How Common Are Truly Used US Souvenir/Miniature Sheets?

philb, Taking a closer look at the sheet those cancels seem to be just simple ovals not what you would expected from a USPO cancellations. can't see date or even city/PO it was used at. Does it still have gum?

Mike

Here are a few I received during the proper period. It was a time (1989-97) when I was not interested in covers. So, everything was soaked

There are a few low face value SS that are quite common and not very valuable. For example, Scott #778, #948, #1075, and #1311 are quite inexpensive.

Such non-descript cancels were common on parcels. I remember seeing them on stamps from parcels into the 1950's and 60's. This sheet was almost certainly used to mail a parcel.

My next two used SS have the non-descript oval cancels. The first (WW II) was mailed to me from either the Royal Oak, MI or Madison Heights, MI post office. It was not on a parcel post mailings. It came on a Priority Mail flat envelope. (Although technically not a parcel; being to big for automated canceling machines, it may have been processed in the same way.)
The 1894-1994 SS was also mailed from one of the same 2 post offices. The post mark is extremely faint but definitely the same as on the WW II. I do not recall if it was on a parcel or not. My Mother-in-law would ask the mail clerk to kindly cancel the pieces lightly and they usually honored her request.

Marty

I think I have a used US S/S from the 1960's that was cancelled with the a regular wavy lines and date, city, state postmark. I have different s/s canceled with the silent oval postmark. I would post them but my scanner is not communicated with my laptop & the desktop runs toooo ssslllooowww.

Just a thought or three...

Could these "non-descript" or "silent oval" cancels be the result of cancellation devices placed in sorting rooms throughout the mail stream that employees used to cancel stamps that otherwise missed cancellation, such as parcels that couldn't go through canceling machines?

And that's why they carried no information as to time and place because they could have been canceled at another time, in another place.

In that case they probably also thwarted today's maddening "marker monkey" syndrome.

Warrehouse No gum on the back except possibly some old goo from a parcel wrapping

These oval cancels are called dumb or mute cancels. They are issued for a few purposes...

1. They are for registered mail letters & parcels, as stamps on the from of registered mail must not have a cancel on the front that show a city or state. The back of the registered mail item is to be cancelled on the back, along the seams of the envelope, by each post office that handles the mail piece. This is meant to thwart tampering with the item.

2. Requests for mail pieces to have the stamps cancelled, that have already been sent through the U.S. postal system, must be cancelled with mute cancels.

3. The mute cancels are used in sorting rooms to cancel those stamps that have been missed by post office staff or sorting/cancelling equipment.

David

Thanks for the info, David.

Nice to see I was able to figure out one of the uses just by thinking about it!

Thanks David, By the way Congrats on 1000 posts!




Mike

That was very usefull piece about dumb cancels. Thank You!

Here are some used s/s I had at hand.