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very straight forward and only features the town’s name and the date. There is no picture. If one wanted to use a CDS postmark from a town relevant to the stamp's issue, one would have to go to the town’s local Post Office to get it. On a cover, the postmark should touch each stamp and link them to the envelope. Postmarks came to the foreground in the early 1960s, when collectors started to demand more interesting cancellations on their first day covers. For the Red Cross issue in 1963, a special
102:. Hill believed that sending mail should be affordable to all so proposed that postage should be pre-paid, based on the weight rather than the number of sheets and the cost should be drastically reduced. On 10 January 1840 a Uniform 1d postmark was released which allowed a universal penny postage rate, this was a postmark that was paid and was applied when the letter was sent. It was later decided that an adhesive label should be used to prevent forgeries and mis-use of the postal service and the
135:, also known as commemorative covers, instead of marking the issuance of a stamp, commemorate events. A design on the left side of the envelope (a "cachet") explains the event or anniversary being celebrated. Ideally the stamp or stamps affixed relate to the event. Cancels are obtained either from the location (e.g., Cape Canaveral, Anytown) or, in the case of the United States, from the Postal Service's Cancellation Services unit in Kansas City.
1061:
1073:
121:
1085:
595:
693:
236:
With postmarks becoming more and more important to the covers, pictorial postmarks became very popular. Pictorial postmarks are also known as
Special Handstamps/Postmarks. In 1924, the first commemorative set of stamps for the British Empire Exhibition had both special postmarks and a special slogan,
219:
at
Edinburgh (a place with no connection to the stamps). In the US, the U.S. Postal Service chooses a city, or several, as 'official' first day cities. These have a special connection to the stamp issue being released, and these postmarks are the only ones that have the wording: 'First Day of Issue'
241:
and then pay a fee. The postmark then becomes the property of Royal Mail and anyone is allowed to use it on their covers. This means that to a certain extent, most cover producers “borrow” other people’s postmarks. However, to be an “official” cover, a postmark has to be on the cover produced by the
237:
but it was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that dealers and organisations really caught on that you could sponsor/design a connected postmark and it would make an ordinary cover something special. These days anyone can sponsor a postmark. They need to design the postmark, get it approved by
206:
is one of the most important features of a cover. Stamps are cancelled by a postmark, which shows they have been used and can’t be re-used to send a letter. Circular Date Stamps (CDS) are the 'bread-and-butter' postmarks used on everyday mail by Post Office counters across the UK. A CDS postmark is
72:
to generate publicity for the new issue, with postal officials revealing the stamp, and with connected persons in attendance, such as descendants of the person being honored by the stamp. The ceremony may also be held in a location that has a special connection with the stamp's subject, such as the
65:, indicating the city and date where the item was first issued, and "first day of issue" is often used to refer to this postmark. Depending on the policy of the nation issuing the stamp, official first day postmarks may sometimes be applied to covers weeks or months after the date indicated.
168:
had first-day-of-issue ceremonies sponsored by the company, not by an official stamp-issuing entity. Personalised postage stamps of different designs are sometimes also given first-day-of-issue ceremonies and cancellations by the private designer. The stamps issued by private
106:
stamp was born. It was officially released for sale on 6 May 1840; however, several post offices that received the stamps prior to that date released the stamps early. The City of Bath is known for releasing the stamps on 2 May 1840. Here began the very first First Day Covers.
93:
Prior to 1840, postage costs were very high and they were usually paid by the person who received the mail. The cost was measured by how many sheets were in the letter and how far the letter had to go. Sometimes this amounted to a very considerable sum.
266:
whereas anyone can design a cachet and put it on their cover. A cachet makes a cover unique and helps tell the story of the cover. It can say whether the cover was carried (for example, covers were carried on the very last flight of the
54:. Sometimes the issue is made from a temporary or permanent foreign or overseas office. Covers that are postmarked at sea or their next port of call will carry a Paquebot postmark. There will usually be a
153:
prepared with a stamp(s), addressed and sent through the mail delivery system to create a collectible item. Information about philatelic covers is available online in catalogs and collector websites.
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254:) that corresponded with the theme of the stamp. Several printing companies began producing such envelopes and often hired free lance illustrators to design their cachets such as
271:), who the signer was or information about the postmark. Royal Mail no longer counts pre-decimal stamps as valid and won’t postmark them, a cachet can therefore be used to
250:
As the collecting of first day covers became more popular they began to appear on prepared envelopes, often with an illustration (commonly referred to by collectors as a
211:
cover was posted at her birthplace, West Wellow. The
Botanical Conference issue of 1964 featured primroses on the stamps, so one clever cover dealer posted his covers at
326:
98:
calculated that the cost to the Post Office was far less than what some people were paying to send/receive their mail; this figure was just a fraction of
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for the U.S. Post Office. Cachets, which should not be confused with postmarks, are basically rubber stamps. Postmarks can only be applied by official
228:
992:
923:
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627:
327:"Insights Stamp Collecting Basics 2004 December Paquebot mail begins at sea, postmarked on land Paquebot mail begins at sea, postmarked on land"
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215:. This kind of relevant postmark made a cover worth often ten times more than the same cover with a standard postmark issued by the
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a pre-decimal stamp on a cover. It provides a link between that stamp and the envelope. They can also be used to
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396:"First Day Cover - FDC : Philatelic Products : Countries List [Subformat: Envelope]"
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on the first day the issue is authorized for use within the country or territory of the
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Examples of special slogan and special postmarks for the 1924 British Empire
Exhibition
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1963 Centenary of the Red Cross cover with West Wellow postmark - where
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The
Official Blackbook Price Guide to United States Postage Stamps 2010
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89:, used on May 6, 1840 is verified by the datestamp on the backflap
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organisation that sponsored the postmark in the first place.
