Fancy Cancel Help Requested

I'm having trouble making out what this one might be, made difficult by it being blue on green:



Is this one called a snowshoe?



Does this one have a name?



Is this one a NYFM?



And just showing off a little (shield, negative cross):

If you are interested in Fancy Cancels, beyond the Search feature on this website, there is a great collection of them on the Memphis Stamp Collectors Society website. - more than 80 pages worth.
They load a little slowly, but are worth the wait. http://www.memphisstampcollectorsso...mphex-1.html

#2 -What you're calling a snowshoe is called a scarab.

#3-The "nameless one" in blue is a patent cancel.

#4 - is not an NYFM as far as I can tell, despite the similarities to part of a fouled anchor type.

Nice cross.

Thanks for the tip on the Memphis display. Worth the download (as a series of pdf files).

#4 is a Negative Star of David. Not a NYFM. And speaking of NYFM, my booklet on them is a FREE download on my website (www.stampexpertizing.com). With that booklet, you should be able to ID nearly every cancel that could be a NYFM even though the booklet is outdated and more NYFMs have been discovered since it was produced (1990).

essayk - Scarab, got it, thanks. Patent cancel - is this a cancel that someone had a patent on? - was the patent for the device or just the shape?

BW - only asked if NYFM because someone at Westpex sggested it, but there were a couple of NYFM exhibits there and this one didn't seem to match. OK, so negative star of David. Got it, thanks.

eyeonwall - You have some nice fancy cancels there. If you decide to continue with this line of collecting, I would advise you to beg, borrow or steal every book you can find. (OK, don't really STEAL, but...) Knowledge here is just as critical as collecting Bank Notes or Washington-Franklins -- maybe moreso. These are the four books I use the most:

• Billig's Handbook Vol 33 (19th Century US Fancy Cancellations)
• Cancellations & Killers of Banknote Era 1870-1894 by Cole
• United States Cancellations 1845-1869 by Skinner & Eno
• The Foreign Mail Cancellations of New York City 1870-1878 by Weiss (yup, him... but do download his booklet until you can the book)

Three tips:

• Be careful with colors. Red can degrade and look brown; blue often looks green.
• An "unlisted" cancel does not always mean it's fake. An "identified" cancel is not always authentic; nor accurately ID'ed!
• Don't be afraid to voice concerns. I've learned quite a bit by asking such questions.

You'll find most Stars of David categorized not as stars, but as "Masonics"

eyeonwall - On that patent cancel:

Yes, that radial cancel in blue can be associated with at least one known patent, that of J.C. Gibson. His canceller was a defacer type consisting of a set of inked pins surrounded by an adjustable guard that set the depth of pin penetration. Whether due to improper setting or wear, the pins did not always penetrate through the stamp, but the dots where they should be usually do show on the obverse.

Here is an example of the same type as yours showing the pin holes on the reverse. You might want to check yours for dents or holes






However, this type of canceller went through many permutations, most of which were not registered for patent protection, in the hands of users in various cities. Two that I know of for sure are San Francisco and Louisville. Here is a group of denominations showing different configurations of the rayburst guard.





Happy hunting!

essayk - impressive patent cancels!

edited for spelling.....

essayk - Nice group. I hadn't noticed the small dots inside the bigger spokes - I gues they didn't have it set right as they don't show on the back of mine (although there is a dent near one).

Kollectornut - so far I am still in the shallow end of the pool, this being only the third time I have bought a group of these cancels.

Here is the whole batch (low res)

Bad, evil, nasty man eyeonwal!
It isn't polite to outbid me on things I want!

I knew these looked familiar and seeing the whole lot went. **CLICK **
An excellent purchase in my opinion.

If you want to share beginner experiences, I should be able to use the email here soon. As much as I have gained from my mentor-collector-dealer circle, I do sometimes feel out of my league. It gets tough sometimes, staying excited about ones first red shield, only to hear "I have five pages of them."

Kurt, I for one would love to see a little, friendly circle of cancel collectors who love the material more than their own prestige. If you guys start something like that, count me in. I have a lot to learn.


BTW thank you Kevin. You have a few cancels for sale I have my eye on.

...and here I was hoping I would be able to pick YOUR brain!

Me too!

Something I think would be fun to do is to have a lengthy discussion of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the 4 1/2 frame exhibit by Dick Scott on fancy cancels " United States Cancellation Sampler, 1851-1900." This was a non-competetive court of honor display at Memphex 2014. [My thanks to bfranton for linking us to that in the first place.]

http://www.memphisstampcollectorsso...mphex-1.html

scroll to the bottom of the page for the "Cancellation Sampler" links to 8 pdf files that show all the pages in great detail.

That would be a group activity that I think could jump start a startup group devoted to fancy cancels.

This exhibit is great for the beginner, because it demonstrates the basic principles of marcophily without obeying the limits and rules for a competetive exhibit. More importantly for the beginner, it does this without resorting to the super rare and exotic material, but sticks to the affordable stuff yet in the best condition one might reasonably expect. I see it as a model for how to collect the cheap stuff, and covers the basics of categories with lots of great stuff to look at. But the presentation has flaws (so what is perfect) and it would be instructive to look at them too.

As I said, a lot to learn.

littleriverphil - That is a very nice NYFM ST-8P5* you have there! I have two, but neither is as nice as yours - a #159 with a 40% strike and a #160 with a 75% strike.

* ID'd using Bill Weiss' top-notch book.

essayk.....if you decide to make a offer for any please add the comment that you are essayk from SCF.
Kevin