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General Philatelic/Newcomer Cnr : Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

 

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lisagrant87
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21 Mar 2012
07:41:56am
I read the thread from about a month ago regarding these topics but I still have some questions. Am I correct in understanding a postmark is a circle with the date or picture or saying and a cancellation consists mostly of lines?
I find heavy lines through my stamps very unappealing but I know some cancellations are valuable and even coveted. Which things add value to stamps and which things are just in the way? What do I save and what do I put in my "extras" pile?
Any help is much appreciated!
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michael78651

21 Mar 2012
08:42:00am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I think you are over complicating things. If you are a collector, then you should collect what you want and like. It's your collection, so it is all about you. I remember when I first borrowed a stamp catalog from the library. My father saw me looking through it and I was writing things down on a piece of paper. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him that I was figuring out how valuable my collection was. He said, "When you start worrying about how much the stamps are worth, stamp collecting will not be as much fun anymore. Now, I do keep an inventory of my collection and I know what it is worth, but I have always kept that secondary.

Regarding cancellations, people look for different things that they like. Doesn't mean that the cancel adds much of any value to the stamp, particularly if the stamp is no longer on the cover. People collect cancels that have a slogan on them, like "Collect Stamps", or "Mail early for Christmas". Others look for the names of towns and dates. Some create calendars by finding stamps with the different dates of the year. Sometimes if I find them, I pick up stamps with cancels or pre-cancels from Poughkeepsie, NY. Why? Because I grew up in that town. Note that the bottom line of this type of collecting is that it is a fun exercise to do.

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amsd
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Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads

21 Mar 2012
09:24:40am

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re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Lisa, to answer your cancel question.

The killer is the element that is intended solely to deface the stamp. It CAN include wavy lines (approximating the stripes of an American flag); or slogan, such as "Support Muscular Dystrofy" or "Mail Early"; or picture (the Swiss do wonders here).

the postmark is the element that provides information on where and when the stamp was processed.

Modern automated cancelling devices have made all this moot, as the sprayons, often utterly illegible anyway, are essentially a signle thing, although the elements can be the same.

these are all generalizations. Most 3rd class US markings will NOT have a date, although they will include the location where processed. And locations in the US now tend to be at processing facilities that can be miles away, or in a different state, than the town in which the cover initially enters the mail stream.

I have a small collection of dated and undated 3rd class mail from the 1.5c period (roughly 1932-1949) showing how so many regulations are observed in the breech.

Hope this helps.

David

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George
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23 Mar 2012
05:56:18pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

A "postmark" is any marking applied to a cover by the postal service. For example, the orange barcode that is sprayed onto the bottom of a letter by Australia Post, or the red crayon markings that used to be used to mark a registered envelope.

A "cancellation" is a specific type of postmark, one that serves to render the stamp ineligible for re-use. It might be a CDS (circular date stamp) applied by a clerk, or the wavy lines applied by a machine, or these days Australia and other countries use inkjet cancellations (that often make quite a mess).

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nigelc
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24 Mar 2012
05:12:20am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Here in Britain the usual term is "postmark".

So for example, we have a catalogue called Collect British Postmarks which covers all kinds of British postmarks including instructional markings as well as maltese cross, numeral, CDS, duplex, slogan and many more types of postmarks used to cancel stamps.

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musicman
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APS #213005

24 Mar 2012
09:55:53am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Hi All,

All the responses here have been varied and very informative!

However, in Lisa's heading it also says, "...and what to DO with them?"

I personally don't collect cancels/postmarks (except for precancels of US), so -

What DO you all DO with them??

I think this should be included here as well.....I'm sure she would love to know some of your ideas; what you save, WHY you save it, HOW you save it, how you categorize it.....and so on!

....I'm interested MYSELF to hear some of your answers as well!




Randy

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michael78651

24 Mar 2012
12:50:32pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Easy enough request!

For items that do not fit in my main collection, I use stock books. I arrange them so that similar items (special cancels, meters, covers, cinderella labels, etc.) are together on the same page.

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drmicro68
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25 Mar 2012
06:59:20pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Just a few ideas of what I DO with them: Socked on the Nose (SOTN) or Bullseye are used to do a calendar. There was a Bullseye Collectors Club but it seems to be dormant; PO postmarks are collected by the Postmark Collectors Club; if on cover the item becomes a part of postal history; in some instances (esp. Great Britain) the cancels can affect the value of the stamp; some cancels can indicate use in another country (offices abroad); so-called "fancy" cancels on US stamps are a whole field of specialization. The field of collecting postmarks is wide and varied.

Roger

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GeoStamper
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Steve

26 Apr 2015
09:16:02pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Researching cancellations and ran across this two-year old thread.

Can anyone point me to an illustrated catalog of cancellation marks used by the US Post Office? I'm thinking here of those common ones used in the last 80 years or so, including "Pray for Peace," "Always Use ZIP Code," "Mail Early for Christmas," etc., as well as some that were likely shorter-lived, e.g., "Support National Historic Preservation Week," and "SBA - 20 Years of Service" (Small Business Administration).

I already have "Cancellations and Killers of the Banknote Era 1870-94" by James M. Cole. It is quite good and I'd like to find a similar reference for more recent cancellations.

Thanks!
Steve

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michael78651

26 Apr 2015
09:23:12pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I found these links regarding slogan cancels on The Stamp Forum web site. I can't say if it is complete.

Slogan cancels and pictorial postmark identification for US collectors.-

www.dcstampclub.org/pdfs/DC_Machine_Slogan_Cancels.pdf

www.machinecancel.org/forum/aps_show_2009_08/machine_cancel_forum.pdf

www.rmpldenver.org/pdf_files/2010julaugscribblings.pdf

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GeoStamper
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Steve

26 Apr 2015
11:56:33pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Michael, many thanks. That first reference is exactly what I had in mind and will likely keep me busy for a while.

