How Do You Collect Postmarks?

I've been a regular postmark collector for about 3 years now. I recently read an article about an upcoming postmark collector stamp show sponsored by the postmark collector's club. The article was in a newspaper and is referenced and linked on the stamp collecting roundup blog website. It got me thinking as to how others collect postmarks. I started my postmark collecting by requesting pictorial event postmarks and FDOI & FDOS that went well with stamps I liked, related to topics I enjoyed, or just caught my eye and would go well with a cachet I designed. Then I started actually going to PO's and getting in person hand cancels for my Route 66 collection. I have also put together a list of US stamps issued on my wife's 9/20, son's 8/29, and my own 1/11 birthdays, as well as my wedding anniversary 9/14 and stamps issued in my town of birth. I think this is when I really became a postmark collector, before that I just thought of myself as a cover collector.


Do you collect by topic, date, year, region, city, state, on cover, cut corners, sock on the nose/bull's eye cancels,pictorial postmarks, slogan cancels, etc.?

'Dude,

I collect postmarks organized by state/city. My goal is to get pre-zip and post-zip machine and hand cancels plus any special cancels for every city in a chosen state. Right now I am working on my "home" state, Wisconsin. The Postmark Collector's Club has a nice CD available to keep track of what I need to collect.

Most old postmarks were collected on 2 X 4 inch squares. Unless the cover is old (pre-1940), a postcard or the cover has a tie to the cancellation (event cover etc.) I maintain that format.

I also have collections of machine and meter slogan cancels. The machine slogan cancels are collected as 2 X 4's and the meter cancels are collected on cover. Both are arranged by topic.

The PMCC also has a collection of post office photographs. http://www.postmarks.org/photos/ Maybe you could find all of the post offices on Route 66

Dan

My interest in cancellations is rather unlike, I expect, what other people might like to collect in postal cancellations. In one case, I am trying to get a respectable date range of cancellations inviting people to turn in the 2010 census. My goal is to get a cancellation of that type with as late a date as possible. I dont have them with me here, but I think I may have one that is a whole month after the 2010 census was due.

There is a cancellation being used now in many major high-speed mail processing centers that encourages care for children. From what I can tell, perhaps someone can clarify, the cancellation looks like it is made in a dot-matrix format by tiny spray nozzles. After viewing some 20 such cancellations from all over the country, I have not been able to read any of them completely. Some are so badly printed as to just be a gray bar where the text should be. I would like to be able to put together a collection of these cancellations in varying states of clarity.

I love Canal Zone cancellations, of any type. My hope is to have a cover or other postal history item with a cancellation from every postal station in the CZ. My collection is about 65% complete.

I also collect cancelled meters. I see them as oxymorons. (sometimes more moron than oxy).

_______

I wanted to add, I prefer whole covers, but will collect cut squares in a pinch.

danstamp,
I had taken a look at the PMCC website the other day when I read the article that prompted this posting. I visited all the Kansas PO's found along route 66 (there's only 3) recently and collected a postmark for each on a hand carried cover. I have also been to over 30 different PO's in IL for my Route 66 collection and have around 36 more to go. Too bad I didn't a photo of each PO, I do have a couple though.

smauggie,
The cancellations you are talking about are ink jet "sprayed on" cancels. Most are rather dreadful and not clear.

Great topic Stamperdude.

I collect them all, whatever passes my desk,
I scan and use the image database as the sorting
and cataloguing medium, and just hinge randomly the examples.

Very cost effective, (10 20 hinges and an A4 page of acid free)
Looks nice when you have an album of pages.

That really looks quite nice, Rod. I will have to reconsider my collecting strategy.

Thank you Smauggie.

I am starting to collect postmarks from places with names relating to my childrens names. This obviously would work better with some names rather than others. Luckily my daughter has the same name as several queens and my son has a scottish name that's also a surname, so they are fairly widespread.
I have found several postmarks from closed POs in my Aussie collection, I am tempted to explore down this route.
I also like to find a commemorative stamp with the correspoding commemorative cancel. I don't collect them, I just find them satisfyingly complete, somehow!

I started collecting KGV postmarks of all kinds on stamps only as they are general all off paper but my real interest is the air mail cancels. They have small planes on them of different types. To be honest it is all in 1 stock book and one big mess, it is one of those jobs that I am looking forward to doing one rainy day!

Modern cancels on pieces is a passion for me now as well and Rod is the person that has started me off on this very enjoyable collecting interest. Thanks Rod

Roaming the post offices sounds like a great idea!

Haha, one day you will probably curse me John

Here are the aeroplane strikes pertinent to western australia
and the dates between which they were employed.

I often sit next to the author at my local club.

Rod after looking at your air mail cancels and reading that you often sit next the author at your stamp club. The isolated collector mind set got me! But after thinking a bit more the SCF stamp club really can not be beaten for me. I get to see all this great stamping stuff at home and all of the info is at my finger tips. It is amazing to think I found SCF by mistake, I was searching for KGV info and got SCF. Definitely not isolated any more!

Thanks for putting this thread up stamperdude!

Rod on looking at your postmark collection on pieces that you have posted above. It made me think about a large box of stamps on pieces that I have had and I have been adding to this collection for some time with what I have been calling rubbish out of my kiloware buys at auction. I have found the box which is amazing in its self and what a find it is. I am no longer calling it rubbish after a quick look. It is full of some very nice postmarks on pieces from the 1966 to recent. I am so glad that I did not get rid of them now. When summer comes around again I will have a good look at them. One amazing collection coming up! There must be over 15kgs of them!

You certainly deal in bulk John
well, good luck, nice to see you enjoying the slogans.

If you take the time to hinge them, a box of assorted
for $1, hinged on pages and in protective covers
can sometimes fetch $20-$25 at auction.
Presentation can boost your return.
(not guaranteed though :)

Thanks for the info and starting me off on postmarks collecting Rod! I now just can not believe that this collecting interest has not surfaced for me from long ago. Maybe something to add to the packet arena! I will be just happy with a good collection for myself! It is so nice to get excited about stamping! It does not matter how long we have been in this great hobby of ours there is always something just around the corner to make us feel like kids again!

You can start a postmark collection very easily by sorting an on-paper assortment and trimming the excess of a torn off corner or a tattered/stained cover. Imagine the surprises found in a discount dealer box waiting to be found.

I did this exact thing when a bought a shoebox full of stamps and covers at a yard sale.

Smauggie,
I have some Canal Zone covers from Balboa & Balboa Heights. Let me know if you don't have one of these in your collection.
Lucky