Pen Cancels Of Ukraine Stamps In 2022

I enjoy postcrossing and once in awhile receive postcards with stamps very lightly pen cancelled --- see photo. Standard opinion says these detract from their value as used stamps but I find these are unobtrusive. I find some of the recent USPS stamp cancels far more destructive such as the ENERGY MONTH ones which I have seen black out large portions of a stamp's design. What are your opinions about pen cancels?

Also would the fact these are Ukraine stamps being used when the country is under a military conflict have the pen cancels be considered less damage to the stamps and possibly done out of necessity due to possible shortage of postal supplies?

Definitely will keep the card as I love the stamps and card but always good to get an idea of collectibility.



*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***

You have a nice wartime item that you know to be such. The problem with this type of cancellation is that it does not show when it was cancelled. There is no way to tell whether this item was sent during or after the war - once that has ended - unless someone dated the item.

This type of cancellation is a common occurrence as you appear to have experienced. See this thread: http://goscf.com/t/3853&whichpage=1.
It is likely the marker monkey was your local postman and not a Ukrainian official.
Much of Ukraine is not occupied and mail is still being sent from and received in Ukraine, but also in Russia. Postal services outside the war zones are close to normal. So, these are unlikely to be a rare use. Ukraine is issuing stamps for every major event in the war. Ink and printing equipment do not seem to be in short supply. There is no reason to assume this is any different for mail sorting equipment. Rather than being due to a lack of equipment, you might argue Ukraine's Post Office will do its best to service mail as well as it can.

Most collectors will consider pen-cancelled stamps damaged. However, as this is quite a normal occurrence, maybe it should be accepted as a genuine cancellation Collectors, often, are very conservative. So, it may take some time before they will accept these as normally cancelled stamps.

A philatelist will collect what is factual
whatever regime is in place at the time.
pen, felt cancels are a sign of current cancellation practice.

I still find them vulgar, but will collect, if a better example is not to be had.

I do have empathy for postal workers, having spent time in a sorting room
the work is never ending, and the dexterity of the sorters is quite amazing.

The mail never stops..

In my opinion...
The center of any postal service universe is the delivery of the mail; everything else orbits around this 'sun'. Stamps are considered an accounting mechanism used for the prepayment of the service. As such, how a stamp is cancelled is not important but having it cancelled protects the revenue of the postal system.

But stamp collectors tend to see a different universe; a universe where everything revolves around the hobby.

I also note that manuscript cancels are a critical part of the history of many postal systems. And if I ignored them, I would be avoiding an important part of postal history.

For me it is not a mutually exclusive topic; I understand the center of a postal system's universe even if I am also a stamp collector.
Don

Great comments so far and very enjoyable. Hope to hear more.