Help I'm So Confused

I was reading on another post something about over prints and I thought they only did this in 2 states kan and neb so what does this mean on these ones?

Tina the stamps you have shown are precanceled stamps and not considered overprints There is however a whole segment of collectors that are dedicate to collecting precanceled stamps, There is also the Precanceled collectors Society

Tina, These are precancels. These precancels you have here are Bureaus. Overprinted at the Bureau of Engraving then distributed to the larger post offices all around the USA. Many small post office were given devices ordered and delivered to overprint stamp locally. Also many post office before the Bureaus were involved ordered up devices to overprint the stamps. Furthermore,
many large private companies, with permission of the PM General, overprinted the overprints with initials, month & year.
All precancels were designed to expedite the mail delivery by bypassing the cancelling process. Canada, Belgium, France, Hungary, Algeria, Luxembourg & Monaco all use some form of precancel.

Mike

if they are precancels how come no gum on the back?

I think thats because as to old stamps, you have to lick it to make it stick to the envelope

ok im confusing CTO's and precancels whats a precancel then?

CTOs cannot be used as postage. They are sold for collecting purposes only, and the cancel invalidates the stamp for postage.

Pre-cancels are intended to be used as postage, usually with the proper permit and other restrictions (rules may vary among different countries). They are cancelled beforehand to expedite bulk mail processing, but they are still valid for one-time use as postage. On pre-cancels, there may be some inscriptions indicating basic restrictions regarding class of service or location (city/state). USPS also has a permit that allows certain users to bypass some of these restrictions.

i get it thanks Kim

There is no gum on the back because the stamps have been used. Since they were precanceled, there is no further cancellation on them.

Hi

Please note as well, that a precancel stamp should not have any added postmarks on them. They are specifically designed for use on 'bulk' mailings by large companies. Most collectors prefer a 'used' precancel w/o any additional markings at all.

As an example, should you come across a cover with the precancel stamp on it, it should have no other markings at all. It should appear just as the stamp was issued and that's it. In other words, when a precancel stamp is placed on a cover, it should go through the postal system without receiving any other marks and arrive to the recipient looking the same as it was when affixed to the addresse.

Sheets of these precancels were printed up just like you see for each individual stamp you have scanned for this posting.

Hope this helps

Chimo

Bujutsu

There are exceptions. In the US, if you have the proper permit, you are allowed to use certain pre-cancelled stamps as first-class postage. These stamps WILL get postmarked. Quite a few collectors (including myself), use this as a way to get rid of mint precancel scrap from our collections. Some also use this as a way to save postage, because the wholesale sell price of scrap mint pre-cancels is often 25% less than for normal mint stamps.

k

Interesting points

I am not really up on the US precancels like I am with the Canadian ones. In fact, I am not even certain if the same kind of ruling would apply to the Canadian ones as well (?)

Chimo

Bujutsu

It's an obscure rule well hidden in the USPS DMM. Even most of the counter clerks aren't even aware of it. However, most of the philatelic counter clerks do know. Unfortunately, USPS has shut down the great majority of philatelic counters, trying to force all the collectors to order from Kansas City.

k