Curious... These were collected with the Washington DC Post Office in mind. Do you think other post offices around the country would generally have used these same ones as well?

Thanks again,
Steve

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michael78651

27 Apr 2015
12:40:58am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I would be surprised if they weren't. Even today, Linn's has a regular section on special slogan cancels and from which post offices they are available.

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Martyn

27 Apr 2015
03:32:20am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I collect postmarks of all types from British Guiana/Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, the Guyana ones are in a large album with a page for each town/village and slogan etc.

The Trinidad and Tobago ones are currently in a stock book with 1 from Belize and 1 from Barbados (the Barbados one is from where my niece was living).


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Tom in Exton, PA

27 Apr 2015
06:32:15am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I find I'm more of a cover collector. I enjoy postmarks and collect them on cover for the most part. The only cancels I have on single stamps are the socked on the nose, or same on blocks of four. That's a complete cancel on a stamp. The single stamps with a partial "Mail Early For Christmas" or other just go in the trade box.

I'm collecting every known marking on my 1903-8 Franklins, but I also have a New Jersey postmark collection. I started out looking for one from every town, but when I come across an interesting one from a town I already have, I've been including it too. Those reside in a box, although I had an album page printed many years ago!

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2010ccg

27 Apr 2015
09:00:33am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Enjoy the comments thankyou I have a Canada collection of pictorial cancels depicting special festivals and how the village is promoted I locate each on the province/territory map .put together a bit of info and pretend that I have or will visit someday...I also collect postal history and try to find several examples of different types of cancellations used over the past hundred years or so....I do have some unique FDcovers including a Hindenburg first flight that arrived last week....Hopefully my grandson will learn past history and enjoy it as much as I do....

Just wondering if anyone has info on the moon type of cancellation and what countries used them I have 2 Canadian examples

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seanpashby
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27 Apr 2015
12:56:47pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Image Not Found
Image Not Found
These are my two favorites that I have saved.

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GeoStamper
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Steve

27 Apr 2015
01:57:05pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Glad to see so much interest. And Sean, I'm jealous that you have an entire airplane! I have bits and pieces on about a dozen stamps.

Any suggestions for how to keep and present the various cancels? On-cover as already suggested is probably the most straightforward, but not an option if all you have is stamps. Has anyone ever put together what might be considered an album?

-Steve


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2010ccg

27 Apr 2015
02:14:10pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I have pages and pages enclosed in my Postal History binder but not enough yet for an album, I save both cut outs and envelopes...

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seanpashby
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27 Apr 2015
08:40:10pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I try to keep whole covers where possible, but I do have several visio pages of the cutouts of ones that caught my interest. It might a nice side road to try to collect all the fancy cancels. Darn.....I feel a new project coming on.

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Bobstamp
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27 Apr 2015
11:21:15pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

GeoStamper said,

"And Sean, I'm jealous that you have an entire airplane! I have bits and pieces on about a dozen stamps."



Hate to do this to you, GeoStamper, but here goes:

Image Not Found

Here are two stamps that must have been a pair when they were cancelled. I think I bought them together, but can't say for sure.

Image Not Found

Don't despair. These are fairly common cancels.

Bob

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smauggie
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28 Apr 2015
03:04:10pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

As time allows I intend to expand this post with as many possible examples as possible.

The first type of postal cancellation is the manuscript cancel.

The second type of postal cancellation/tracking is the circular date stamp.



A third type of postal cancellation is the Circular Date Stamp used as both cancel and killer.
Image Not Found

From: http://www.philamercury.com/covers.php?id=22676
The use of a circular date cancel to provide both tracking information and kill or cancel the stamp began in philatelic times. Usage in the US generally tapers off by the end of the Civil War with some small towns still doing so into the early 1870's.

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TribalErnie

28 Apr 2015
04:58:47pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I'm glad I saw this thread because I was just pondering this question today. I dropped off a first class stamped letter today at the counter of a tiny Florida post office today. (It went to another SOR member) my question is, when can you know that the letter will receive a great circular "Ft. White" hand stamp? Is there a way to know or to help a letter receive a great cancel or are they just thrown in a bin and processed by machine at another location? Thanks in advance to all of my knowledgeable, awesome and communicative club members! -Ernie. Happy

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TribalErnie

28 Apr 2015
05:14:17pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Also, una mas question. I read an article a few years back I think it was by Wayne Youngblood. It was either in the American philatelist or Linns. Can't remember which but it was all about collecting common stamps that had received an interesting cancel that had marked up a stamp to make it look like the subject in the stamp had glasses on or a mustache etc. It just looked like a really fun collection. I vaguely remember a stamp cancelled to look like the star ship enterprise was attacking a famous landmark

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Bobstamp
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28 Apr 2015
05:49:29pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I doubt I'll ever find a better example of the biplane cancel:

Image Not Found

Or better centring of the stamp, for that matter. Nice, eh?

Bob

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TribalErnie

28 Apr 2015
05:53:01pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

"Nice, eh". Spoken like a true Canadian citizen or is that resident???? Lol.

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Bobstamp
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28 Apr 2015
05:54:01pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Regarding the Georgetown, California cancellation:

Wikipedia notes that Georgetown was the hub of a busy gold-mining district. Near Silver City, New Mexico, where I grew up, the is a mining ghost town named also named Georgetown. I was last there a few decades ago; all that was left were a few standing brick walls, and the cemetery, notable for the many graves of children who died in an epidemic in the late 19th Century.

