"Show Piece" dosen't have to mean big $$.Quite true. One of my favorite little fascinations is "doodle cancels", or manuscript cancels where the clerk was obviously bored. I only have a handful, but none of them were very expensive:
Then there is one that I bought simply for the handwriting of the cancel:
Lastly, there is a cancel that, while not exactly cheap, I would have gladly paid quite a bit more for. I bought this from Richard Friedberg 2 years ago. At the time he said it was the only example he's ever seen in 40+ years of business, and I've not found anyone else who has seen one. I now use the image on my business cards.
Walker & Taylor are known for their multiline printed cancels, found almost exclusively on 1c and 2c denominations. They are always in demand and routinely sell in the $50-150 range. The one below is highly unusual for several reasons:
1. It's on a 4c denomination; printed proprietary cancels on 4c denominations are virtually nonexistant.
2. It's clearly formatted for the size of the 4c stamp; it's entirely different from the W&T cancels found on the 1c and 2c.
3. It's the only W&T cancel that makes any reference to "Extract of Fireweed", which sounds like something out of the world of Harry Potter.
Oh... and as long as we're on the subject of the 2c Andrew Jackson, I agree that it is a stunning design. Here is my favorite, of course with an illegal revenue use cancel:
Posted 06/30/2011 11:45 pm
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