to mention The Hours and the Phillip Glass CD. The Hours is the original soundtrack album, on the Elektra/Nonesuch label, of the 2002 film The Hours, starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. The original score was composed by Philip Glass. Again, the emphasis on 2002. The author mentioned the Dead Things off the same score in 2002.

In view of the postage being correct in 2002 and inadequate in 2010, it heavily leans towards this communication being mailed on October 27th 2002, while Graysmith’s Unmasked book was still riding high and garnering attention, such as from this author.

If there is one thing I have learned about this case, is that several generations of photocopy to photocopy duplication reminds me of listening to tape cassettes in the 80s.

Thank you Richard, I just sent Kevin Fagan an email asking him to please re-check the date of that letter and what the price shows on the stamp. He gets so many emails that it may take him a while to reply? I will post what he tells me.

Richard, June 30 2002 was the date that 37 cents went into effect for first class postage but the stamp that was used on the letter was not issued until May 30 2003 according to this website-

https://www.collectons.com/shop/item/67 … Scott-3784

So, the October 27 2002 date for the letter to have been mailed with that stamp, as you suggested, couldn’t have happened. There probably is something regarding the year 2002 that was significant to the letter writer but maybe there was a more delayed reaction.

2009 44 c Purple Heart for sale at Mystic Stamp Company!

I just receive a reply back from Kevin Fagan, he said that if he told us it was Oct 27th 2010 , then that is the correct date. He said he received it shortly before we met him for lunch. We had lunch with him about 10 yrs ago. He is working from home and doesn’t have access to the Z drawer. But knows it was not 2002 for sure, because it was close to our lunch date. Now that we now know that the 44 cent Purple Heart stamp was available in 2009 that put all the pieces together. And my theory still works?

It makes sense that the stamp would still be produced after the initial issue of 2003. They would simply change the postage amount as the postage rose.

The reason I knew what stamp it was is because I received the stamp (unused) in some junk mail that had to do with veterans as an incentive to donate to a veteran’s organization. It sat on my desk by my phone for ages. I’m not sure how long I had it before I finally used it. It’s possible that whoever the letter writer was also received the stamp in the mail.

2003 sounds realistic, but citing a Phillip Glass CD 7 years after the fact seems unusual.

Richard, have you gone to a forum or website that has conversation about Phillip Glass and see if anything jumps out at you?

No, I haven’t Seagull. I don’t think the communication is from Zodiac, but I’m always open minded to every possibility.