Bob

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Bobstamp
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28 Apr 2015
05:57:27pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Erniejax said,

"Nice, eh". Spoken like a true Canadian citizen or is that resident???? Lol. "



True Canadian citizen. I'm also an American citizen. Canada recognizes my American citizenship but America does not recognize my Canadian citizenship. At Wits End

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TribalErnie

28 Apr 2015
05:58:15pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Bobstamp, talking about weird/funny/ironic cancellations I guess we could call him an "air head". Lol

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GeoStamper
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Steve

28 Apr 2015
07:44:53pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Thanks Bob for the wonderful biplanes. Gives me something to aim for. Now if I could only get some time away from work and home repairs, I could work on those ideas for collecting cancels!

-Steve

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TuskenRaider
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30 Apr 2015
04:24:00pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Hi Everyone;

"I doubt I'll ever find a better example of the biplane cancel:
Or better centring of the stamp, for that matter. Nice, eh?

Bob"



Yes that is a nice example, I'm glad you're enjoying it too. It is kinda neat that it appears right
on top of a Navy ship too.... Laughing
TuskenRaider

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malcolm197

31 May 2015
03:16:09am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I am primarily a postally-used stamp collector -however I am ever more getting into postmarks/cancellations/postal markings on my duplicate stamps.

It would be tempting to collect only covers - however as I live in a house not a warehouse this is not practical. My priorities are-

1. Postage-dues or any postal instructional markings tourist cachets etc. Collect on cover where possible.

2. "Bog standard" postmarks,date stamps,slogans, wavy lines etc I collect on square/rectangular piece containing the whole of the stamp(s)and the whole of the mark.

3.Fully- identifiable part markings on off-paper stamps.

I always replace (3) with (2) where available.

When I aquire a new used stamp without (3) I transfer the equivalent (3) already in my album to my postmark collection.

My postmark collection is entirely seperate to my stamp collection - typically I may have 5/10 stamps in my collection ( including shades and varieties ) and an unlimited number of the same stamp in my postmark collection.

If you think that stamp-collecting improves your geographical knowledge, try collecting postmarks.

I am especially interested in places that have changed name or "changed countries" e.g. was Germany now Poland, was Poland now Russia, was Austro-Hungary now anywhere you like! I always have these in the latest country.

I find that I am becoming more and more interested, as (particularly modern)postmarks are understudied. Also owing to the ever-decreasing use of "real" stamps, the future of collecting lies ever more with postmarks,meters, frama and other ATM stamps and the like.
As a used stamp collector these peripheral interests are becoming more relevant.

Malcolm

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Ningpo
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31 May 2015
07:01:56am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

As Malcolm points out, future collecting may encompass modern ATM type labels and similar. There are certainly specialised collectors of these, with seemingly vast knowledge of them; particularly Framas. I have noticed more interest in these recently and prices are slowly moving upwards.

I stumbled across a number of covers from the same eBay seller and was attracted to them. Some were obviously philatelic, whilst others were genuine commercial mail. Here are two examples of 'combination' covers. Although I know nothing about them, they do catch the eye:

Image Not Found


Image Not Found

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auldstampguy
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Tim
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31 May 2015
12:19:24pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

To add a little more to the second part of Lisa's question; "What do you do with them?"

As most of you know I'm very into collecting Minnesota Cancels. I wondered what to do with them also because to put them all in albums would fill the whole house. So I scan the front and back of the cover or card and post the images on a website I made with Wordpress. Here is the page from that La Sueur cover that we have been discussing on another thread:

Image Not Found

You can access the page and then look at other covers displayed there by going to:

http://mncancels.org/minnesota-post-office-lookup/?action=40&po=2106

Regards ... Tim.

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31 May 2015
03:57:29pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Question: What does a computer geek do with his spare time?
Answer: Designs an attractive, well organized site dedicated to a topic he is obviously enthused about!

Well done, Tim! I especially enjoy playing with the interactive "Minnesota Post Offices With Covers" feature.

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Blaamand
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WW collector at heart

01 Jun 2015
05:49:02pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Another interesting threads with lots of good inputsHappy

I do not make special collections for postmarks in 'real life'. However I appreciate a fine postmark when I see one, and make scans of some of them. I am planning to make a dedicated 'digital collection' for SOTN items (the pages will never be made on paper, only digital). Here is a test I made some time ago, just for the fun of it.

Image Not Found

You may notice that I am also chasing 'forerunners' and/or 'used abroad' stamps. I find these very fascinating, so at some point I will make a dedicated digital collections only for such postmarks as well.

I have too much on the agenda to pay much attention for 'fancy' cancels or picture cancels - for now anyway. That being said I must say the cancels shown in earlier threads, eg the airplanes - are really beautiful! So much to collect, so little timeConfused
-jon-

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Steve

01 Jun 2015
06:19:03pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Jon, I really like what you are doing. My ideas have not yet made it on paper so you've given me a bit more to think about.

You have solved one piece that has been keeping me from progressing, although honestly I haven't put too much time into it. That is, How do you digitally extract a cancel from the scan of the stamp? You seem to have done that quite well. I'm hoping the answer is a simple action within a standard Paint tool or PowerPoint... Big Grin

-Steve

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WW collector at heart

01 Jun 2015
08:05:29pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Thanks Steve. I started extracting postmarks after reading a thread in the SCF forum, can't remember which one. Anyway - it worked very well for me. It's not complicated and can be done with many photoshop softwares. I did not have any at that time, and was recommended to try 'Shotwell' (free software, google it). This was straight forward to use, and you will learn it after a few minutes playing around with the color settings. Probably there are other software that is even better, but I am by no means any datageek, so I hope others can come with other suggestions!

Good luck!!



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thebiggnome
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01 Jun 2015
08:34:49pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I can recommend http://apps.pixlr.com/editor/
which is a free online image editor that is quite like photoshop.

I'm not sure how you extracted the postmarks, but I can guess. Use a 'select' tool to select all the colored areas and then erase them? Or select the black areas (the postmark), invert the selection, then hit delete? Maybe just turn the contrast up so black stays black and everything else turns white? I'll have to go play around with it unless you care to share...

