22 Classic Covers I Picked Up At My Local Show

Going back a few covers:




Probably a typo, but the name of the town should be DESERONTO, ONTARIO.

The person for whom Deseronto was named after:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Deseronto

The backstamp on the last cover scanned (repeated below) may warrant some additional research as I found one reference from 1983 suggesting that it could be a rather scarce item:

wt1 Thanks fo the correction and this lead. I will be honest what exactly will I need to be researching to see if and what part of the Canadian Government issued this and why? If this is really rare what kind value does this have on such a cover?

I don't think the backstamp shown above is from the Canadian Government. Rather, I suspect it was used by the Department Store where the cover was received as an internal marking to direct incoming mail. Remember, the backstamp was not applied by a postmark but rather a Pitney Bowes Mailing Machine which would have been a very common device for a large Department Store to have in their office.

Of course, that's only my opinion, as I have nothing to confirm or deny whether I'm correct in that assumption.

I couldn't speak as to value, as there's no catalog I know of that will clearly document secondary market sales of such items. Generally, most common meter indicia are valued quite low. I suspect it will come down to being a supply and demand thing, that if a collector wants it bad enough, he'll pay for it; on the other hand, if there is little or no interest in such things (meter collectors aren't as easy to find as stamp collectors) the secondary market price could be very little. It all depends upon finding the right buyer.

Thanks WT1, So I attenuated my local club meeting last night all the Canadian cover collectors did confirm they have never seen this mark before, and alluded to it being put through its own meter machine as you have suggested. They said finding the answer would be the key to explaining this piece if postal history. They actually would like me to put together a clothesline exhibit of about four pages on it to present to one of our meetings and next years local show. You have any sites or book titles that would help me start my journey to build at least four pages of postal history in such an Item and this for sure is going into my collection. If anyone had to guess for adding it to the total value of my insurance policy what would be a random conservative guess. I personally keep photo copies of all my items labeled to the line number it is located on the spreadsheet an uploaded onto a cloud storage box for if God forbid they ever got destroyed. I was thinking putting down $20 maybe???

As mentioned as part of the previously posted comments about these "auxiliary" postage meter markings, I think your first step would be to try and get hold of the August 7, 1978 issue of Canada Stamp News that apparently contains an article on the subject that would be interesting to acquire. (I believe the correct name of the publication is Canadian Stamp News:

http://canadianstampnews.com/the-ma...ne/magazine/

As far as placing a value on covers, I don't think anyone can give you a firm answer, especially if you're using it for insurance purposes, as you can't just invent a number, but must have some basis for it. Maybe a check of ebay sales on similar type metered mail from the 1930s may be a start.

Another thought that may be worth mentioning in your presentation is about the green ink used in the meter indicia shown. Although green ink has certainly been used in meters, it is not that common and that in itself could make the auxiliary marking in that color even more desirable.

Thank you so much wt1! I'll start on this now and I'll try to get more scan up of some of the classic covers I bought at the show.

Yes Joe, I'd have to say all very nice. Just an FYI, it's the T. (Timothy) Eaton Company. Sadly went out of business just a few years ago.
And I must sat I know a Miss F. Breithupt. Though I dare say, she's probably much younger than the lady on your cover!