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Need More Help With More Cancels

 
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Valued Member
United States
25 Posts
Posted 02/24/2025   4:53 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this topic Add jdsstrat to your friends list Get a Link to this Message
These two came from the same collection I have been sorting through on and off for about a week now. Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated...
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Pillar Of The Community
6059 Posts
Posted 02/24/2025   6:36 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add John Becker to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Your second stamp has a cancel from Watch Hill Station of Westerly, RI. (Thus the "W.H." in the center)

It is a typical double-ring oval cancel used on mail not requiring a date, most often found on parcel post or the front of registered mail. Less common on special delivery letters as they tended to be send 1st class. These ovals also come with various designs/settings between having full dates all the way to completely "mute" as two plain ovals. It does not particularly add or detract from the value here.
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Edited by John Becker - 02/24/2025 6:37 pm
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United States
705 Posts
Posted 02/24/2025   7:24 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add ZebraMan to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
The red cancel on the postage due stamp on the left may be from Boston.
http://goscf.com/t/87495
This is from "Cancellations and Killers of the Banknote Era 1870-1894" by James Cole:

Sometimes a similar cancellation is used in multiple cities which makes it difficult to tell where it is from unless it is on cover.
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Valued Member
United States
25 Posts
Posted 02/25/2025   1:40 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add jdsstrat to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Thank you! Not only have my questions been answered but I have been guided to resources that I never would have known existed. This has permitted me to further my understanding of stamps and stamp collecting at my own pace. For example, because of ZebraMan and John Becker's responses, I have been able to track down copies of Cole's Fancy Cancels book as well as the Stamp Smarter website and dive even deeper into the questions I posed. Thank you for that! In fact, I noticed that the Stamp Smarter website had the CSU-5 cancel as a black one, when it would seem from the information here that it might have been red, too. I'll leave it to one of you veterans to make the call and either send it in to the SS site for an update or not. Thanks again! Although my wife might beg to differ.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2806 Posts
Posted Yesterday   10:27 am  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add littleriverphil to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
First posted this on 2/2/2017, thought I'd repost it to show that Boston used several tints of red for their postage due mark.
Richard Frajola had a Postage Due exhibit on his site a few years ago that was quite informative.
New York's pre-cancel "String of Pearls" and Boston's red cross were not the only large city's "fancy" due mark, Chiago also had a large purplish C, that I never found a copy of.


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Pillar Of The Community
United States
6831 Posts
Posted Yesterday   11:04 am  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Cjd to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
I tried a couple quick Google searches and didn't immediately find an example of the Chicago "C" postage-due cancel. Does anyone have an image or link close at hand?

Thanks.
C.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2806 Posts
Posted Yesterday   1:04 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add littleriverphil to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Finally found part of John Irwin's "U.S. Large Numeral Postage Dues" on Richard's site.

https://www.rfrajola.com/exhibits.htm

Sorry, best I could copy, you'll have to scroll down to Irwin, John and click on U. S. Large Numeral Postage Dues. Once at the Exhibit page, click " The Large Numeral Postage Due collection of Essays, Proofs and Stamps" above pic of Frame 1. Chicago is on page 14 of Frame 3.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
6831 Posts
Posted Yesterday   1:58 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Cjd to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
I appreciate you taking the time to hunt that up.

I hope no one is offended if I leave the precancel image here, for posterity.

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