It is time to start a bullseye cancel thread. Most all collectors have some of these so it should be easy to post a few. Slogan and object cancels on stamps are also appropriate here. Here is one on Sc. 113 from Landsberg, Germany. I'm not sure to what Warthe refers, a postal station, perhaps. Don
Landsberg is a frequent place-name in Germany. This Landsberg lied at the river Warthe. It was the capital of a district with the same name in the east of Brandenburg.At the end of WW II it was given to Poland. The population was expropriated and expelled. Today it is named Gorzón Wielkopolski.
I found a couple of items with good,clear cancels. One is a souvenir sheet from 2000 with a Cardiff ,Wales cancellation. The other is a block of 4 of the 10UKL Britannia stamp with 4 good 2003 cancellations from Great Malvern,UK.This was on a registered letter so it was hand cancelled at the post office,before being put in the mail.
Bob: The 10 pounds stamp is one of my favorites. I only have a single used copy, not a bullseye,. Forty pounds postage! There must have been some value in that cover. Don
Don... I used to live in Texas and moved back to England in 2003. I collected GB used at that time and often sent registered letters and parcels to my sons.It was often the only way I could obtain a nice,used copy of a stamp.The stamps were then saved and sent back to me. I gave up my GB collecting when I could no longer keep up with the new issues,but I am still interested in Machin issues.I consider myself a collector but my wife says I am a hoarder..... Bob
Bob: I seem to remember old time dealers using that process and called it "controlled mail." I suggest you remind your wife that collectors can never have too many stamps! Don
This thread has given me the impetus to sort through numerous boxes and albums of GB stamps.I always tried to collect stamps with the circular cancels,not the wavy lines .I sometimes found that with the smaller stamp,the cancel sometimes obliterated the stamp.So I tried to collect blocks of 4 and tried for the cancel in the centre. I have scanned a couple of items I found. 1963 Red Cross issue with a nice,clear central cancel Souvenir sheet from 2000 with 2 cancels A block of 25 9p Machin stamps,all cancelled correctly.
I think a lot of these stamps were used on parcels,and it is harder to find used copies with a good cancel.I just found another block with a parcel cancel.When you compare the two cancels, you can see there is a big difference.
I am not to fond on "Bulls Eye Cancellations".They often look like c.t.o.. issued July 2nd 1900; (by the way:three different plates exist for all three stamps of this set.The rarest is the 25 C. type III value.It was issued on Dec.14th,1900.The set was valid till Dec.31st,1900 ! So 3850 stamps only had been printed of 25 C. type III.) The above is a near perfect "Bulls Eye C."But that is possible only on larger stamps.
On smaller stamps not much more is possible than on this stamp,issued 1882. It shows all what Michel defines as a fine used stamp: Place and date are clearly readable.Catalogue prices of modern are for stamps of that quality.
Maury catalogue is similar and has three categories for used stamps from 1900. Standard quality,good quality and fine used or qualite luxe The last category has a light cancellation,showing place and date which is relevant to date of issue of the stamp.Stamps from say 1990 with a cancel from 2017 are not really acceptable,even though they may be valid for postage. I like the full bulls eye cancellation but also like to see as much of the stamp as possible. Luckily now I am into cinderellas I dont have to worry too much about that and can sleep easier...
issued May 10th,1960 On units or souvenir sheets the term "Bulls Eye Cancel" makes little sence.The above stamps have only a part-cancel each.
Werner: Yes, you are correct, but "we gotta call 'em something!" A clear, well-centered cancel, if you prefer. I title my pages Stamps Kept for their Cancels and include machine cancels, box handstamp cancels, circular target cancels, and object cancels. Don
Hi Werner: Yes, it is more difficult to find Bullseye cancels on smaller stamps, but it is possible to pickup some nice cancels on smaller definitive-sized stamps. Here are a couple of examples. Size of the stamp or its design is not an issue for me. What I look for is a clear cancel that includes place and full day, month and year of cancellation. For my cancels on stamps collection, it is not the stamp I am collecting, but rather the cancellation. Don
Nice cancellatiions.I always try to collect stamps with a circular cancel.I don,t have very many with the wavy line type of cancel.However,it appears to be more difficult these days to find the circular cancellations. A big problem with the British mail service is a lack ofcancellations.A lot of stamps are not cancelled so the postman has to mark them with a pen...making them useless and completely uncollectable. I have some French stamps which werent cancelled in the normal manner.When they arrived at their destination,the local office hand stamped them with the name of the town or city....far more attractive than a pen mark !! i have scanned a page with a few examples
Now I know why some French stamps have those town cancels on them. Big problem in the U.S. too, however, here the carriers just deliver the letter, no cancellation at all. I have a few bullseyes from France, but over all, French cancellations on stamps tend to be lite strikes and difficult to read. Don