Are there lists of town postmarks by country somewhere? Maybe I'll start a new thread for this question.

Chris

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seanpashby
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01 Jun 2015
10:00:39pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

How about this for collecting postmarks? Whoever the collector was that did this, made all 12 months and they are being sold. It must have taken such a long time to do this.

Image Not Found

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Tom in Exton, PA

02 Jun 2015
08:07:25am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Wow! I love the August collection! I'm more into things that are a hunt rather than valuable!

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Bobstamp
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02 Jun 2015
12:27:48pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

And every Sunday the P.O. must have been open! Or there was some postal jiggery-pokery going on! Seventh Day Adventist postal clerk? (The next time I join the Navy, I'm going to boot camp in as an Adventist. Those guys got both Saturday and Sunday off!)

Bob

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Tom in Exton, PA

02 Jun 2015
01:52:16pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Image Not Found

Bob- I think the post office cancelled mail 365 days a year in the old days. Especially when the mails were the only form of communication, it was very important. We take for granted today that we can email, call or text someone. Around the turn of the 20th century, you either dropped them a penny card, or you went to see them!

Here's a cover with Christmas eve mailing and Christmas day receiving marks!

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02 Jun 2015
02:37:36pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Umm, without the year one cannot tell whether any of those cancellations fell on Sunday.

Chris

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Steve

02 Jun 2015
02:53:02pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Good point Chris. Was thinking similar thoughts.

I've always lamented the lack of year in many US postmarks (not to mention the complete lack of date stamp of any kind on most stamps). My date stamp collection is kind of lite on US stamps. Thank goodness for Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Germany, all of the Scandinavian countries, etc., to help me fill in all those calendar spots. And Japan of course, except that they frequently and without warning use the year of the emperor's reign instead of the calendar year...Surprise

Image Not Found

This image is part of a long sad tale, best told on another day, about stamps purchased but not delivered. At Wits End

-Steve

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Tom in Exton, PA

02 Jun 2015
03:55:23pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

The cool thing about postmarks is that your collection is only limited by your imagination. I went to a meeting of the Hamilton NJ Stamp Club a few weeks ago and there was a PowerPoint presentation by a guy whose first name was Milton. The collection? Postmarks from towns named Milton!

There are a lot of towns called Milton, but also Miltonville, Milton Lake etc. And he's collected hundreds of covers as such. He also tries to visit these towns and alters his travels to pass through them. He was a great presenter who made the whole thing fun for everyone.

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26 Jul 2015
08:41:22am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Image Not FoundHere's another example, the front of the postcard is stamped when it was received. Took only 3 days from Wisconsin to North DakotaImage Not Found

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26 Jul 2015
08:49:19am
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Here's how the Russian's do itImage Not Found

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roy
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26 Jul 2015
12:03:38pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

"Japan of course, except that they frequently and without warning use the year of the emperor's reign instead of the calendar year. "



There is a logic to it. If the cancel is in Japanese (i.e. has Japanese characters in it), it will be in the "Emperor year" format and the format is yy-mm-dd. For modern stamps (1925-1988), just add 1925 to the year i.e. 55.10.02 is is Oct 2, 1980. Since 1988, add 1988.

Here is the list of the recent Imperial changes and the factor to add

1868 Meiji add 1867
1912 Taisho add 1911
1926 Showa add 1925
1989 Heisei add 1988

If the cancel is in English, the format is dd-mm-yy

Samples

Image Not Found
January 31, 1927

Image Not Found
December 17, 1995 (dates in both formats)

Image Not Found
November 27, 1956

Image Not Found
December 1, 1959

Roy
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26 Feb 2016
07:27:34pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Thanks Roy. I was just going to add a thread asking how to read Japanese postmarks when I noticed this thread.

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25 Jul 2018
09:30:21pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Wow! Was googling postmark/cancel collecting and this old thread popped up.

Since I recently (almost a year) decided to go full worldwide collecting, I've also been squirreling away nice looking postmarks as I find them. Mostly by country as I sort and mount. I would love to incorporate pages into my Steiner albums for the postmarks I'm finding, but don't have a clue as to how I would like to present them.

I do want to mount them, some way, to the same paper I am using tor the album pages to keep the albums uniform. I really don't want to use stock pages or albums.

The postmarks I am segregating are from various decades and are and on various issues of stamps. There really is no rhyme or reason for what I set aside, just random selections of thing s I like.

Besides the examples shown here, does any one else have any pages of mounted, random postmarks or cancels to share? Maybe arrangement ideas?

I know this is going to come down to personal preference, I just need some ideas.

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michael78651

25 Jul 2018
09:37:33pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I don't collect such as a rule, but when catches my eye relating to my philatelic and other interests, I'll keep them. I use a stock book for such things as part of an informal side collection.

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26 Jul 2018
08:19:48am

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re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

examples above seem pretty exhaustive, although there may be ideas not yet proposed

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02 Aug 2018
07:38:04pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

" ... a CDS (circular date stamp) applied by a clerk, ..."

If the stamp was placed about ¼-¾" in from he right edge, and
at least ½" down from the top, and one of the spray ink
stamp deforming machines is not used there can often be a neat,
clear CDS that was applied by the automated cancelling gadget.
Of course these days it may indicate the envelope was cancelled
at some central sorting center, but even they must be collected
by someone.

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Tom in Exton, PA

03 Aug 2018
05:20:20pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Image Not Found

I am a cover collector. I keep my collection organized in three ring binders, using these two pocket clear pages. I print and cut 7" x 5.5" information cards on 60 lb card stock. This is a page from my New Jersey collection.

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04 Aug 2018
01:48:48pm
re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

There is a very good program that you can download for free to extract cancels called "Poststation Fragment analyzer". Below is an example that took me about 2 minutes. There is also a English handbook online to download.

www.heise.de/download/product/poststation-fragment-an..

