US 220 1890 fancy cancel 5-pointed star style 1, EFO relief break at right edge

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

220

Stamp Type

General Issue

Condition

Used

Stamp Format

Single

Topic

People - Politicians

Year of Issue

1890

Item Description

This stamp is Scott number 220. The obliterator design is a hand-carved five-pointed star. It appears to be one of a kind among the thousands of off-paper stamps and cut squares collected from businesses at Union City, Indiana, in the early 1890s. Some of the cut squares in the Union City hoard have partial circular date stamps that identify the post offices associated with the accompanying obliterator designs. Unfortunately, the post office of origin for this obliterator design remains a mystery. This stamp has never been in a collection.

The production of the 220 Washington stamp was accompanied by relief breaks during the stamp’s printing. F. E. Stanton, Jr. identified the relief break sequences in a 1935 article. The sequence of breaks in “Relief C” began in the right frame with the break of line 41 (counting from the top of the frame). Stanton designated this initial “Relief C” break as stage “A.” Other sequential breaks followed, but I don’t see any of those on this copy. This stage “A” break is visible on this stamp near the “E” in POSTAGE. It is at the right edge of the right vertical frame line.

The faint ink dot in the margin above the first "S" of STATES is a printing positioning dot.

Although mail was coming to Union City from all over the country, much of it seemed to be coming from small cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio and to a lesser degree from smaller communities in other nearby states. In other words, most of the fancy and geometric cancels probably originated within 150 to 200 miles of Union City. Most of the readable postmarks are from 1891 to 1893. The material was bundled or boxed around the time it was collected. That process protected most of the items from damage and aging for over a century, but this stamp does have some trimmed perfs on three sides.

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Seller Information

Seller

keesindy (4731)

Registered Since

04/11/2016

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Store

Stamps from Keesindy

Item Location

Indiana, United States

Ships To

United States

Shipping Instructions

About 3½ years ago, I stopped selling and shipping outside the US due to new postal rules and rapidly rising costs. The USPS is raising postal rates again in January 2019. Today, December 25, 2018, due to the continuing rise in the cost of postage and associated fees, I am reluctantly raising my general shipping fee for the first time in many years. My sales here at HipStamp involve no additional charge for the purchase of multiple stamps. Shipping is via USPS unless otherwise specified. Be sure to contact me before making your purchases if you have questions.

Returns Accepted

Yes

Returns Policy

All items may be returned unless otherwise stated in the listing. Of course, I cannot be responsible if uninsured items are damaged during shipping. If you are dissatisfied with a purchase, contact me within 7 days of your receipt of the item to make arrangements for returning it. If I have made an error in my listing or the item is not as described, you will receive a full reimbursement plus the pre-agreed-upon cost to return the item.