Postmark

A postmark or stamp is just a colored tee of the same device onto a mailpiece, the usually documented place, date and time of your Inbox and eventually devalued by existing stamps.

Postmark are commonly used for a longer period, in each case the date and optionally the time to be updated. Postmark, which are used only for a certain occasion, called special. Postmark, the date of which coincides with the date of issue of the canceled stamp called Day cancellation. More applied with the postmark stamps are Nebenstempel.

History

The earliest known stamp is from the year 1449 from Venice in Italy. The inscription of this simple embossing stamp with the coat of arms of Count Francesco Sforza of Milan was " Mediolarum Cursores " ( roughly " Milan Courier " ) and could already be a postal notice.

The development of the stamp being is very difficult to trace because until the Renaissance, almost no envelopes are obtained. It was not until the mid-17th century is a larger number postmark obtained. Usually, they should facilitate the paperwork that was in the documentation of the post place and the input and output data. Initially, there was usually only one line postmark with location. The first known stamp with additional dates from the year 1661. Later stamp even show a time stamp.

Very early also created the so-called "paid " stamp, which confirmed a prepaid postage. The first postmark of this kind comes from 1681 and was used in London. He bore the inscription "Paid One Penny ". Also from k.k. Postmaster Johann Georg Khumer from Friesach there is a modern postmark from the year 1787.

After the introduction of the first stamp in the 19th century changed the purpose of the postmark. The stamp was not only as proof of the transport of the letter, but was refused on the stamp, this devalued and prevented her but repeated use.

In many countries, such as were in the UK and stamps will be issued with a portrait of the current ruler. The postman was not allowed to deface by its postmark this file. The devaluation had to be done carefully. In Spain, a postal stamp in 1850 therefore shaped like a four-leaf clover, the only framed the head of Queen Isabella on the stamp.

With postal stamps of the way of a letter is documented. In the first half of the 20th century, it was customary to stamp letters in both the dispatching and upon arrival at the destination post office. In addition, special modes of transport of mail were detected: eg by airmail or railway post. Certain postal Nebenstempel such as the R - Stamp ( Rekommantionstempel ) indicate whether a letter has been sent enrolled. In addition, any postage due Administered been displayed due to the lack or insufficient postage means of its own stamp.

The advertising ability of the postmark was increasingly recognized, and so created special that will be used for a limited time due to a special event. The first German special was cut off in 1863 in Leipzig.

The field post of the military often uses dumb stamp. These are postmarked without place and date specified.

Postmark in different countries

Germany

Postmark can be found in Germany nowadays almost exclusively in black color as circular single-circuit and double circuit Temple. Top of the circle is the location information, in the middle of the date and partially the time, and below the zip code. With the introduction of mail centers disappeared into their punches but the postal code, as this would have not reproduced the location of the task of the letter correctly, at this point has become a post-horn entered; the mail center itself can be seen from the circular inscription ( mail center NN ), which replaces the geographic location.

At the time of introduction of postage stamps in 1840 but more than 200 stamp forms philatelists were used in various stamp inks, open a wide field of activity. Postmark contained not always Location or date. A postmark without inscription called "silent stamp ", one stamp with only a centered number number stamp, a stamp with location " location stamp ", one stamp with the date " date stamp ". The stamps are also named according to their shape: rectangular temple, temple arch, Mühlradstempel, circular temple, one and two circular temples, etc.

Two lines Temple

Three lines Temple

Stainless diamond stamp

Rectangular temple

Text stamps, one-liners about bow

Round temple with 1 line

Round temple with circle and 2 lines

Single circle

Single circle with line for handschr. date of entry

Two chords temple for handschr. date of entry

Two circular temple

Circle dock temple with bow top and bottom

Circle dock temple with bow and bridge segment below

Hammer Temple Gander Home

Buckles temple Holzminden

Postmark of the post office Leipzig 1

Postmark of the post office Reichenbach 1

Rectangle with round temple Temple

With the introduction of postcodes the postmark changed appearance. If the first number preceded by the location within the double circle in brackets, so moved after 1961 the postcode centered in the lower third of the stamp. With the introduction of mail centers and the associated central processing of the postmark lost its importance as a document of the place of delivery or of letter delivering the ball, was instead in the Location text " mail center " is used, which of the number (first two digits of the postal code ) has been added. The area where previously the postcode had stood remained empty. Recently, however, are in the mail centers postmark in use where. At the site of the former (and used post office counter punches even today ), the postal code was used, there is a stylized post horn in accordance with the logo of Deutsche Post AG

