tomiseksj
Moderator 
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,263 
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Dec 22, 2013 20:50:07 GMT
The " All Systems at Work" video on the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum website provides an overview of the use of machines by the USPS. While I acknowledge that automation is necessary to handle the tremendous volume of mail processed, worldwide, on a daily basis, there is a downside--the mailpieces with their bits of paper that we cherish are often damaged in the process. This thread is dedicated to the innocent victims of the machines used by postal authorities Please post your casualties of their systems at work. |
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tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,263
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Dec 27, 2013 2:28:56 GMT
Today's victim is the 18c multicolored, perf. 11 Space Shuttle Columbia (Scott 1913) from the May 21, 1981 Space Achievement issue. The scuff seems to have happen sometime after the feint spray-on cancel was applied. Fortunately, the troops landing at Normandy (Scott 2838c; June 6, 1994) came out unscathed. |
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tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,263
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on May 25, 2014 2:29:50 GMT
A recent issue of People magazine, or more accurately the issue's cover, arrived in a USPS body bag (also called an ambulance bag) with the pro forma "We Care" insert. Interestingly, someone took the time to apply a "Received Without Contents At" stamp but failed to note the location -- perhaps an attempt to share the blame system-wide.
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tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,263
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Mar 14, 2019 16:58:18 GMT
I received two mailings from the UK this week and, unfortunately, the stamps on both covers suffered damage while in transit, most likely as the covers moved through the automated processing equipment. Fortunately, the contents in both envelopes arrived unscathed. The only thing that would have made this one worse, apart from damaged content, would have been if it had been nicely cancelled (or cancelled at all for that matter).  The stamps on this cover had been cancelled with a postmark that I couldn't locate in tallanent 's postmark database but only one of the four had managed to escape harm.  If you have examples of damage attributable to automated processing equipment, please share them here, rather than on the Watcha Been Stamping? thread as that will facilitate better search results for those who may be interested in such things. |
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Post by tallanent on Mar 14, 2019 21:16:04 GMT
The postmark is Highwoods Colchester .....
Now added to the database
Many thanks ... Allan
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Post by tallanent on Mar 14, 2019 21:21:34 GMT
 Here is a cover that got folded in the machine prior to the application of the postmark ... Below shows how it went through the machine ...  15 July 1966 Liverpool slogan postmark |
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