Kans And Nabr Overprints (Nothing To Fancy)

This is the first time I've shown my Kansas and Nebraska overprints,I brought these as full sets and while the Kansas ones have been cancelled and aren't well centered (the 4 cent has a few perf's missing),the Nebraska ones are a mint set and I was lucky to pick both of them up even though they put a hole in my pocket(oh and the Nebr set have some that aren't well centered either)I'm still happy I have both full sets now .

Way to go, Great stuff! Nuggethill

This may be a "stupid" question (coming from worldwide collector), but the inscription below the stamps caught my interest.

"For years grainbelt states had been victimized by stamp lossess in countless..."

Could somebody tell more about this?

Nuggett -

It's always nice to fill up a tough set! Don't beat yourself up too much about the centering. For some reason the Kansas - Nebraska overprints seem to have lots of problems with centering. A well-centered MNH set goes for a real premium.

Scb -

The overprints were an attempt to stop burglaries from post offices during the depression. Each post office in the two states got approximately a year's worth of stamps. This bright idea didn't work and was discontinued after one year. That's why it's a tougher set to get.

A few weeks ago I saw a used multiple of a Kansas overprint (I forget which one) getting high bids on ebay. I checked it out. It was a Kansas overprint with a Nebraska cancellation

Great looking set Harry.

I haven't looked at my American collection for awhile I'll have to dig it out.

Dianne

ok ok whats an overprint mean?

I'm no Expert Tina but I think I can answer this one to some degree of correctness.

There are many kinds of overprints. They are makings that are made after the original printing of the stamps

The ones shown here have Kans. or Nebr. printed on the bottom of the stamp.

Other have the Value crossed off and a new (usually larger) value overprinted. I think they did this when postage went up and they still had lots of the old stamps left.

There are other kinds I know just can't think of them yet. Not enough coffee I guess. Hope this helps Tina.

Why were Kansas and Nebraska overprints printed in the first place ?

It was the Depression and Dust Bowl days, the Post Offices were often held up. So The idea was that they would overprint the stamps and then be stolen they may be able to identify them as stolen.

Mike

PS: It really did not work so the practice was stopped!

Harry:

Very nice set of the Kansas-Nebraska overprints.

All:

The Kansas-Nebraska overprints were put in use as an experiment to foil train robbers, who were stealing stamps being shipped to post offices in one state, and selling the stolen stamps in other states. Since the train robberies were mostly in the American mid-west, they started with the states of Kansas & Nebraska.

It was a bit of a failure as there was some confusion (even by postal clerks) about the validity of the stamps.

If the programme had been successful, the USPOD was prepared to overprint stamps for the other 46 states! Yikes!

David

so those are the only 2 states cause in my collection I have LOTS of countries with over prints,does that make them more or less of a value?

Thanks Mike,David,Dianne and Dan your comments are appreciated,I know to fill a set out takes time and to find a set already filled is rare and to find a mint set already filled .
Tina it depends on the rarity,amount in circulation and issue time of the stamp,were as these only had the overprints for a year other stamps had them for years,refer to your Scott catalogue Tina or post it in the world discussion forum and see what people say,I for one would love to see them.

regards Harry



Oh and P.S. thanks again for the explanations Dianne,Mike and David this is what makes this site a fantastic one for all

Yes, thank goodness overprints were not made for the other 46 states. Can you imagine the pain of so many unfilled spaces in an album? You would have to guess that the Rhode Island overprints would be very scarce. (or Wyoming -- low population so not many stamps needed)

On a serious note, I have often wondered why the overprints were abbreviated and also why they look like pica type face on old typewriters. Seems to me it is so easy to fake them.

You're absolutely right. In my reply to Nugget, I said that a well-centered MNH set goes for a premium. There are forgeries. Even Scott's Specialized Catalog warns of fakes.

The best way to distinguish a fake is by looking at the gum breaker. Rather than try to explain that one, here is a real good article online about authentic Kan./Neb. overprints:

http://reviews.ebay.com/Authentic-K...000001262027

Now, how many of us are going to be digging out our copies this weekend?

That's a great link Dan thanks for that and thanks for your input too,I'll be checking them to just to make sure I didn't waist my money.