A Question About Netherlands B1-3 .

Does this set actually exist used ? Every time I check out ebay they're selling the CTO version with a few odd mint singles way over the suggested value of $3.00 .

Bvanasse--I never seen it used other than the C-T-O'S .

These stamps were only available from 21 December 1906 until 3 January 1907. After the last date all of the unsold stamps were cancelled and given to the 'Amsterdamsche Vereeniging tot bestijding der Tuberculose' who sold these to collectors. These last ones are the "CTO's" mentioned above. The actual used stamps do exist - I have a set in my Netherlands collection but they are not easy to find

Sold by the post office:
1cent 400.000
3cent 180.000
5cent 230.000


Peter

They do exist used, but it takes some searching. Here is the set in my collection:




Jan

I believe that you are showing the CTO set

Peter

Hi Peter,

When I first pulled this set out of a collection many years ago, I thought it was a CTO set. However, if you look closely at the date, it is 14 Jan 07, while the CTO are all 31 Jan 07. In addition these are cancelled at Amsterdam Branch office 12, while the CTO are cancelled at the main post office of Amsterdam. As my set are all the same date, they could well have orginated from a philatelic mailing.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprized when I looked closely at the cancel.

I do have another set which is more obviously postally used.

Jan

Jan, great! I can not read the cancel on my laptop, and the cancels look like the ones on the CTO's . I went
to ebay and there are several for sale - most of them the CTO's.

Peter

Those are C-T-O's. I agree with Peter .

First set shown below, is the general 31 oj January CTO set. Second set is with regular postmarks(not easy)

The 14th of january set of J2186 I believe is as Jan decribed, a keeper.

I have no problem with the bottom red stamp and the blue stamp being postal used. But the green one is questionable.

Hi,what about this one ?

I can understand that the green one is questionable.

These stamps however are big in size and the postmark used: Grootrond 's Hertogenbosch is a normal postmark for that era in the Netherlands.

This makes a stamp specially from this series look like a CTO very quickly.

Without the cover or postcard from which it came, we will never know.

I would think that the best approach is to look for cancellations other than Amsterdam .

Vayolene, yours looks like a good one

Peter

Certainly cancels other than "Grootrond" Amsterdam are easier to recognize as postally used.

The numbers sold were mentioned earlier:




For completeness, the number of CTO's were:

1cent 600.000
3cent 820.000
5cent 770.000

As the number sold includes mint copies, you can see why CTO sets are so much more common than postally used.

Jan

This would make 1.000.000 of each printed?!?!