Precancels On Modern Coils

E-Bay lot # 390650727700 consists of two pairs of Transportation coils overprinted with "Bellevue, WA". Does someone know what these "precancels" were used for? Are they legitimate precancels, or are they just made to order?

Peter

These are legitimate precancels - in that the device was used in the post office. Probably 99.9 % of precancels used in the last 30 years were 'made to order' as you suggest. They are still collectable.
At the time [1980's] the USPS encouraged walk-in precancelling by collectors and to a lesser extent mail-in servicing. Only a small fraction of the towns offering this service are high-priced today, but some are rare and highly sought. Some states are more popular than others and on ebay [as any auction site] it only takes 2 fanatics to produce weird prices.

Specifically, these two items were never meant to carry mail. The were 'used for' souveniers, basically.

I looked at the ebay listing referred to in the initial scan. What I find interesting is that the precancels are said to be Type 905, yet a Type 905 precancel is not shown on the Bellevue, WA precancel album pages prepared by the PSS. Is this is a new precancel type for that city?

For convenience, here are the stamps being offered in the above ebay listing:



I also find it interesting that bidding is up to $10.50 with ten (10) bids but only 16 people have viewed the ebay listing for the item. That in itself seems a bit strange.

This Bellevue WA 905 will be listed in the forthcoming 8th Edition of the catalog - at 0.20 USD.
It is a new addition not yet added to the free PSS album pages.

Thank you Chasa for this info! But I still have some more questions about this.
The main one is: All the overprints form different cities seem to be alike - almost as if made by the same person. And who makes these?
The main reason I would love to know more about these is my affection for the Transportation series and if I should be including these in my collection?

Peter

The different 'overprints' from different cities seem alike because the USPS in Washington supplied the precancel devices to the various post offices. They were manufactured by a government contractor and the styles had consistency, although they varied some from year to year. So, 'making' the vinyl devices was a standardized process in most cases.

The inking and printing on the stamps also might seem alike - but with a little practice, anybody should be able to make nice clear impressions. The seller of these particular ebay items is probably the 'maker'. He has been to many small towns in recent years. He is well known in the precancel community. However, up to about five years ago when the USPS seriously cut back on precancelling, many collectors scoured the USA to get current stamps precancelled - so the precancelled transportation coils come from many 'creators'.

I include them in the precancel states I collect: AL, DE, MT, VT, WA.

"I also find it interesting that bidding is up to $10.50 with ten (10) bids but only 16 people have viewed the ebay listing for the item. That in itself seems a bit strange."

The 10 bids are likely not from 10 different bidders - may only be 2 people going back and forth. I certainly won't be bidding on them as they were manufactured by a collector or dealer.