The Figure 3 cover shows a couple of other interesting aspects of these usages. The handstamped cancellation has seven wavy lines in the killer, and the time of day is included inside the large August 15, 1931, circular datestamp.Ī year later, the cost of a first-class letter rose to three cents. The stamp on the Figure 2 cover is a Milwaukee, Wis., Bureau precanceled 2-cent Washington sheet stamp, Scott 634.
The cancel is sufficiently distinct that it can easily be identified as a mailer's postmark. The cancellation consists of a double-ring datestamp adjacent to five horizontal killer bars. The Figure 1 cover bears a 2-cent carmine George Washington coil stamp, Scott 599, with a Los Angeles, Calif., precancel overprint applied by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, canceled by the mailer on August 26, 1927. Here are six examples, showing the variety available: But while precancel collectors shun them, postmark and cover collectors can discover some wonderful, nonstandard postal markings by browsing dealer stocks for examples of precanceled stamps on first-class mail. Most specialists prefer to collect precancels without added cancellations, but many precanceled 2-cent coil stamps were used almost exclusively on first-class mail, and therefore have added mailer's postmarks. Many precancel collectors have cursed this requirement ever since. However, unlike the use of precanceled postage on second-, third-, and fourth-class mail, users of precancels on first-class mail were required to add dated cancellations, so that the stamps could not be reused: "The date of mailing in connection with lines similar to those used in a cancellation postmark shall be placed by the mailer on each piece of first-class matter." Glover's order concluded, "Postmasters will please bring this matter to the attention of all persons using uncanceled stamps in coils on first-class matter and advise them that for their future needs the department will, in cases where the quantity mailed is sufficient to make use of precanceled stamps advantageous, furnish 2-cent precanceled stamps in coils which they may use on their first-class matter after obtaining permission therefor in the manner above set forth, thus expediting the handling of their first-class matter." In essence, these were the same requirements that had applied to users of precanceled stamps on mailings of advertising circulars and samples of merchandise since the 19th century, but extended to business letters, orders, invoices, and payments. They were required to presort the mail by city and state, and to face all the pieces uniformly in the same orientation. To qualify for this privilege, mailers first had to secure a permit. Irving Glover ruled that precanceled postage stamps could be used on first-class mail. On August 7, 1924, Third Assistant Postmaster General W. Even though most precancel collectors would not regard these postal markings as part of their specialty, the current regulation for use of mailer's permit postmarks is titled, "Precancellation by Mailer." In fact, mailer's postmarks have been authorized - and in some cases, required - since 1924.įor more than 70 years, mailer's postmarks have been associated with precanceled postage - first with precanceled adhesive stamps, later as a way to precancel stamped envelopes and postal cards. Would you like to cancel the stamps on the letters you mail? Although many collectors aren't aware of it, mailers in the United States are allowed to obtain and use their own cancellation devices. Please click on the postmark examples for a full-size, detailed view) The Spotlight is on Mailer's Permit Postmarks by Ken Lawrence (This article originally appeared in the October 1997 issue of Scott Stamp Monthly, and is reprinted here by permission of the author.
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