13 Stars Flag

Hi all,
can someone tell me why the flag on this cancellation has only 13 stars?
.
Was there an anniversary?
Thanks in advance.
Fabio

Fabio without a photo we can't give you an answer,can you please post one thanks.
regards Harry

Sorry, I did...

The original stars and stripes flag of the US had 13 stars representing the original 13 states. As more states entered the union, the number of stars increased until now with 50 states, there are 50 stars.

Hi rohumpy, thanx for reply.
I know what you say, but I ask to myself why a cancellation of 1920 shows only 13 stars?

In the United States, the first successful postmarking machine was developed by Thomas Leavitt in the 1870s, with covers known from 1876. By 1880 Leavitt machines were in use in twenty cities. Cancellations were of a variety of forms, including horizontal and diagonal lines, as well as "football" shapes. The American Postal Machines Company soon got into the business, with postmarks appearing from 1884, and became successful with a machine known for its speed of processing.




US flag cancel of 1898, on a 2c "Farming in the West" of the Trans-Mississippi issue of that yearAPMC introduced the flag cancel in 1894, which used the wavy lines of the cancel to depict an approximate image of an American flag. During the 1890s dozens of other companies got into the business, although most were short-lived, and only about six, including Pitney-Bowes, lasted past the 1920s.

These are some of my favorite cancels!
FLAG CANCELS, awesome!
Thanks for posting!
Gussyboy1
http://goscf.com/t/1280#1280

In the 1920's, there would have been 48 stars on the US flag. I suppose it is either a matter of available space on the canceller, or it is a tribute to the original flag.

Yes Roumpy, this is my question... why in 1920 there was only 13 stars on flag? If it was a tribute, which kind of tribute?

Why not? There does not have to be a specific reason for a display of the original thirteen star flag. In fact it has been used on stamps and in cancellations for a very long time. No specific occasion is required.

This is what I think you wanted as far as an answer to your stars question. Sorry it's 2 years too late...lol
The 13 starred flag is just used as a patriotic symbol. 13 stars = the 13 original colonies/states. That simple.

It's still occasionally used as this 2012 pictorial postmark shows at this link:

http://goscf.com/t/23687

Technically we only have 46 States as we still have 4 Commonwealths.
Virginia, Kentucky,Pennsylvania, & Massachusetts are all Commonwealths.

Using that logic, if you omit the Commonwealths of Virginia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, we had only 10 original States!

It's not logic, they are indeed Commonwealths. Constitutionally speaking, they're identical,The original meaning of the word commonwealth was a nation or body governed by the people, not some king or tyrant. In fact, the time in British history during which Cromwell and Parliament ruled instead of a king is known as the Commonwealth Period. So when it came time for the American colonies to throw off the yokes of oppression and tea taxes and the excessive use of the letter you in words like colour, the three hotbeds of revolution—Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia—were most eager to signal the difference in government. Perhaps remembering the Commonwealth Period, they declared themselves commonwealths. Kentucky had once been merely a giant western county of Virginia (before that, it was called Transylvania). When it started doing its own thing in 1790, Kentucky kept the commonwealth status.

stalizer is correct: technically, or we might say that on a word level, we have 46 States and 4 Commonwealths. Functionally, I'd describe us as 50 Commonwealths. I am from Pennsylvania and in official capacity it never calls itself a "State", always a Commonwealth. However, in common speech we often call ourselves a State.

Back to a 13 star flag. I have read numerous times that any US flag from any period in US history can be flown and viewed as appropriate. As for US flag cancels, I have seen them with varying numbers of stars. I don't know the exact number of variations.

Note also that the 13 star cancel has a star configuration that has never, to my knowledge, appeared on any US flag. So it is more of a stylistic than accurate flag.