Closer Look At Precancel Postage Due

Precanelled Brockton, MA

I am sure this has been asked before, but why would one want to precancel a postage due stamp?

Peter

It just made life easier for the post office back in the day ... they cancelled sheets of the postage due stamps before use and just applied them where needed. Saved time, I suppose.

I know postage rates of the period demanded it, but what I've always wondered about was the practicality of issuing 1/2 cent stamps and then going through the motions of precanceling them. It would seem the cost of man hours for printing, distribution, precanceling and usage of such low value stamps would be so much more greater than the denomination would suggest.

Here is a closer look :)

I also wonder if they precanceled the stamps to help prevent a postal clerk from accidently using them as regular postage. Just a thought.

My old 1975 Scott catalogue shows two 1/2 cent postage due stamps, namely, a 1930 United States Scott#J69 carmine and a 1931 United States Scott#J79 dull carmine (rotary press). I'm guessing that Chasa's is the carmine one?

all of the scans are of J79... you cannot tell these apart reliably by colour alone. the perfs, impression, and BACKS are different.