Here's a variation on my bullseye cancel collection, Classes-of-Mail cancels on stamps. I plucked these out of APS circuit books years ago. I don't have much opportunity to add to this category as I no longer receive used U.S. sales books. I miss finding stuff like this, but since I don't collect U.S. anymore, it isn't worth the cost to receive sales books just for cancels. Don
Earlier last month there was some discussion about the 1974 Christmas stamp, Sc. 1552, the first self-adhesive stamp the U.S. Post Office issued. Here is one on piece used fourteen years later. I bought it from an APS sales book, not sure when, but it has remained on piece because the stamp has a couple of die cuts that would cause it to break apart if someone tried to soak it off. It is beginning to show the mottling in the white background, especially around its edges. Given the date (Feb. 4th, 1988) which has no apparent significance, I doubt it was philatelically contrived, but who knows?. Don
Not exactly a bullseye, but I am hoping to find some additional information about this cancel. This stamp came out of a sales circuit book and I bought it thinking that, perhaps, it was a non-postal cancel of some kind. However, upon closer examination it appears to be a portion of a larger commemorative or pictorial cancel relating to Marseilles. Does anyone have a source of finding the entirety of the cancel? The stamp is Scott 741 commemorating the 50th anniversary of Rotary International. Thanks. Don
Don....it could be a special postmark for tourism or promoting Marseille. Take a look at this site... http//scotem.fr/ Looks like they concentrate on special handstamps and postmarks.... Bob
Gand aka Ghent, Belgium, is/was the second largest city of Belgium. A bold cancel on this 2 francs stamp from the 1893-1900 King Leopold series. This was a past purchase for my regular Belgium collection, but I recently found several nice cancels on stamps from this "Dominical" series in an APS sales book. I'll show a few of those in coming days. Don
Another of the "Dominicals" canceled in Roux, a town of about 10,000 souls, northwest of Charleroi. The stamp is Sc. 65, the 10c orange-brown. Don
A cancel from Ronne, Denmark. Ronne is a small town of about 13,500 on the coast of Bornholm, an island in the Baltic Sea. The stamp is Denmark, Sc. 119, 40 ore from the 1913- 1928 definitive series. Don
Another stamp out of Belgium, this one canceled in Malines aka Mechelen, a city of 75,000 souls about midway between Antwerp and Brussels. It is Sc. 81, the 10c lilac-brown from the set commemorating the Brussels Exhibition of 1896-1897. Don
Out of Germany during the high inflation era a cancel from Potsdam, a city on the western edge of Berlin. Don
A nearly perfect cancel on this semi-postal out of the Netherlands. It is on Sc. B115, 3c+3c with a portrait of Gerard van Swieten issued May 1st, 1939. The surtax was for cultural and social relief, both of which I could use some of today! The Dutch postal service does/did a good job with its cancels. Lots of clear bullseyes available for those of us who collect them. Don
I have no Netherlands-collection,so I am not really familiar with dutch stamps. Apart from the excellent cancellation,I find your stamp fascinating: it is the first stamp,I have ever seen,where the last day of validity,here Dec.31st,1944,is printed on to the stamp.
Thanks, Werner, for the information. I did not notice the ending date of validity for the stamp, and, more sadly, I wouldn't be able to translate it. The fact that semi-postals may have had a time limit on their postal validity is new too. I have always thought them good for postage until used. Don
From Denmark. Looks like it is from a postal distribution center as opposed to a town, as are so many of the contemporary cancels, and much to the dismay of cancel collectors like me. Nicely placed cancel, though. The Danish postal system provides clear cancels for the most part. Don
Stamp sales circuits are my only source for African stamps, but I have managed to find enough bullseyes for a page. Don
The stamps from Hungary's Madonna and Child definitive set, Sc. 378 to 387, are just large enough to catch a near-perfect handstamp from Budapest. A nice item for my Cancels on Stamps collection! I am still waiting and hoping someone can tell me why the Hungarian postal authorities leave the 1 off of the year date in their cancels. Don
Good question. You probably know that Hungarian names are written last name first. I had several Hungarian friends as a kid; having come over during the 1956 uprising with their parents. All real nice folks...but a strange language. Here is something on it... https://www.linns.com/news/postal-u...d-postmark-primer--how-to-decipher-dates.html
From the link: "Note that 20th-century Hungarian postmarks usually omit the initial "1" from the year date. Nineteenth century Hungarian postmarks usually show only the last two digits of the year date." Thanks for the link, Molokai. This explanation is a small advance in knowledge, but it still doesn't say "why" the Hungarians omit the 1, or why they thought it necessary to change the way the year was show after the change of the century. My guess is no one any longer really knows the reason for dropping the 1. I'll just live with the knowledge that 930 in a Hungarian postmark means 1930. Maybe they added a 2 for the first digit when we moved to the 21st century. Don
A couple of bullseyes, again from Hungary, this time on the 1 pengo and 10 pengo from the four-stamp Madonna & Child definitive set of 1932, Sc. 462 and 465 respectively. Don