Image Not Found Image Not Found

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21 Mar 2012
07:41:56am

I read the thread from about a month ago regarding these topics but I still have some questions. Am I correct in understanding a postmark is a circle with the date or picture or saying and a cancellation consists mostly of lines?
I find heavy lines through my stamps very unappealing but I know some cancellations are valuable and even coveted. Which things add value to stamps and which things are just in the way? What do I save and what do I put in my "extras" pile?
Any help is much appreciated!

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michael78651

21 Mar 2012
08:42:00am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I think you are over complicating things. If you are a collector, then you should collect what you want and like. It's your collection, so it is all about you. I remember when I first borrowed a stamp catalog from the library. My father saw me looking through it and I was writing things down on a piece of paper. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him that I was figuring out how valuable my collection was. He said, "When you start worrying about how much the stamps are worth, stamp collecting will not be as much fun anymore. Now, I do keep an inventory of my collection and I know what it is worth, but I have always kept that secondary.

Regarding cancellations, people look for different things that they like. Doesn't mean that the cancel adds much of any value to the stamp, particularly if the stamp is no longer on the cover. People collect cancels that have a slogan on them, like "Collect Stamps", or "Mail early for Christmas". Others look for the names of towns and dates. Some create calendars by finding stamps with the different dates of the year. Sometimes if I find them, I pick up stamps with cancels or pre-cancels from Poughkeepsie, NY. Why? Because I grew up in that town. Note that the bottom line of this type of collecting is that it is a fun exercise to do.

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Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads
21 Mar 2012
09:24:40am

Auctions

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Lisa, to answer your cancel question.

The killer is the element that is intended solely to deface the stamp. It CAN include wavy lines (approximating the stripes of an American flag); or slogan, such as "Support Muscular Dystrofy" or "Mail Early"; or picture (the Swiss do wonders here).

the postmark is the element that provides information on where and when the stamp was processed.

Modern automated cancelling devices have made all this moot, as the sprayons, often utterly illegible anyway, are essentially a signle thing, although the elements can be the same.

these are all generalizations. Most 3rd class US markings will NOT have a date, although they will include the location where processed. And locations in the US now tend to be at processing facilities that can be miles away, or in a different state, than the town in which the cover initially enters the mail stream.

I have a small collection of dated and undated 3rd class mail from the 1.5c period (roughly 1932-1949) showing how so many regulations are observed in the breech.

Hope this helps.

David

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George

23 Mar 2012
05:56:18pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

A "postmark" is any marking applied to a cover by the postal service. For example, the orange barcode that is sprayed onto the bottom of a letter by Australia Post, or the red crayon markings that used to be used to mark a registered envelope.

A "cancellation" is a specific type of postmark, one that serves to render the stamp ineligible for re-use. It might be a CDS (circular date stamp) applied by a clerk, or the wavy lines applied by a machine, or these days Australia and other countries use inkjet cancellations (that often make quite a mess).

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nigelc

24 Mar 2012
05:12:20am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Here in Britain the usual term is "postmark".

So for example, we have a catalogue called Collect British Postmarks which covers all kinds of British postmarks including instructional markings as well as maltese cross, numeral, CDS, duplex, slogan and many more types of postmarks used to cancel stamps.

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musicman

APS #213005
24 Mar 2012
09:55:53am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Hi All,

All the responses here have been varied and very informative!

However, in Lisa's heading it also says, "...and what to DO with them?"

I personally don't collect cancels/postmarks (except for precancels of US), so -

What DO you all DO with them??

I think this should be included here as well.....I'm sure she would love to know some of your ideas; what you save, WHY you save it, HOW you save it, how you categorize it.....and so on!

....I'm interested MYSELF to hear some of your answers as well!




Randy

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michael78651

24 Mar 2012
12:50:32pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Easy enough request!

For items that do not fit in my main collection, I use stock books. I arrange them so that similar items (special cancels, meters, covers, cinderella labels, etc.) are together on the same page.

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drmicro68

25 Mar 2012
06:59:20pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Just a few ideas of what I DO with them: Socked on the Nose (SOTN) or Bullseye are used to do a calendar. There was a Bullseye Collectors Club but it seems to be dormant; PO postmarks are collected by the Postmark Collectors Club; if on cover the item becomes a part of postal history; in some instances (esp. Great Britain) the cancels can affect the value of the stamp; some cancels can indicate use in another country (offices abroad); so-called "fancy" cancels on US stamps are a whole field of specialization. The field of collecting postmarks is wide and varied.

Roger

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Steve
26 Apr 2015
09:16:02pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Researching cancellations and ran across this two-year old thread.

Can anyone point me to an illustrated catalog of cancellation marks used by the US Post Office? I'm thinking here of those common ones used in the last 80 years or so, including "Pray for Peace," "Always Use ZIP Code," "Mail Early for Christmas," etc., as well as some that were likely shorter-lived, e.g., "Support National Historic Preservation Week," and "SBA - 20 Years of Service" (Small Business Administration).

I already have "Cancellations and Killers of the Banknote Era 1870-94" by James M. Cole. It is quite good and I'd like to find a similar reference for more recent cancellations.

Thanks!
Steve

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michael78651

26 Apr 2015
09:23:12pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I found these links regarding slogan cancels on The Stamp Forum web site. I can't say if it is complete.

Slogan cancels and pictorial postmark identification for US collectors.-

www.dcstampclub.org/pdfs/DC_Machine_Slogan_Cancels.pdf

www.machinecancel.org/forum/aps_show_2009_08/machine_cancel_forum.pdf

www.rmpldenver.org/pdf_files/2010julaugscribblings.pdf

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Steve
26 Apr 2015
11:56:33pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Michael, many thanks. That first reference is exactly what I had in mind and will likely keep me busy for a while.

