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ORANGE FREE STATE, cancels

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This is not a cancel but an overprint: "Ord 22-85." overprint (succession rights fiscal stamps)


Another overprint

Typical cancels:


The first stamps were pencancelled


Also cork cancels were used.

Numeral cancels were used afterwards (each number corresponding to a different town).


"1" cancel with 11 parallel bars

Certified genuine, image obtained from a Shreves auction 5 cancel 9 cancel 17 cancel
Red and black numeral cancels consisting of a circle with a number surrounded by 16 parallel lines.

'1' 11 lines cancel '20' cancel '21' cancel '24' cancel in black and red Reduced size
Numeral cancels with 11 parallel lines. If I'm well informed only the numbers "1" (Bloemfontein) and "20" onwards exist with 11 lines.

B cancel C cancel D cancel H cancel I cancel K cancels M cancel P cancel
Letter cancels.


"B.E." cancel (for printed matter of the newspaper 'Bloemfontein Express')

Some numbers and their corresponding towns:
1: Bloemfontein (exists with 16 bars or 11 bars)
2: Winburg (in blue or black)
3: Harrismith
4: Fauresmith (16-barred)
5: Smithfield
6: Kroonstad
7: Bethulie
8: Boshof
9: Jagersfontein
10: Philippolis
11: Bethlehem
12: Rouxville
13: Zand River
14: Edenburg (16-barred)
16: Wepener (16-barred); Brandfort?
17: Ladybrand
18: Ficksburg
19: Reddersburg
20: Brandfort?
21: Ventersburg (in black or red)
22: ?
24: Heilbron (in black or red)
25: Frankfort
26: Bultfontein
27: Hoopstad
29: Senekal
48(?): Holfontein
B.E.: Bloemfontein Express (different type 'B.E.' in square surrounded by bars forming an ellipse)
B: ?
C: Smithfield
D: Abrahamskraal
H: ?
I: ?
K: Zastron
M: DePut
N: ?
O: Bushmanskop
P: ?
Q: ?
R: Bloemfontein (for registered mail)
X: Vrede
Y: Dewetsdorp

Several numeral and letter cancels exist (in black or red color). I've seen the following letters (similar cancel as the numeral cancels shown above): "A" (in red), "R", "N" (in blue), "X" and "Y".


Other squarish cancels "FAURESMITH", "BLOEMFONTEIN" etc. I've also seen this cancel type for Ficksburg and Reitz.


Towncancels, here for Heilbron O.V.S. and Zastron with "O.V.S." at the bottom (with inverted 'Z'?)


Cicrular cancel without outer ring with "O.F.STATE" at the bottom.


Later cancels have "O.R.C." in the bottom instead of "O.V.S.". Here an example of Bloemfontein of 1902.


"POSTWISSEL KANTOOR BLOEMFONTEIN" (postwissel = money order)


"FIELD POST OFFICE BRITISH ARMY S.AFRICA" and "FIELD POST OFFICE B.O. BRITISH ARMY S.AFRICA"


Telegraphic cancel in an ellipse

Stamps with the following cancels are always forgeries (both stamp and cancel are forged):

Spiro Forgeries!


A full sheet of Spiro forgeries, reduced size. Nine different kinds of cancellations were used here.

 

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer