Oddity? FDC Digital Color Postmark Touching Back Of Folded Over Stamp

In the yellow circle you can see the stamp is folded over and a small part of the postmark color is on the back of the stamp.


According to the EFO definitions I looked up this would be an oddity, correct? Because of the fold over. Or would it be a Freak?

Full FDC:


I have seen 4000+ FDC and this is the first one I have seen with a fold over mistake like this. It is interesting.

I wouldn't call it an EFO per se, but it's more like damage. I see this on covers that have been processed mostly by machines all the time.

I'd have to agree with battlestamps. A foldover occurs in the printing process or the perforating process, where the stamp paper itself is folded, then the stamp is printed or the perforating done. The resulting stamp may have a portion of the image printed on the folded over portion of the stamp, leaving an identical area of the stamp front blank. In the case of foldovers with perforations added after the foldover, you end up with what some refer to as crazy perfs because they take off in odd directions, based on the foldover.

What you have here is a normal stamp placed on the envelope but not securely attached at the corner in question. The cancelling equipment "grabbed" that corner and folded it over in the process of adding the digital postmark. What you now have is a damaged stamp on a first day cover. It's an interesting item, but it's not an error, oddity or freak in the sense that collectors use.

Thank you for your response. The USPS makes all sorts of after printing products. Would the same thing hold true for all of those products? Do you know of an EFO that exists for a FDC, a ceremony program, a framed set of stamps, etc.?

While I'm sure there are mistakes made in preparing the post production material, my understanding of the area of philately which is EFO would not include such items. The term "Errors, Freaks and Oddities" is used to describe actual stamps, produced for use as such, and not after market products.

If someone who is more knowledgeable about EFO's sees this post, perhaps they can shed a different perspective on it.

I think EFO would apply to postmarks with misspellings, or inverted dates. But yes, I would agree that it is basically about stamp production.