Curious... These were collected with the Washington DC Post Office in mind. Do you think other post offices around the country would generally have used these same ones as well?

Thanks again,
Steve

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michael78651

27 Apr 2015
12:40:58am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I would be surprised if they weren't. Even today, Linn's has a regular section on special slogan cancels and from which post offices they are available.

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Martyn

27 Apr 2015
03:32:20am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I collect postmarks of all types from British Guiana/Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, the Guyana ones are in a large album with a page for each town/village and slogan etc.

The Trinidad and Tobago ones are currently in a stock book with 1 from Belize and 1 from Barbados (the Barbados one is from where my niece was living).


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Tom in Exton, PA
27 Apr 2015
06:32:15am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I find I'm more of a cover collector. I enjoy postmarks and collect them on cover for the most part. The only cancels I have on single stamps are the socked on the nose, or same on blocks of four. That's a complete cancel on a stamp. The single stamps with a partial "Mail Early For Christmas" or other just go in the trade box.

I'm collecting every known marking on my 1903-8 Franklins, but I also have a New Jersey postmark collection. I started out looking for one from every town, but when I come across an interesting one from a town I already have, I've been including it too. Those reside in a box, although I had an album page printed many years ago!

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2010ccg

27 Apr 2015
09:00:33am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Enjoy the comments thankyou I have a Canada collection of pictorial cancels depicting special festivals and how the village is promoted I locate each on the province/territory map .put together a bit of info and pretend that I have or will visit someday...I also collect postal history and try to find several examples of different types of cancellations used over the past hundred years or so....I do have some unique FDcovers including a Hindenburg first flight that arrived last week....Hopefully my grandson will learn past history and enjoy it as much as I do....

Just wondering if anyone has info on the moon type of cancellation and what countries used them I have 2 Canadian examples

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seanpashby

27 Apr 2015
12:56:47pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Image Not Found
Image Not Found
These are my two favorites that I have saved.

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GeoStamper

Steve
27 Apr 2015
01:57:05pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Glad to see so much interest. And Sean, I'm jealous that you have an entire airplane! I have bits and pieces on about a dozen stamps.

Any suggestions for how to keep and present the various cancels? On-cover as already suggested is probably the most straightforward, but not an option if all you have is stamps. Has anyone ever put together what might be considered an album?

-Steve


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2010ccg

27 Apr 2015
02:14:10pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I have pages and pages enclosed in my Postal History binder but not enough yet for an album, I save both cut outs and envelopes...

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seanpashby

27 Apr 2015
08:40:10pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I try to keep whole covers where possible, but I do have several visio pages of the cutouts of ones that caught my interest. It might a nice side road to try to collect all the fancy cancels. Darn.....I feel a new project coming on.

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Bobstamp

27 Apr 2015
11:21:15pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

GeoStamper said,

"And Sean, I'm jealous that you have an entire airplane! I have bits and pieces on about a dozen stamps."



Hate to do this to you, GeoStamper, but here goes:

Image Not Found

Here are two stamps that must have been a pair when they were cancelled. I think I bought them together, but can't say for sure.

Image Not Found

Don't despair. These are fairly common cancels.

Bob

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smauggie

28 Apr 2015
03:04:10pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

As time allows I intend to expand this post with as many possible examples as possible.

The first type of postal cancellation is the manuscript cancel.

The second type of postal cancellation/tracking is the circular date stamp.



A third type of postal cancellation is the Circular Date Stamp used as both cancel and killer.
Image Not Found

From: http://www.philamercury.com/covers.php?id=22676
The use of a circular date cancel to provide both tracking information and kill or cancel the stamp began in philatelic times. Usage in the US generally tapers off by the end of the Civil War with some small towns still doing so into the early 1870's.

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TribalErnie

28 Apr 2015
04:58:47pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I'm glad I saw this thread because I was just pondering this question today. I dropped off a first class stamped letter today at the counter of a tiny Florida post office today. (It went to another SOR member) my question is, when can you know that the letter will receive a great circular "Ft. White" hand stamp? Is there a way to know or to help a letter receive a great cancel or are they just thrown in a bin and processed by machine at another location? Thanks in advance to all of my knowledgeable, awesome and communicative club members! -Ernie. Happy

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TribalErnie

28 Apr 2015
05:14:17pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Also, una mas question. I read an article a few years back I think it was by Wayne Youngblood. It was either in the American philatelist or Linns. Can't remember which but it was all about collecting common stamps that had received an interesting cancel that had marked up a stamp to make it look like the subject in the stamp had glasses on or a mustache etc. It just looked like a really fun collection. I vaguely remember a stamp cancelled to look like the star ship enterprise was attacking a famous landmark

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Bobstamp

28 Apr 2015
05:49:29pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I doubt I'll ever find a better example of the biplane cancel:

Image Not Found

Or better centring of the stamp, for that matter. Nice, eh?

Bob

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TribalErnie

28 Apr 2015
05:53:01pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

"Nice, eh". Spoken like a true Canadian citizen or is that resident???? Lol.

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Bobstamp

28 Apr 2015
05:54:01pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Regarding the Georgetown, California cancellation:

Wikipedia notes that Georgetown was the hub of a busy gold-mining district. Near Silver City, New Mexico, where I grew up, the is a mining ghost town named also named Georgetown. I was last there a few decades ago; all that was left were a few standing brick walls, and the cemetery, notable for the many graves of children who died in an epidemic in the late 19th Century.

Bob

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Bobstamp

28 Apr 2015
05:57:27pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Erniejax said,

"Nice, eh". Spoken like a true Canadian citizen or is that resident???? Lol. "



True Canadian citizen. I'm also an American citizen. Canada recognizes my American citizenship but America does not recognize my Canadian citizenship. At Wits End

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TribalErnie

28 Apr 2015
05:58:15pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Bobstamp, talking about weird/funny/ironic cancellations I guess we could call him an "air head". Lol

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GeoStamper

Steve
28 Apr 2015
07:44:53pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Thanks Bob for the wonderful biplanes. Gives me something to aim for. Now if I could only get some time away from work and home repairs, I could work on those ideas for collecting cancels!

