Town Cancel And Postmark On #220's

My thanks to this community and those who, with, or without, hesitation, ask questions, and those who answer without hesitation. It is because of this, I have been able to properly store three generations of a family collection, in a short period of time.

wt1 posted a link to 'Cancellations and Killers of the Banknote Era' and it is to this, I address my first question on this forum. Thank you, for that link, wt1. It was a great help and a fascinating look, that addresses where a stamp might have come from.

My first question is about the hand stamp town cancel in the photo below. I would welcome the opportunity to learn more, by the community's input, whatever it may be, regarding the cancel. It appears, to me, close to, but not an exact match, to the 'HP' in the Holland Patent, NY cancel, (page 121, I think) from the link wt1 posted. I understand I may never know exactly where it is from, but on the off chance someone recognizes it, or has some possible idea of where to look, besides the link, it would be greatly appreciated.




I also am posting two other postmarks I would like to learn about. The stamps with the blue cancels, (or are they purple?) what, if any, significance, does a blue cancel have, as opposed to a black cancel? Are they parcel post? Forgive me, if this a repeated question you've answered over and over again. I, myself, haven't been able to find the answer, easily.




The last postmark, (is this also a parcel post?) all I can read is the letters 'TUCKET'. It's possible it might either be Pawtucket, or Nantucket. I'm hoping someone has the full cancel, or recognizes it.









The majority of the collections' classic stamps, were collected by my great grandfather, who lived in the New England area. I do not automatically assume all the postmarks will be from that part of the country/world. By the same token, I do not rule it out, either. So far, the ones I can identify are. I mention this, as it could be 'a place to start'.

I've not removed these stamps from the paper they are on, since the postmark is what I'm interested in, and they lap over onto the paper. The stamps are common Scott #220, no caps.

Thank you, in advance, for your time, and assistance.

Hello cet_gg - welcome to the board!

I don't have much to add regarding the interesting cancels, except the second blue/purple oval cancels are probably 3rd or 4th class parcel cancels, most likely listing the town/state.

The stamps, though, are NOT Scott 220. They are the first 2c Bureau issues (1890's), which are between Scott 248 and 279B for the 2c values. They have various types based on the upper corner triangles and other details. It appears that your top 2 stamps are type I, your second two are type 3, and the bottom one is type I. You would need to know if they are watermarked or not to determine the exact Scott catalog number.

Cheers!

-dave

Thank you, Dave, for the welcome, and the information.

I agree I didn't look closely enough at the stamps, to properly identify them. I only looked at the 2's, and not the triangles, as well. Your input on that is well received and will be something I will pay closer attention to.

I've been at this for a little over two weeks. The types and watermarks I've only scanned through information on how to look at these. Ultra violet light? Or do they have to be removed from the paper to see them? I do have a 248, 249, and a 252.

As I mentioned, I am curious to the postmark and do not know whether to remove these from the paper, or not, to look for a watermark, if that is what is required, as some of the postmark will be left behind. I also don't know if these are in any condition to be worth doing that since they are 'average' in centering, one of them is torn, they are used, and not very clean.

Thank you for pointing me in the direction of the postmarks with reference to 3rd and 4th cancel. Page 308 of 'Cancellations and Killers of the Banknote Era', I looked to the 3rd and 4th class. Looks like the last photo I posted is, indeed Pawtucket, RI. VL-23. The note is Pawtucket also used with the design used for Laconia, NH.

For the pair of oval cancels in the middle, could the town be "AUGUSTA" in Georgia or Maine? On that first pair of cancels, might one stamp and marking be upside down in relation to the other?

Hello, and thank you, essayk. I believe you are correct, on both counts.


This one was upside down.




And I do have another blue oval cancel, that I could not decipher, I did not post. I appreciate you 'putting a second set of eyes' on this, that see better than mine. This is the one I didn't post, but maybe should have. It appears to be, as you suggest Augusta, Maine.

For sure, "Augusta, ME"

For what it's worth.

Thank you, essayk!

I agree with Augusta ME.

Stallzer, hello, and thank you, for taking the time to do that, and responding.

I do have Adobe Photoshop and have looked at some stamps in black and white. This one, I didn't. I wasn't sure I could trust my eyes, as I didn't think the lettering would be clear enough. I appreciate you doing so, and posting it. It was worth it, for me. Thank you!

I used retro reveal for these.

http://retroreveal.org/

Stallzer, thank you very much for the link.