The captured German Cancellers at Douala
Aug 10, 2021 0:58:59 GMT
Ryan, Beryllium Guy, and 12 more like this
Post by chrischross on Aug 10, 2021 0:58:59 GMT
In perusing the cancellation of one of my recently purchased early Cameroun stamps, Scott 101, the date of 19.12.15 was of interest:
A postmark six days before Christmas? How heartwarming.
Marty Bratzel of the France and Colonies Philatelic Society wrote up a series of articles and addendums covering this cancellation, and this particular cancellation is known as "Friedman #21". The problem is the date stamp falls out of the usage timeline:
German: Earliest: 22.8.12
Latest: 27.9.14
British:
Earliest: 15.6.15
Latest: 22.3.16
French:
Undamaged Bridge: Earliest: 20.4.16 - Latest: 17.11.16
Damaged Bridge: Earliest: 17.12.16 - Latest: 28.9.26
As Bratzel points out:
So unless this was mail to a British destination using the 10 centimes rate (highly unlikely, or alternatively, there was more than just a single 10 centimes stamp on the cover), I'm having some serious issues with the date stamp here falling outside of the relevant French time spans.
The cancel seems legitimate, as details such as a the serifs on the "1" and the small "b" are present.
What's ironic here is I specifically remember when purchasing this stamp that I knew there were problems with the Duala cancellation, just not the specifics. Now I know :-)
A postmark six days before Christmas? How heartwarming.
Marty Bratzel of the France and Colonies Philatelic Society wrote up a series of articles and addendums covering this cancellation, and this particular cancellation is known as "Friedman #21". The problem is the date stamp falls out of the usage timeline:
German: Earliest: 22.8.12
Latest: 27.9.14
British:
Earliest: 15.6.15
Latest: 22.3.16
French:
Undamaged Bridge: Earliest: 20.4.16 - Latest: 17.11.16
Damaged Bridge: Earliest: 17.12.16 - Latest: 28.9.26
As Bratzel points out:
Also, virtually all covers seen, dated between November 10, 1915 and March 31, 1916 and bearing postmarks of Fr. #19 or #21, are addressed to British destinations.
So unless this was mail to a British destination using the 10 centimes rate (highly unlikely, or alternatively, there was more than just a single 10 centimes stamp on the cover), I'm having some serious issues with the date stamp here falling outside of the relevant French time spans.
Both the Fr(iedman) #19 and #21 cancellers have been backdated (7), and strikes applied to both French Cameroun and German Kamerun stamps, some of the latter increase substantially in value if genuinely used. Some of these backdated strikes can be spotted rather easily, for example, for Fr. #19 if the bridge is damaged and the date is before 17.11.16. Others are more difficult to spot, and require an examination and knowledge of the ink used at different time periods. Caveat emptor!
What's ironic here is I specifically remember when purchasing this stamp that I knew there were problems with the Duala cancellation, just not the specifics. Now I know :-)
