The listing is built as follows:
Open:
Status:
- geographic location: (when available)
# Territorial Postmarks
Statehood Postmarks:
| cat# | description | type | wording |
pictures of cancels shown here in the listing per town when available. These are
where possible made from actual covers and in some cases are not of the quality
you would want. In these cases I have no better!
in the main list the availability of pictures is shown by using links to them in
the catalog number (click on them and they are shown in a new window).
Precancels:
Postage Permits:
PVI labels:
Postage Meters:
Mailer's Postmark Permits:
Description of the Statehood cancels:
H?. description type wording
S?. description type wording
M?. description type wording
P?. PSS style number type wording
L?. description type wording
B?. meter number source, slogan
N?. permit number source
V?. description Postal Validator imprimt
C?. description cachets
F?. FDC
Column 1: An 'X' here means it is represented in the collection of Dirk van Gelderen. In the case of H? listings this does not necessarily mean it is present in statehood, it is simply present.
Column 2: H? represents a cancel which is also known in the Territorial era and the ? is replaced by the corresponding type number in Helbock's Postmarks of Territorial Alaska.
S? represents a cancel only known in statehood. This starts always with S1. The ascending catalogue numbers do not signify a sequence in time (oldest first) but represent the order I found them in during the building of this catalogue.
M? represents a mailer's postmark permit. Always starts with M1.
P? represents a precancel device. No description is given, the PSS style number is given instead. Always starts with P1.
L? represents the cancel of a local post, not of an official USPS cancel. Always starts with L1.
B? represents a postage meter (mostly Pitney Bowes). Wherever possible the machine number is given and the mailer is given. Always starts with B1.
N? represents the permit number for postage paid imprints. Always starts with N1.
C? represents more or less official cachets or pictorial handstamps not used as postmarks but certainly applied by the postmasters themselves. See Chicken for an example. Always starts with C1.
V? represents a Postal Validator Imprint as first issued in 1992. For one office there may be different machine numbers. These are not listed, nor are the various types of PVI's produced by these machines. Listed are machines with different ZIP codes from the same town. Always starts with V1.
F? represents a First Day of Issue cancel. Always starts with F1.
Column 3: The description is built as follows:
C?? : diameter of the outer circle of the postmark (may be followed by -?? for the inner circle of Double-Circle postmarks)
T?? : degrees of arc of the wording at the top of the cancel
B?? : degrees of arc of the wording at the bottom of the cancel
in many cases of special event cancels in irregular shapes the designation is simply SPECIAL CANCEL
Column 4: The possible types are:
4b : Four-bar handcancel
DC : Double-Circle handcancel
SC : Single-Circle handcancel
MC : Machine cancel
Column 5: The wording is built as follows:
First the wording at the top of the cancel followed by a slash (/) is given and then the wording at the bottom of the cancel. In the case of machine cancels the type of 'flag' is also noted here (mostly wavy lines). Also, if present the wording of the slogan is given where each line in the text is divided by the slash (/). This is always preceded by the word SLOGAN. In the case of special event cancels the description is replaced by the words 'Special cancel', no type is given and the wording of the special cancel is given where appropriate.
If there is a note 'no known statehood cancels' then this does mean that no cancels have been found that did not already exist before statehood.
If a post office becomes a CPO or a Branch or gets a new parent post office then no new listing for that office starts.
In a few cases a post office was reestablished as a CPO or Branch after statehood which had been open as an independent post office in territorial times, but was not open on Jan. 2, 1959. In those cases the 'old' post office is mentioned with the number of Territorial cancels known. This is done to aid those collectors who prefer to use continuous type numbers in stead of starting over again with each period. A good example is Dot Lake. (see the listing there)