St. Pierre and Miquelon to United States
August 24, 1920
Today in Postal History
This censored and registered
cover was sent to New York
City.
There are three St. Pierre et Miquelon CDS.
There is also an octagonal boxed R and
script 639 for registration.
There is a straight-line PASSED BY CENSOR ____ handstamp which has been
initialed by DB/104.
The cover is undoubtedly philatelic.
This is one item for which expert opinion
would be mandatory.
To quote Scott:
"Free French Administration
|
"The circumstances surrounding the overprinting and distribution of
these stamps were most
unusual. Practically all of the stamps [were] issued in small
quantities,
with the exception of 260-299, and were obtained by speculators within
a
few days after issue. At a later date, the remainders were
taken over
by the Free French Agency in Ottawa, Canada, by whom they were sold at
a
premium for the benefit of the Syndicat des Oeuvres Sociales.
Large
quantities appeared on the market in 1991, including many "errors."
More
may exist. "Excellent counterfeits of these surcharges and overprints are known." |
All three stamps have received a FRANCE
LIBRE | F. N. F. L. overprint.
The F. N. F. L. is the abbreviation for Forces Navales Francaises Libre
or Free French Naval Forces.
All were issued in 1942.
The first stamp with the overprint is the 1925 30c. red brown and blue
Fulmer petrel (Scott 206D).
The second stamp is made from a 1925 20c. bister brown and violet brown
already overprinted Colis Postaux for parcel post usage and
then overprinted with the France Libre overprint (Scott Q5).
The third stamp is
the 1933 black and dark brown fishing steamer and seagulls design
surcharged 5 fr.
There are bars over the 1.75 fr denomination.
Further, the France Libre overprint comes from a different type setting
(Scott 221).
Today in Postal History
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Pastnotes
Index - The First 300 and the Next 208
provides more tidbits about stamps and collectors.
Comments?
Send me an e-mail
Please include a reference to this item.