-Steve

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TuskenRaider

30 Apr 2015
04:24:00pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Hi Everyone;

"I doubt I'll ever find a better example of the biplane cancel:
Or better centring of the stamp, for that matter. Nice, eh?

Bob"



Yes that is a nice example, I'm glad you're enjoying it too. It is kinda neat that it appears right
on top of a Navy ship too.... Laughing
TuskenRaider

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malcolm197

31 May 2015
03:16:09am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I am primarily a postally-used stamp collector -however I am ever more getting into postmarks/cancellations/postal markings on my duplicate stamps.

It would be tempting to collect only covers - however as I live in a house not a warehouse this is not practical. My priorities are-

1. Postage-dues or any postal instructional markings tourist cachets etc. Collect on cover where possible.

2. "Bog standard" postmarks,date stamps,slogans, wavy lines etc I collect on square/rectangular piece containing the whole of the stamp(s)and the whole of the mark.

3.Fully- identifiable part markings on off-paper stamps.

I always replace (3) with (2) where available.

When I aquire a new used stamp without (3) I transfer the equivalent (3) already in my album to my postmark collection.

My postmark collection is entirely seperate to my stamp collection - typically I may have 5/10 stamps in my collection ( including shades and varieties ) and an unlimited number of the same stamp in my postmark collection.

If you think that stamp-collecting improves your geographical knowledge, try collecting postmarks.

I am especially interested in places that have changed name or "changed countries" e.g. was Germany now Poland, was Poland now Russia, was Austro-Hungary now anywhere you like! I always have these in the latest country.

I find that I am becoming more and more interested, as (particularly modern)postmarks are understudied. Also owing to the ever-decreasing use of "real" stamps, the future of collecting lies ever more with postmarks,meters, frama and other ATM stamps and the like.
As a used stamp collector these peripheral interests are becoming more relevant.

Malcolm

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Ningpo

31 May 2015
07:01:56am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

As Malcolm points out, future collecting may encompass modern ATM type labels and similar. There are certainly specialised collectors of these, with seemingly vast knowledge of them; particularly Framas. I have noticed more interest in these recently and prices are slowly moving upwards.

I stumbled across a number of covers from the same eBay seller and was attracted to them. Some were obviously philatelic, whilst others were genuine commercial mail. Here are two examples of 'combination' covers. Although I know nothing about them, they do catch the eye:

Image Not Found


Image Not Found

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Tim
Collector, Webmaster
31 May 2015
12:19:24pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

To add a little more to the second part of Lisa's question; "What do you do with them?"

As most of you know I'm very into collecting Minnesota Cancels. I wondered what to do with them also because to put them all in albums would fill the whole house. So I scan the front and back of the cover or card and post the images on a website I made with Wordpress. Here is the page from that La Sueur cover that we have been discussing on another thread:

Image Not Found

You can access the page and then look at other covers displayed there by going to:

http://mncancels.org/minnesota-post-office-lookup/?action=40&po=2106

Regards ... Tim.

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31 May 2015
03:57:29pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Question: What does a computer geek do with his spare time?
Answer: Designs an attractive, well organized site dedicated to a topic he is obviously enthused about!

Well done, Tim! I especially enjoy playing with the interactive "Minnesota Post Offices With Covers" feature.

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Blaamand

WW collector at heart
01 Jun 2015
05:49:02pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Another interesting threads with lots of good inputsHappy

I do not make special collections for postmarks in 'real life'. However I appreciate a fine postmark when I see one, and make scans of some of them. I am planning to make a dedicated 'digital collection' for SOTN items (the pages will never be made on paper, only digital). Here is a test I made some time ago, just for the fun of it.

Image Not Found

You may notice that I am also chasing 'forerunners' and/or 'used abroad' stamps. I find these very fascinating, so at some point I will make a dedicated digital collections only for such postmarks as well.

I have too much on the agenda to pay much attention for 'fancy' cancels or picture cancels - for now anyway. That being said I must say the cancels shown in earlier threads, eg the airplanes - are really beautiful! So much to collect, so little timeConfused
-jon-

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Steve
01 Jun 2015
06:19:03pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Jon, I really like what you are doing. My ideas have not yet made it on paper so you've given me a bit more to think about.

You have solved one piece that has been keeping me from progressing, although honestly I haven't put too much time into it. That is, How do you digitally extract a cancel from the scan of the stamp? You seem to have done that quite well. I'm hoping the answer is a simple action within a standard Paint tool or PowerPoint... Big Grin

-Steve

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Blaamand

WW collector at heart
01 Jun 2015
08:05:29pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Thanks Steve. I started extracting postmarks after reading a thread in the SCF forum, can't remember which one. Anyway - it worked very well for me. It's not complicated and can be done with many photoshop softwares. I did not have any at that time, and was recommended to try 'Shotwell' (free software, google it). This was straight forward to use, and you will learn it after a few minutes playing around with the color settings. Probably there are other software that is even better, but I am by no means any datageek, so I hope others can come with other suggestions!

Good luck!!



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thebiggnome

01 Jun 2015
08:34:49pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I can recommend http://apps.pixlr.com/editor/
which is a free online image editor that is quite like photoshop.

I'm not sure how you extracted the postmarks, but I can guess. Use a 'select' tool to select all the colored areas and then erase them? Or select the black areas (the postmark), invert the selection, then hit delete? Maybe just turn the contrast up so black stays black and everything else turns white? I'll have to go play around with it unless you care to share...

Are there lists of town postmarks by country somewhere? Maybe I'll start a new thread for this question.

