US 606 Used Covers

I have found it hard to find any dated covers with legitimate period usage (that are not FDC's) for U.S. # 606 coil. There seem to be more FDC's around than issue period used covers. Anyone else?

I have two #606 used on post cards. One was used at Niagara Falls, N.Y. on August 9th. 1926 and another used at Dover, Delaware on September 12th. 1941 (late use). Neither are philatelic in nature. That's all I've seen in 20+ years looking for W-Fs on cover.

This is amazing..its a minimum value stamp...even a very casual U.S. collector like myself has a copy in his album !!

My 2011 Scott Catalog suggests that an on cover example is worth $3.50 as compared to the $0.20 value for the used stamp off cover. Not exactly a fortune, but it does show that used examples on cover are not too common.

I also have only found two dated covers from around the late 1920's over the last decade or so. The current catalog does not reflect how uncommon legitimate usage period dated covers are.

I have found several (probably less than 10) and most have been on postcards. I will have to check to see how many cards and covers I have. May take some time though.

Here are the only covers that I have found in over ten years.

Linn's states "Carolyn Kuhn, a student of the 2¢ Washington stamp in all its forms, was one of the first to take note of the difficulty of finding used copies of this stamp, writing in 1954: 'So few copies of No. 606, the vertical coil, are seen that a dated copy might be said to be nearly a rarity".

604, 605, and 606 are certainly more elusive than their vertically-perforated cousins, but they are still to be found in $1 boxes.

Here are some 606's used on cards during the April 15, 1925-June 30, 1928 time period when private cards were charged the 2 cent rate. The Sandusky/Cedar Point Columbia machine cancel is the one I have seen most frequently - most easily found at a postcard show. The postcard stands must have sold 606's to their customers needing stamps.




Here are normal 2 cent letter frankings and one at a double rate, most are not obviously philatelic:




604 and 606 combinations for the 3 cent letter rate. The first is clearly philatelic.




June 2, 1931 - 2 cent letter rate and 10 cent special delivery fee:




December 31, 1932 - 3 cent letter rate and 10 cent special delivery fee, all paid with coils.




And a late use June 1955 "bisect". At this time the first class letter rate was 3 cents, but the single piece 3rd class rate was 2 cents. This envelope is now sealed, but I suspect it was originally mailed unsealed as a fully paid 3rd class rate and later sealed to give the appearance of a bisect successfully getting past the post office.

Here's another example used on cover in period: