Dating Precancel Entires

Is there any way of assigning a reliable usage date to precancel covers? Here I am talking about those attached to envelopes and used properly in that they never received postal markings of any sort.

The ones illustrated are oversize envelopes, 11.5 x 5 inches, and the return address indicates New York Stock Exchange Committee on Publicity. That and the actual postage seems to indicate that they contained printed material.

Other that attributing it to a range given by the time these postage stamps were available, are there any clues I should be looking for?

Other than finding a date on the letter that was enclosed, you can only use a ballpark figure by the usage of the particular stamp that's on it. Unfortunately with longevity of usage for some of these stamps, we may be talking a very long period of time until replaced by a new series.

Frankie

Even though these were replaced by the 'presidential' series in 1938 - they were in use through a large part of the 1940's. The purple stamp was first used in 1927, the brown one in 1930. No way to tell when.

On some more modern covers, I have noticed that a one-line datestamp is often found somewhere on the cover itself. Is this a legitimate postal marking? Or is it more likely to have been applied by the sender as some sort of batch labelling?

And what is the **CRO5 applied near the stamp itself? Again, postal in origin? or by the sender?

I don't believe the date stamp is a postal marking, but could have been applied by the recipient or by the sender as a means to identify the piece and/or the requested date or mailing and/or delivery.

The "**CR05" probably refers to "Carrier Route 05" which was the old means of establishing the delivery route before the advent of 9-digit ZIP codes, bar codes, etc. That is further confirmed by the precanceled stamp reading "CAR RT SORT" (Carrier Route Presort).

I might know the Bill Johansen from Largo, FL. I went to HS there! Name sounds familiar.