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Christmas 1974 Precancel Self Adhesive on Cover, by A J Savakis

By A J Savakis

At the recent APS STAMPSHOW 1999 held in Cleveland, an area was set up for $1 and less covers. There was one area for cut 2x4 postmarks, selling for a nickel apiece. Readers will recall that a nickel challenge can occupy a stamp collector for hours. Certainly the invitation was worthy of time, and for approximately $10, two hundred interesting, contemporary postmarks were obtained for further study.

Take a look at the postmark below. Notice anything unusual?

Christmas Self-Adhesive Pre-Cancel Stamp with Machine Cancel

Scott 1552 is an interesting stamp issue, both on and off cover. It was distributed to a limited number of post offices for retail sale. Christmas covers bearing this stamp were to be delivered separated from other stamps, and processed without benefit of the need for postmark since the stamps were "precanceled." Indeed, covers sent out during that period from western Pennsylvania with Scott 1552 are absent any mail processing marks on the front. Only the return address would identify an uncancelled cover from a test area as being a precanceled usage as opposed to a skip. Naturally, any mail franked with Scott 1552 that was delivered to the post office by Christmas mailers that was not bundled and segregated from the other mail would be processed and machine cancelled just like any other franked mail. Mail handed to a window clerk in the test area would probably not be hand cancelled since the stamp was already precanceled. To be sure, through philatelic stamp sales, collectors across the country obtained the stamp and used them, generating additional postmarked stamped covers. Those mailing, outside the test areas, may have generated a few hand cancels. Most likely, most used examples are either uncancelled on piece or machine postmarked on piece.

Scott informs the collector that "Unused value of No. 1552 is for copy on rouletted paper backing as issued. Used value is for copy on piece with or without postmark. Most copies are becoming discolored, probably from the adhesive. The Catalogue value is for discolored copies."

The fact that this example, and three others that I found, were with machine postmark is therefore interesting, but not unusual. Still, notice anything unusual?

This example of Scott 1552, and the other three that were in the batch of 2x4 cut corners, were on post office fresh white paper. The example scanned for your examination was scanned on a setting of very dark. There is no observable discoloration of the printed postage stamp. There is no splotching of the postage stamp’s paper.

A local stamp collecting friend likes to take Scott 1552 sheets, and use a solvent to clean off the adhesive. In many cases this takes the discoloration away. The stamps are then returned to the sheet with hinges.

Why was the Scott 1552 paper for these four postmarked examples post office white?

Would someone have taken the trouble to remove the adhesive from the self-stick stamps in 1974, and use another glue to attach them to an envelope for mailing? That seems unlikely.

If you flip the 2x4 example over and examine the back of the envelope’s paper, you will observe a yellowing area directly behind the stamp. A working theory is that the envelope’s paper is sucking the adhesive away from the postage stamp and thereby preserving it!

Readers are asked to review their covers and send in their findings. In what condition are your Scott 1552 covers and stamps?

See THE NICKEL CHASE, Machine Cancel Forum for January 1996 at page 1662; THE NICKEL CHASE CONTINUES, Machine Cancel Forum for October 1996 at page 1791.

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8/29/20, 4:07 PM

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