In addition to the ordinary postal stamps, there are special forms: These are mainly maritime, railway postmark in which the shipping line and the train number in the stamp replaces the site. Because of the extensive highway postmark are always oval and ship postmark larger than ordinary postal stamp. For shipments, which was detected on the transport in the railway mail car, that the marks have not been canceled, there were special railway postal stamp with the word " subsequently canceled " because the original place of dispatching was no longer detectable. Also available to all departments with delivery for the same purpose over a date stamp, in which the words "canceled retrospectively " was present.

Austria

Postmark in Austria are called OT- stamp, where OT is the abbreviation for location and date stamp. For the manual stamping a Radgangstempels used. Austrian stamps and postmarks are, especially in first editions, such as the Austrian Post AG emphasized as collectors' items all over the world appreciated.

Another special feature are regional post offices as Christmas 4411 or 2671 Küb and issued by them special mention.

The postmark will be divided into task ( post offices, post offices and special Philately.Shops ) and delivery ( delivery points ).

It will be used throughout the year special. Per month can be assumed about the fact that about 10 to 15 different special postmark on various occasions in use. Other features include airmail severance payments, balloon mail, rocket post and rail transport.

Stamp of the abandoned post office in 1033 Vienna with 2 different distinguishing marks ("s" & " t "); May 2000.

Feature: Stamp and stamp of the United Nations (UN), post office 1400 Vienna; July 2000.

, Real used postmark of the historic post office Küb; August 2000. Special feature: postal service envelope.

Arrival mark the delivery point 1090 Vienna; March 2004.

Switzerland

Postmark as Collectibles

Due to the rapid spread of philately also growing interest in the postal stamps on the documents. It created its own special catalogs for this particular area of philately. Especially Postmark from the early days of the stamp and from time vorphilatelistischer large attention. Also popular are so-called home collections that document the postal history of each region based on regional postmark or the postmark that occupy a particular mode of transport, such as certain stretches or epochs of the railway mail, or exotics like Zeppelin or DO X -Post. Also special about certain topics or from certain locations are collected.

In letters with stamps that were canceled on the first day of validity, the first day cancellation makes the letter to the First Day Cover.

Fakes

In general, two types of counterfeit postal stamps can be distinguished:

• False Temple: These are fake stamp on genuine stamps. In some editions it happens that canceled stamps are more valuable many times over than unstamped. This is a welcome invitation for counterfeiters.
• Adulterated stamp: True, but back-dated postmark will be relegated to the genuine stamps. This type of fraud is usually more difficult to recognize as false temple.

Rarely does one find even whole counterfeit. This means that both the postmark and the stamp are fake. As often difficult to recognize fakes on the market are to be found, an examination of valuable stamps by a stamp expert is essential.

Terms of Use

In many cases, was and is the postmark also a legal value for the determination of deadlines. For example, there is in the Tax Code ( § 122) an access fiction, after which a letter is valid for three working days after it was sent as received, unless a different date of access can be demonstrated. Even in the Civil Code there are regulations (§ § 355 and 375 ), which depend on the date of dispatch, which will ultimately documented by the postmark, if no special office receipt is created. Acquaintance was " the date of the postmark ," but whether the deadline for sweepstakes (observance of the deadline ), which has been greatly reduced by the new forms of participation that meaning in recent years. Used to be next to the date beyond doubt the sending location recognizable as legally significant detail, so this is at least in Germany, only occurs when the stamping is not done in a mail center.