Rare Fancy Cancel On Stamp War Deept?

good morning

I found this stamp with a strange cross-shaped cancellation is rare?

greetings Simone

Simone,
It looks like it could be the Sandy Hill, NY cancellation. This stamp is an O85 (Offical - War Department) stamp, which was issued in 1873, so it's viable. The cancellation also looks like traces of violet hue in it, which was also noted. In the James M. Cole "Cancellations and Killers of the Banknote Era", is a CSS-14. These officials were issued by the banknote companies. The next question would be, would there be a reason for War Department mail being sent form Sandy Hill NY around 1879. It was a thriving area for paper manufacturing, and also metal works. So quite likely.

Now, on the rare side... no. Cole also lists this cancellation as an "I" which is common, or unsought after.

Hello and Greetings,
No the cross cancel was used by a large number of towns. You can find a variety of sold examples on ebay that have sold for less then $2.

Agree, but the internal pattern with the double pointed triangle is a strong match to CSS-14.

Tentatively, I would agree with CSS-14, Sandy Hill. However, it's so nicely made, I strongly suspect this was struck from a commercially sold device (like the famous Kicking Mule(s) of Port Townsend, Wash.), and that there could be other unrecorded towns of origin. Neither Cole nor anyone else has a complete listing of fancy cancels of the Banknote period. It's a pretty unique style of Maltese cross, for sure. The Cole database is here:
http://www.stampsmarter.com/feature...sicView.html

it is pretty common to find "fancy" cancels on officials, although some cancels will still be uncommon

Agreed, here is one from my album

probably from Port Townsend WA
Don

Or probably fake on top of a cleaned pen cancel. Sorry, Don!

I have a cert saying it is genuine
Don

You might know what I think about certs. If not, did you ever see Tommy Boys' take on guarantees?

Understood, but this stamp and cert have a special place in my life since Bill did for me. The status of the cancel is meaningless since the memories it conjures up for me are priceless. Bill offered to do free certs for me but only once did I ever take him up on it, this stamp.
Don

I can concede that the cancellation may be faked, it was my only concern, but it not matching CSS-14, (or a copy thereof), is pretty unlikely.
@ hy-brasil, I agree that there is no complete listing of FCs. I have I have no less than 1/2 a dozen books on the matter, and in most cases, there isn't even an overlap of cancel from one to the other (Hersch, Cole, Weiss, Skinner, Waterburry). It's quite unusual for me to actually find a solid match to a cancellation in the books.

Simone,
Can we see a scan/image of the back of the stamp?
I think I mentioned to you before, when posting questions about stamps, please always provide a front and back view.
Cheers.

I definitely encourage all posters to add an image of the back of the stamp. But nobody has said that the maltese cross is fake.

It might be educational to see the back of Don's stamp.

good morning
I insert image of the back