Belgium is THE European country when it comes to precancels. I have a large number, most of which I have shown before, so I won't show them again. Instead here is one of the usual suspects, but actually used on cover, plus the rather different style of precancel produced exclusively for financial notifications sent out by the Caisse d'Epargne (a kind of Savings Bank).
Monaco used the French style of precancel, the same as Algeria (shown above) and Tunisia (which ought to be shown below - except that I haven't got any )
Netherlands - very easy to miss these if you do not know what you are looking for, since you might take them for ordinary cancelations, whereas in fact the design of three short and two long lines between small undated double circles printed continuously by roller is quite distinctive.
Turkey - these rather push at the borders defining precancels, but they are great fun. Basically how it worked was that under the Ottoman Empire organisations sending out large numbers of newspapers, magazines etc could buy stamps in advance and affix them anywhere on the front page before printing. When it went through the press, the text would deface the stamp producing a self-made precancel!
For the sake of balance I suppose I'd better throw in a page from my New York State collection, though showing it to you Americans is probably like sending coals to Newcastle (which to be honest may not be an expression that means a lot in America - in fact it hasn't meant a lot in Britain either since Thatcher smashed the mining industry).
Now let's see if I can start a fight! Here is a page of your stamps.Which of them are precancels? All of them? None of them? Only the ones with added lines? For what it's worth I collect them all; but that is based on a total ignorance of how the US postal agencies regard them and handle them. I welcome any well-informed comment.
I perhaps need to point out that I am not simply referring to the Bulk Rate ones but also the Non-Profit Organisations and the various types of Presorted, as well as their associated Postal Stationery.
Now let's see if I can start a fight! Here is a page of your stamps.....I welcome any well-informed comment.
just to be "That Guy" you stated "your stamps" this implies that we are all form the USA... when in fact we are GLOBAL... 4030434416 Just poking at ya mister
Happy Stamping!!! Bear
tomd
Stamp Bears Posting Guru Stamp Bears Supporter
There is one further point about 'worldwide' precancels which I didn't make. I assumed one of our American collectors would - but since they haven't I'll do it myself, though it's not really my field.
Precancels exist for countries which which we non-Americans tend to think of as separate countries postally, but which are American 'possessions' and so produce (or used to produce) precancels which precisely follow the stryle of those from the USA.
Here are Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia, Christobal in the Canal Zone, Luquillo in Puerto Rico and Agana in Guam:
these are also called precancels... some countries issue CTOs on a big scale, as we know. some went further and do print cancellations within stamp printing. so this is an example of CTO stamps, that are meant as a stripe issues, but are printed together in one sheet , including half cancel (same example is on regular France stamps) I dont like those stamps, but it is nice example (if someone needs them, PM me)
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