I just love these types. The design is rather simple but they look so great. Lately I've been big on errors, basically any type of error. Yesterday I was closely examining some early stamps of France I have and found what appears to be a flaw, possibly ink or plate? Maybe a variety of some sort? No other images of this stamp I've seen has this same flaw. If anyone hasn't noticed I'm quite determined to find a high value error. The mark or whatever it is you would call it, I can safely say that its not part of the cancel and its the same color blue as the rest of the stamp. Curious to find out of its significance.
Nice stamp and a beautiful shade of blue. What does the 3256 mean in the cancel? Also, in what year would this stamp have been issued?
The stamp itself appears to me to be a Minkus #16, by the curl lines and shading lines under the ear. The postmark of diamond dots and number was used on a stamp used abroad ( out of France) Both the stamp and the cancellation is type II , 1863-76. The number distinguished the country/area that the stamp was used. My Minkus reference didn't have this number. I am not sure if other uses for the numbers occurred. Jim
I couldn't find where this was cancelled out of either. Would be neat if someone put together a list of each and every number cancel to easily determine the town/ city it was cancelled in. I have a few of these types, some different denominations/ colors ect but have never been able to identitfy the numbers where it was cancelled.
I know little about these cancels, but below is a link to an APS article about French cancels. Doesn't completely answer your question about the identity of 3256, but it is an interesting article in itself. http://stamps.org/cac/resources/articles/artf006.pdf This may be the list your are seeking -- by scrolling down it appears 3256 is from Saint Quentin http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_bureaux_de_poste_français_classés_par_oblitération_Petits_Chiffres#La_liste I looked at your image again and it appears that the cancel in question is a "gros chiffre" which seems to be a different post office. Here's a link to the gros chiffre postmarks: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_...ançais_classés_par_oblitération_Gros_Chiffres All in all, a somewhat confusing system, but one that offers many interesting results once learned. Don
Interesting links Don. The Prussian mail system also used numerical cancels and from the wikipedia link it appears as though the numerical cancels of France are much like the Prussian system where towns are given a number assignment alphabetically. Michel catalogue states that towns were numbered alphabetically from 1 to 1987 in the Prussian system.
Hochstrasse: The Prussian and French systems demonstrate there is little new under the sun. Our zip code numbering system identifies towns, and post offices within cities, although we use them in combination with town names in cancels. Actually numerical identification is superior to alpha symbol town names. Several towns in different states have the same name, but each has a unique number setting it apart from the others. Don
