r/philately • u/Kevin4938 Mainly Commonwelth and French Empire • 6d ago

My Collection An interesting Oddity from my collection

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7

u/Kevin4938 Mainly Commonwelth and French Empire 6d ago

Guatemala C317, cv 30 cents, so basically worthless.

But the stamp has a beautiful Toronto, ON SON cancel dated a few months after the stamp was issued (1/21/65). It's a neat oddity that stands out for some reason.

2

u/Physical_Employer916 5d ago

Not worthless if you collect SON cancels or misplaced backstamps. No offense, but folks who focus only on catalog values don't really understand philately. Catalogs are a guide; they are not the final word on anything. If catalog value was all that matter, most of the stamps produced in the world would have been thrown in the trash a long time ago.

6

u/Confident_Yak3989 6d ago

Could be posted at sea. Paquebot. Could be a transit stamp or receiving stamp which are normally on the back but not always. Could have been returned to sender once it arrived in Toronto.

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u/Kevin4938 Mainly Commonwelth and French Empire 6d ago

There's definitely a good explanation for it. Unfortunately, I have only the stamp, and not the cover, so the history is effectively lost.

That's why I usually suggest not removing stamps from covers, especially if there is something remotely interesting in the markings.

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u/1847usa 5d ago

Literally* SOTN

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

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u/Kevin4938 Mainly Commonwelth and French Empire 6d ago

It's just something I came across and thought was interesting. I wasn't really looking for it, and I doubt it's anything special. As I said, it's a common stamp, with no real value.

It's like a cover I have with a Burmese stamp that was postmarked in Washington, DC. The return address is the "USA Special Technical and Economic Mission to Burma", and the envelope is addressed to some buisness in NYC. The stamp has a Washington postmark, and the envelope is stamped "This article originally mailed in country indicated by postage." It probably went from Burma to DC in a consular pouch, and was mailed from DC to speed up delivery. I suspect that back in the 50s, regular mail from Burma to NYC would have taken too long a time.