Fake Stamp For Postage.??

I was surprised today to receive an ebay shipment posted in Ontario to Quebec with what appears to be a fake stamp. I believe the sender used an advertising cutout of a stamp as postage. There is no tagging on this piece of paper and no obliteration. Normally when an envelope passes through the readers it prints small fluorescence bands on it, there is none on the envelope but it still managed to make its way. The image depicted on this piece of paper is that of the $ 1 (1689) Atlantic Walrus stamp, so why is the 'P' logo on this ad?

That is a neat piece.

Looks like a postal stationery cutout. So it is probably an illegal usage.

Pollux..hey nice piece to keep..Illegal but nice.
Funny they got away with reusing a cut out.

Robert

ok, so at first it was a postal stationery product. It seems to me that it would have been easier for him to use the original envelope instead of making a cutout, unless it had been rendered unusable. You really have to be stingy to work like this. Wert, did you have your envelope postmarked by a postmaster, if so, what was the goal, don't you prefer a mint product.

Not my cover..Just posted to show the pre printed envelope.

No doubt the person who used it received it as an addressed used cover that was not cancelled and thought hey why not! Had they gone after it his excuse would have been that the envelope got tore or damaged, spilt his drink while addressing it, so "I stuck it on another envelope". Illegal. Prove otherwise!

Was it worth the hassel for Canada Post to investigate. Probably not, but if there was a sender address on the cover they may watch for future reused items in future mailings. All envelopes are scanned and photographed these days!

Yeah that maple leaf pattern visible on the fold seems to fit the story of an illegal use of official posts stationary.

Thumbs up for sharing this (Pollux translates as thumb in the world of anatomy).

A number of years ago, I used a piece of postal stationery to send a letter. It had a value on it, rather than one of the "P" Permanent types of today. I added a stamp to make up the difference between what was printed on the envelope, and what the going rate was at the time.

The envelope was returned to me, with a note stuck to it stating that it was against Canada Post policy to allow the postal stationery to be used past its rate period. So apparently you cannot add a stamp to make up for the difference.

As for the case above, considering I get half of my mail without any cancellation at all on the stamps, it is no wonder this one snuck through the mail.

Interesting thread indeed!

Brad, I have sent several postal stationary envelopes from years ago and added postage to make up the difference. I figure they make for interesting covers for the receiver plus I can unload the masses of these things I seem to acquire. I have yet to have one returned.

I think a lot of it is just dependent on who does or doesn't see the piece while going through the mail. For several months I was accidentally using last year's lettermail rate (off by a few cents) and also never had anything returned. Yet I sent another piece several years ago that actually DID have the correct rate and someone clearly miscounted as it was sent back with a note saying I owed postage. Who knows!

I have also heard from some folks that you can actually use pre-canceled FDC to send lettermail. Even though they are canceled, they technically have not been used in the postal system. I do not know if this is true or not and I suspect no postal clerk I could locate here would ever know that answer. I have never tried it but I personally suspect it would be sent back if seen as it looks cancelled (whether it technically is or not by whatever definition).

Cool pieces like this can become a future highlight in a cover collection. Very cool!

I too have sent several postal stationery envelopes from Canada with the proper uprate stamps applied and have never had a problem. As far as I know that is legal and I have never seen anything official that says you cannot use old unused stamps or envelopes as long as the total adds up to the current rate. Actually it is still legal to use Newfoundland stamps for postage in Canada and I have done that as well with no problems.

So if someone has an official Canada Post regulation that prohibits this, I would really like to see it.

Yes, you are correct PMStamp
Here are just examples I have.