Darn Its Only A Cover Front

its not a whole cover..but its a multi franking of my favorite stamp Guatemala scott #118 from the waterlow printing of 1902.its a very colorul set ! on 100 year old plus covers from Guatemala..you do not expect the envelope to be pristine !!

Hi Philb......

Pristine is hard to find and darn expensive when it is found. This multiple makes a colorful old cover, something that I am always attracted to.

Thanks Tom !!

Very colorful and interesting international cover!

Thanks T360 I do not like to make any promises I cannot keep but if no family matters interfere..i may see you at the Pittsfield show..if you can also make it...Bobgggg mentioned the possibility that he might be able to make it..no guarantees...

Perfect or not it's still a really nice cover Philb

Dianne

Wish I could go to Pittsfield we have another storm comming tonight

I've said it before Phil, but I'll say it again - pristine don't mean a thing! A cover with character is much more impressive! Yours is impressive!

Was reading a thread on the Aussie stamp board the other day. All kinds of complaints about how Australia Post (and others) destroy stamps, sometimes carefully put together philatelic covers, by running pens and markers over stamps that didn't get canceled and even placing stickers over the stamps. Someone suggested we should start saving these as postal history and that 100 years from now, collectors could be oooing and aaahing over them! They'll have character.

I totally agree that sentiment, modern_who. What's wrong with a pen cancel? Why is the cover ruined?

T360 thank goodness the Red Hook post office does not use magic markers on envelopes I get from Canada..without exaggerating I bet 80 percent of the stamps I get have no cancel..i just send them back to the sender for glue stick re use..if this offends anyone..its just the way I do it .....

Tom,

Pen cancels are esthetically unpleasing to some, especially when they are mailed expecting nice postally used copies. They're not someone's initials on a stamp, but scribbles or colored markers. Aren't even the old classics considered less valuable/desirable with pen cancels? This had to do with philatelic mail, packages with nice stamps applied to benefit the recipient rather than having it metered.

I do agree that the person who suggested saving these covers has a point. No telling what collectors might find desirable a century from now.

Tom,

This is more than a pen cancel. You can see a scan of the item that started this discussion at the top of the thread titled "Aust post destruction Dept" here:

http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=5040