Over the years, I noticed that whenever I give a letter to a clerk for a hand cancel, they tend to use their CDS with a red ink pad. Is using a red pad instead of a black pad a rule or just habit? I was asked this question by a trader friend outside the US and could not give them an answer.
re: Red ink used by clerks for hand cancels- regulation?
Generally, a red postmark or pen manuscript means that the letter is prepaid as opposed to a black postmark for Postage Due on delivery. That's pretty general.
re: Red ink used by clerks for hand cancels- regulation?
I've asked the same question of several postal clerks. Same answer: "I don't really know. No one has ever asked that before. We've just always done it that way."
Next time I'll ask if they even have the ability to cancel in black.
It is funny, because red cancels on older stamps are highly valued. But on modern stamps the ink is so weak and the lines so thin, that you often have to look twice to see if it is even cancelled.
-Steve
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"What are you waiting for? Those stamps aren't going to collect themselves."
re: Red ink used by clerks for hand cancels- regulation?
In the US around my parts, it's up to the local postmaster and whatever they supply the clerks. There was a period of 10-15 years where my nearby post offices were supplied with self-inking red cancelers. In order to get a black ink cancel, they would have to have to find one of their older "date changeable" cancelers and update the date, then find a black inkpad. It was too much trouble each time, so I simply went to another post office 20 miles away (on my route) when I had to have a black ink postmark -- they always had one ready.
Now at my nearby post offices, everything is in black ink again. Go figure.
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