What Kind Of Cancel Is This?

Is this a cancel that puts a pattern of holes in the stamp? What kind of cancel is this if so?




-IBFS

That is what is called a "perfin" or "perforated intial" or perforated insigina". They were used by the company or business that mailed the item. The company would perforate the stamps they bought, usually the intials of the company in some type of format so that the employee's would not pilfer the stamps for their own use. You have to remember, especially on this stamp denomination, that 2 dollars was close to a days wage back then. Today business and company's have to worry about cyber-security and global competition....my how things have changed!

Although "perfins" is the term most commonly used today, did you know that 75 years ago they were sometimes referred to as "SPIF's"? "SPIF" was an acronym for "Stamps Perforated for Insurance against Fraud".

Another translation I heard for SPIFS was Stamps (with) Perforated Initials (of) FirmS.

Aparently that term was used more in the UK but have heard in the past few years that they too prefer "PERFINS"

Chimo

Bujutsu

OK, so let me understand a simple scenario. Bob takes some Pefin stamps from Company ABC that are clearly Perfined with such. He takes them home and uses on his mail. Who is policing whether Bob's letter is allowed to go through or not? Of course a perpetrator would be easily caught, especially if Bob put a return address or said something interesting in the mailing, but I am most interested in the question of who is policing the use of these items, and what would be the fine/penalty for such?

As far as I know there was no "penalty" (other than the risk of getting fired from your job, if caught). The story goes that mailroom clerks had often pocketed company bought stamps and the perfin discouraged resale or reuse.

If a local postal clerk saw a perfin presented on a personal piece of mail, they often had arrangements in place to contact the company about it. The company would then be in a position to take action against their employee(s). As far as I know, no civil penalties were ever imposed. It was merely a means to reduce theft by identifying the company owned stamps. Most perfins were used in the 1920s and 1930s before most companies acquired postage meters which effectively eliminated the need for perfins.

Of course, perfins are known to have been used by many colleges and universities into the modern day. In fact, I have one from a utility company that shows usage that goes into the 1990s.

[additional note] An internet search reportedly explains that the reason perfins were so popular in the UK in their day, is that there was provision that (unlike in the US) people could exchange unused stamps for cash at their post office. Obviously, if the stamps contained a perfin, they would be prohibited from doing so, which therefore discouraged theft from the company who originally bought them.

Now that would bankrupt the usps in a hurry- Step on up and get full face value for all that stuff we over produced. I tried making a deal with a sub postal outlet in a convenience store here in canada for 80% of face. Apparently they inquired if it would be a problem and they were told they would loose the contract. The owner said they make less than 3% so they would have been all over making 20%.

Partime-
If you find a cover that Bob sent using the perfin he pilfered, then it is really sought after to a perfin collector.

Going back to the original post, can anyone identify the perfin shown in the original scan? It appears to be a large "C" with a smaller numeral "3" in the center.

Someone with a perfin catalog may be able to identify it, as it appears to be a rather unique design.

The perfin above, described as C(3) catalog number C417, rarity E, was used by Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelhia, PA.

Thanks for the info. The C(3) coordinates with the Federal Reserve Bank seal and letter designation as on US Currency. Although I've never seen these particular examples before, is it safe to assume that they also used (A)1 for Boston, (B)2 for New York, etc., through the entire Federal Reserve Bank letter/number system?

Deleted

Thanks for posting those on-cover perfins, as they are quite interesting.

In fact, the first one was interesting enough that I had to check on the history of the company (The Faultless Rubber Company) and it makes perfect sense that they were mailing to medical doctors, as they were primarily marketing medical and surgical items made of rubber -- and did quite a bit of advertising, too. Here are a few pieces of information on the company:

I love the Dupont cover, Better things for better living....through Chemistry"

I collect Perfins on cover too.

1914 - Michigan central Railroad co. 2¢ Panama Pacific with MCRR Perfin





An early use of a Windowed Envelope, they were only invented a couple of years before 1908. Chicago Telephone company CT CO perfin.

If you like that, you'll enjoy their song (from 1964!) at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJtKkBYlHFw

Very nice covers! I like the UNL one - I always notice anything Nebraska-related.