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23:
First day cover of the
Alexander Graham Bell issue of 1940
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First day cover of the world's first postage stamp, the
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birthplace of a social movement, or at a stamp show.
366:, Stanley Gibbons/Benham Publications, London (1999)
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124:Soviet Union first day cover for the event of the
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315:, Stanley Gibbons Publications, London (1978)
8:
564:Essential Guide to British First Day Covers
364:Essential Guide to British First Day Covers
628:
614:
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173:can also have first days of issue, as can
590:– For FDC collectors, active since 1955.
304:
16:Postage stamp franked on earliest date
7:
1084:
543:Hudgeons, Marc; et al. (2009).
450:"A Short Course on First Day Covers"
346:"Rowland Hill & the Penny Black"
311:Bennett, Russell and Watson, James;
899:Mail Isolation Control and Tracking
904:Multiline Optical Character Reader
258:who in his earlier years designed
14:
1083:
1072:
1071:
1059:
593:
588:American First Day Cover Society
454:American First Day Cover Society
128:, that has an arrival backstamp.
993:most expensive philatelic items
566:. Stanley Gibbons. p. 16.
68:Postal authorities may hold a
1:
547:. Random House. p. 656.
495:
126:1965 Bandy World Championship
344:Muir, Douglas (2011-12-12).
313:Philatelic Terms Illustrated
1026:List of entities that have
766:Post box / Mailbox
507:
1143:
653:Timeline of postal history
292:Earliest reported postmark
142:
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962:Postal systems by country
731:Information-Based Indicia
689:
562:Buckingham, Tony (1999).
939:Institutions and systems
894:Intelligent Mail barcode
847:Surface Air Lifted (SAL)
29:first day of issue cover
637:Mail and postal systems
162:Computer vended postage
52:stamp-issuing authority
1117:Philatelic terminology
1015:Philatelic terminology
697:
678:Pan-American countries
233:
199:
149:Philatelic covers are
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63:pictorial cancellation
24:
1028:issued postage stamps
695:
469:"All About Postmarks"
256:Charles R. Chickering
231:
193:
123:
84:
22:
1066:Philately portal
806:Variable value stamp
696:Envelope for mailing
602:at Wikimedia Commons
294:on stamped envelopes
209:Florence Nightingale
196:Florence Nightingale
467:Royal Mail (2007).
181:Features of a cover
919:Package forwarding
878:Postmaster General
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673:Oceanian countries
668:European countries
520:Buckingham, Tony.
430:Buckingham, Tony.
378:"In the Spotlight"
362:Buckingham, Tony;
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224:Special handstamps
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70:first day ceremony
56:first day of issue
25:
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683:Postal censorship
658:African countries
598:Media related to
526:Buckingham Covers
436:Buckingham Covers
350:The Postal Museum
280:Cinderella stamps
217:Philatelic Bureau
164:stamps issued by
139:Philatelic covers
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1127:Stamp collecting
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832:Package delivery
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485:on 16 June 2015.
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498:, pp.592-609
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39:on a cover,
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796:Postal code
776:Post office
751:Meter stamp
400:colnect.com
171:local posts
157:Other types
104:Penny Black
87:Penny Black
41:postal card
35:(FDC) is a
1106:Categories
1010:catalogues
909:Mail cover
887:Processing
873:Postmaster
837:Registered
736:Letter box
704:Components
573:0852594879
522:"Glossary"
510:, pp.10-11
476:Royal Mail
432:"Glossary"
405:2019-03-29
299:References
239:Royal Mail
198:was buried
175:artistamps
1112:Envelopes
988:Philately
771:Relay box
716:Bulk mail
382:GB Stamps
1078:Category
815:Delivery
746:Mail bag
721:Envelope
286:See also
269:Concorde
204:postmark
186:Postmark
151:envelope
59:postmark
1090:Commons
983:Courier
976:Related
929:POSTNET
842:Surface
827:Express
822:Airmail
726:Indicia
645:History
537:Sources
166:Neopost
77:History
48:franked
924:PLANET
756:Parcel
570:
551:
277:cancel
273:cancel
252:cachet
246:Cachet
856:Staff
483:(PDF)
472:(PDF)
111:Types
741:Mail
568:ISBN
549:ISBN
202:The
1045:M–Z
1040:F–L
1035:A–E
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