Early 20th Century Bisect Covers

Here are some bisect covers that are pretty neat.

This one is cut diagonally.

This one is perforated.



How do you suppose perfs this nice happened?

These next two are just fun. It is nice to see someone enjoy sending a letter so much.

Here is another one. I think this one is faked. But it is still pretty interesting as a fake. I should run it through the cert process.

Great covers! Agree that the last one is faked. You can see a remnant of writing at left of 2nd row of manuscript cancel where stamp was torn in two.

Jenny2U is right about the last one being an obvious fake because of the way the handwritten cancel on it is torn in two along with the stamp, and because the stamp is in no way tied to the cover, not even with any of the manuscript cancel. I would think it would be a waste of money submitting it in hopes of getting a certificate on it. The first three all have the typewritten "No 1/2 c stamps" which to me is a clear tip off that these never went through the mail and were courtesy cancelled by some clerk who was risking his job by doing so. There would be no reason I can think of why a post office would take every piece of mail and put it into a typewriter and type this message especially on mail that was addressed to the same city in which it was cancelled so it would not have gone through any other post office other than themselves. The two with the creative cutting and arranging of the halves of stamps are as mudrat.detector says flights of fantasy with no basis in need or reality. Someone was just having fun. They appear to have gotten one past the post office but the second was caught and marked postage due.

>> I would think it would be a waste of money submitting it in hopes of getting a certificate on it.

I have a few things that I acquired for no other reason than being fake. Some are obvious, like this cover. Others, not so much, but I still have my suspicions. I am not hoping to get a good certificate on any of these pieces. But it would be cool to have a page or two of 'certifiable fakes'.
I am also thinking about the family member that will eventually get all these 3 ring binders of stamps that I have. I know the stories from a lifetime of study. And like any person that inherits a collection, they have no clue where to begin.
However, the bottom line is that I have had these for a while and have not sent anything in... haha...
Thanks for looking and comments.
Any more bisects out there?
- chris

Hi Chris. Are you a member of the APS? If so member prices for a certificate range from a minimum of $20 per item to a maximum of $400 per item, depending on value of the item. If it is determined to be a fake you still have to pay the minimum. If you are not a member of the APS, these fees are doubled. It can be a costly way to confirm a fake when it is already obvious that it is.

Regarding your thinking about planning ahead for a family member who will inherit your collection - that is a very good idea, but you should consider whether that family member is as committed to collecting as you are. Typically that is not the case and heirs often just sell the collection. If that is the case then you should discuss with that person how to sell your collection and get more than a few pennies on the dollar for it which is what many dealers will offer in such a case. You will need to be very realistic as to the actual cash value a dealer will really pay and not what might be obtained if sold off one cover at a time through auctions as most heirs would have no patience for that. Give your future heir the telephone numbers and other contact information of a couple of an auction houses or dealers who would actually be willing to buy or consign your collection. Unless your collection is full of high value rarities of the kind that are featured on the front covers of auction catalogs or in dealer's ads of what they have for sale finding such an auction house or dealer for less spectacular material may be difficult.

A downloadable 'Album Disposition Form' is available at this link
http://www.stampsmarter.com/album_landing.html
Don
APS #094826

Thanks for the info guys. Since I haven't certed any of these yet, that is a pretty good indicator to me that I never will. Did not mean to be so misleading with that comment. There is still something fun about the concept of 'certifiably fake'.
I will take a look at the Album Disposition Form. I am sure I will find great info there too.