Some Canadian Stamp Identification Questions.........

Hi!
I'm in the process of identifying and determining the time frame of unusual (to me) Canadian stamps & am at a loss on some.....

- Two King George #249(Green 1c)have overprints. One is "4530", the other is "X275". What are these and what is their timeframe?

- A number of larger customs duty stamps (triangle with crown inside)- Green 1c, red 2c, brown 5c. Also have to others that have the denomination inside the center "window" - red 2c and brown 5c. When were these issued/used?

- Excise tax stamps, blue 2, 3, and 10c, and two reds 1/4 cent and 3/20 cents. When were these issued/used?

Your help is greatly appreciated !
Thank you!!

4530 is a precancel which stands for Toronto.
X275 is a precancel which stands for Halifax.

With respect to time frames, I think they started around 1931.

I don't know anything about revenue stamps though.

The 1 cent War Issue stamp was released on July 1, 1942 and was replaced on November 15, 1949.

Examples of the Toronto precancel on cover:

I don't know much on the history of precancels but this is what I could find... I don't have my book to know which George is #249 so I included both.

4530 Toronto
George 5- 1930-35
George 6- 1937-51

x275 Halifax
George 5- 1932-35
George 6- 1937-51

Large customs Duty
1912

Small customs duty
1935

They were used on foreign advertising mail coming into Canada.

There are tons of different excise tax stamps ranging from 1915-1948. Would need a pic or better description. They were used on commercial banking paper, custom duty, match tax, etc..

I am new so I hope I got this right for you.... Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Thank you folks, the response on this forum never ceases to amaze me.
I do have some "follow ups"............
- I confess the reason for "pre cancel" eludes me. In the example above, the stamp has the pre-cancel id, but then has the post office "wavy lines" cancellation as well. How were pre-cancels used?

- Here is a better description of the excise stamps: Both blue and red are horizontal, about 22x18mm. The blue ones have "CANADA" printed in a straight format on top, with "CENTS" in a straight line on the bottom. Also, on both right and left bottom corners is the numerical denomination. The red one have Canada on top but arched, and "CENT" on the bottom straight. The denomination is only in the center of the window.

Here is the postal regulation (1944-45 Postal Guide) which deals with precancelled stamps:






Warnings were printed on the selvage of pre-cancelled stamp sheets:



The purpose of using pre-cancelled stamps was to by-pass cancellation machines and hence hasten processing. Most covers with precancels do not have cancellations, but some did go through the cancellation machines. These are the ones postal history collectors appreciate. The Toronto cover shown above is a good example of this.

Here are earlier pre-cancelled stamps. These are the so-called "City Types":

My guess based on the description would be

Blue- is the 2 leaf excise tax 1915-28. Denominations for blue colors in 2,3,4,6,8,10,20,50 cents.

Red- is the 3 leaf excise tax 1934-48. Denominations for red colors in 3/20,3/16,1/5,9/40,1/4,3/10,3/8,1/2,2 1/4,8,20 cents. 1,2,5,10 dollars

Thank you folks! I was a bit confused about the "cancelling of pre-cancelled" stamps but now I understand. And thank you for the info on the Excise stamps as well. I use the Scotts 2003 catalogue for identification purposes, but of course a good portion of BOB stamps are just not listed.

Thank you all!
Mobilman44

There were also some proper CUSTOMS DUTY stamps used by Canadian officials.
The first series dates to 1912, and has a lozenge (four sides) with crown at centre. Denominations were 1c green, 2c carmine, 5c brown, and 10c blue. Design size: ca. 32 x 23 mm.
A second series from 1935 had "CUSTOMS" on the left and "DOUANE" on the right, with the denomination in the centre. Denominations were 1c green, 2c orange, 5c brown, 10c blue. They are quite common as far as revenues go, and have a catalog value of between $0.25 to $1.00 in used condition. Hope that helps.

Yes, and thank you. You mentioned value and I appreciate that. But what I suddenly realized is that value is not much of a thought for me these days, that I am truly in the hobby for the love of it.

That being said, value is a MAJOR consideration when I'm buying stamps.

Thanks all!

If you require book values for any of your stamps just ask... I didn't mention it because you didn't ask but I do have those as well if you want them.