{"id":102,"date":"2026-03-24T01:39:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T01:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102"},"modified":"2026-04-05T13:24:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T13:24:41","slug":"102-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102","title":{"rendered":"Precancels"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"102\" class=\"elementor elementor-102\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-337a21b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"337a21b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e60efd7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e60efd7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What are Precancels?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cd01f68 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cd01f68\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7ae0832 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7ae0832\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24dc582 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"24dc582\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Precancelled stamps, or precancels, were introduced by various countries as a means of saving time and reducing costs in handling certain classes of mail. This was done by allowing authorised users to affix stamps already cancelled on to bulk mail, thus avoiding a time-consuming step in processing at the post office.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There is no single definition of a precancel, but perhaps the most satisfactory is that given by the US Precancel Stamp Society Inc, which states that&#8230; a precancel is any postage stamp, stamped stationery, or revenue stamp which has been cancelled prior to the actual use for which it was issued, by, under the supervision of, or with permission of proper authority, with a device that was used for no form of post-cancelling by the same office.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Countries which have issued precancels have different regulations governing their use, but in general they are employed by mail order companies, religious and charitable organisations which handle large quantities of bulk matter. In most countries, the general public are not permitted to use them; only authorised users may do so.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0def0b4 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0def0b4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2766f33 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2766f33\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"160\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cello_4.gif\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048 wp-image-108\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fd1358d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"fd1358d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-731b99f elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"731b99f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"567\" height=\"723\" src=\"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Alhambra-CA-L-6-ALHMBRA-error-block-of-four-with-two-errors.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-725\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Alhambra-CA-L-6-ALHMBRA-error-block-of-four-with-two-errors.jpg 567w, https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Alhambra-CA-L-6-ALHMBRA-error-block-of-four-with-two-errors-235x300.jpg 235w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 567px) 100vw, 567px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-93a946c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"93a946c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f0f06be elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f0f06be\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Although there are great variations in style, precancels are usually definitive stamps overprinted with a town name, state or province, or some other distinctive marking, which shows that they have been cancelled prior to mailing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Apart from the United States, which is by far the largest precancel issuing country, substantial use of the system has been made by Canada, Belgium, France and Monaco. Other countries have used precancels on an experimental or limited basis; these include Holland, Luxembourg, Algeria, Tunisia, Hungary, Turkey, Danzig, Austria, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, United Nations and even Great Britain.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c05c69c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c05c69c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-40578c6 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"40578c6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-159f607 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"159f607\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e3f92b8 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"e3f92b8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b72cee4 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b72cee4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-69847db elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"69847db\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><P align=\"right\"><button onclick=\"history.back()\">Go Back<\/button><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are Precancels? Precancelled stamps, or precancels, were introduced by various countries as a means of saving time and reducing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"disabled","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-102","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Precancels - PSSGB<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Precancels - PSSGB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What are Precancels? Precancelled stamps, or precancels, were introduced by various countries as a means of saving time and reducing [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PSSGB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T13:24:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cello_4.gif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/?page_id=102\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/?page_id=102\",\"name\":\"Precancels - PSSGB\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/?page_id=102#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/?page_id=102#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/cello_4.gif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-24T01:39:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T13:24:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/?page_id=102#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/?page_id=102\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/?page_id=102#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/cello_4.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/cello_4.gif\",\"width\":160,\"height\":250},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/?page_id=102#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Precancels\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/\",\"name\":\"pssgb.precancels.nl\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PSSGB\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/cropped-cropped-cropped-logo-pssgb.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/cropped-cropped-cropped-logo-pssgb.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"PSSGB\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pssgb.precancels.nl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Precancels - PSSGB","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Precancels - PSSGB","og_description":"What are Precancels? Precancelled stamps, or precancels, were introduced by various countries as a means of saving time and reducing [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102","og_site_name":"PSSGB","article_modified_time":"2026-04-05T13:24:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":160,"height":250,"url":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cello_4.gif","type":"image\/gif"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102","url":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102","name":"Precancels - PSSGB","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cello_4.gif","datePublished":"2026-03-24T01:39:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-05T13:24:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cello_4.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cello_4.gif","width":160,"height":250},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?page_id=102#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Precancels"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/","name":"pssgb.precancels.nl","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/#organization","name":"PSSGB","url":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cropped-cropped-cropped-logo-pssgb.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cropped-cropped-cropped-logo-pssgb.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"PSSGB"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=102"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":731,"href":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/102\/revisions\/731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pssgb.precancels.nl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}