Question From New Collector

I read in another post that if this was the same color blue that meant it was the rare 233 is that correct?

Also are these all the same?




When you say heavy cancel, does that mean the heavy black? What is considered Fancy?

I inherited a large stamp collection I'm trying to sort and learn but, feeling very overwhelmed lol so sorry for the questions.

Soory here is the 233

Not the same, sorry.

Welcome to Stamp Community!




Heavy cancel usually means that the cancel or obliteration or posstmark has geen applied heavily to the stamp design area, obscuring the design and making it hard to see the nice quality of the engraving or artwork.

A lighter cancel or barely seen cancel even, is usually preferred by many collectors. I however, along with others, do enjoy a cancel that is readable and clearly seen on the stamp(s), as cancel collecting is a side or main hobby of many others.


A fancy cancel can mean a fancy cork cancel, carved into a piece of cork, and is very collectible.

It can also mean a cancel more fancy than a regular circleular date stamp (CDS) type of cancel or postmark.

Your two right-hand red stamps Do have fancy cork cancels.

The first 2 cent stamp has a part of a duplex (two-part) cancel, it being the oval or ovoid barred obliteration with numeral circle, or a canter numeral or number. You can see the other part of the duplex, the circlcular date stamp, on the outer left-hand edge of the stamp. It is neat that there is no number or letter in the inner circle also. Oops, maybe a partial one, barely seen.