Hello ! I need help ...
Can someone explain to me what this surcharge means ?
And the value for these stamps ...
Many thanks and have a good sunday
Benedicte
They are not surcharges. They are pre-cancels. Years ago, especially in the late 1930a and early 1940s, large shippers used pre-canceled stamps to save the Post Office time and labor cancelling stamps on their shipments. The value of a pre-cancel depends on the stamp and the city of the pre-cancel. New York cancels are perhaps the largest volume of pre-cancels and therefore don't have much value. Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule.
I am not sure about this stamp. It is a Revenue stamp, not a postage stamp. Maybe some Revenue collectors on this site can tell you more about it. I don't collect Revenues.
Your cyan-colored stamp is a revenue stamp. The marking on the stamp is actually a cancellation from the company that used the stamp (American Express).