Chris

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seanpashby

01 Jun 2015
10:00:39pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

How about this for collecting postmarks? Whoever the collector was that did this, made all 12 months and they are being sold. It must have taken such a long time to do this.

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BenFranklin1902

Tom in Exton, PA
02 Jun 2015
08:07:25am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Wow! I love the August collection! I'm more into things that are a hunt rather than valuable!

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Bobstamp

02 Jun 2015
12:27:48pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

And every Sunday the P.O. must have been open! Or there was some postal jiggery-pokery going on! Seventh Day Adventist postal clerk? (The next time I join the Navy, I'm going to boot camp in as an Adventist. Those guys got both Saturday and Sunday off!)

Bob

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BenFranklin1902

Tom in Exton, PA
02 Jun 2015
01:52:16pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

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Bob- I think the post office cancelled mail 365 days a year in the old days. Especially when the mails were the only form of communication, it was very important. We take for granted today that we can email, call or text someone. Around the turn of the 20th century, you either dropped them a penny card, or you went to see them!

Here's a cover with Christmas eve mailing and Christmas day receiving marks!

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thebiggnome

02 Jun 2015
02:37:36pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Umm, without the year one cannot tell whether any of those cancellations fell on Sunday.

Chris

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GeoStamper

Steve
02 Jun 2015
02:53:02pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Good point Chris. Was thinking similar thoughts.

I've always lamented the lack of year in many US postmarks (not to mention the complete lack of date stamp of any kind on most stamps). My date stamp collection is kind of lite on US stamps. Thank goodness for Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Germany, all of the Scandinavian countries, etc., to help me fill in all those calendar spots. And Japan of course, except that they frequently and without warning use the year of the emperor's reign instead of the calendar year...Surprise

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BenFranklin1902

Tom in Exton, PA
02 Jun 2015
03:55:23pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

The cool thing about postmarks is that your collection is only limited by your imagination. I went to a meeting of the Hamilton NJ Stamp Club a few weeks ago and there was a PowerPoint presentation by a guy whose first name was Milton. The collection? Postmarks from towns named Milton!

There are a lot of towns called Milton, but also Miltonville, Milton Lake etc. And he's collected hundreds of covers as such. He also tries to visit these towns and alters his travels to pass through them. He was a great presenter who made the whole thing fun for everyone.

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pedroguy

26 Jul 2015
08:41:22am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Image Not FoundHere's another example, the front of the postcard is stamped when it was received. Took only 3 days from Wisconsin to North DakotaImage Not Found

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pedroguy

26 Jul 2015
08:49:19am

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Here's how the Russian's do itImage Not Found

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26 Jul 2015
12:03:38pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

"Japan of course, except that they frequently and without warning use the year of the emperor's reign instead of the calendar year. "



There is a logic to it. If the cancel is in Japanese (i.e. has Japanese characters in it), it will be in the "Emperor year" format and the format is yy-mm-dd. For modern stamps (1925-1988), just add 1925 to the year i.e. 55.10.02 is is Oct 2, 1980. Since 1988, add 1988.

Here is the list of the recent Imperial changes and the factor to add

1868 Meiji add 1867
1912 Taisho add 1911
1926 Showa add 1925
1989 Heisei add 1988

If the cancel is in English, the format is dd-mm-yy

Samples

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January 31, 1927

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December 17, 1995 (dates in both formats)

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November 27, 1956

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December 1, 1959

Roy
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Dakota

26 Feb 2016
07:27:34pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Thanks Roy. I was just going to add a thread asking how to read Japanese postmarks when I noticed this thread.

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rbpuzzles

Conquering the world one stamp at a time
25 Jul 2018
09:30:21pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Wow! Was googling postmark/cancel collecting and this old thread popped up.

Since I recently (almost a year) decided to go full worldwide collecting, I've also been squirreling away nice looking postmarks as I find them. Mostly by country as I sort and mount. I would love to incorporate pages into my Steiner albums for the postmarks I'm finding, but don't have a clue as to how I would like to present them.

I do want to mount them, some way, to the same paper I am using tor the album pages to keep the albums uniform. I really don't want to use stock pages or albums.

The postmarks I am segregating are from various decades and are and on various issues of stamps. There really is no rhyme or reason for what I set aside, just random selections of thing s I like.

Besides the examples shown here, does any one else have any pages of mounted, random postmarks or cancels to share? Maybe arrangement ideas?

I know this is going to come down to personal preference, I just need some ideas.

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michael78651

25 Jul 2018
09:37:33pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

I don't collect such as a rule, but when catches my eye relating to my philatelic and other interests, I'll keep them. I use a stock book for such things as part of an informal side collection.

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amsd

Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads
26 Jul 2018
08:19:48am

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re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

examples above seem pretty exhaustive, although there may be ideas not yet proposed

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02 Aug 2018
07:38:04pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

" ... a CDS (circular date stamp) applied by a clerk, ..."

If the stamp was placed about ¼-¾" in from he right edge, and
at least ½" down from the top, and one of the spray ink
stamp deforming machines is not used there can often be a neat,
clear CDS that was applied by the automated cancelling gadget.
Of course these days it may indicate the envelope was cancelled
at some central sorting center, but even they must be collected
by someone.

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BenFranklin1902

Tom in Exton, PA
03 Aug 2018
05:20:20pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

Image Not Found

I am a cover collector. I keep my collection organized in three ring binders, using these two pocket clear pages. I print and cut 7" x 5.5" information cards on 60 lb card stock. This is a page from my New Jersey collection.

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Opa

04 Aug 2018
01:48:48pm

re: Cancellations vs. Postmarks and what to do with them?

There is a very good program that you can download for free to extract cancels called "Poststation Fragment analyzer". Below is an example that took me about 2 minutes. There is also a English handbook online to download.

www.heise.de/download/product/poststation-fragment-an..

Image Not Found Image Not Found

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