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What we collect!
What we collect!


United States/Stamps : U

 

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virgilp

11 Apr 2019
11:11:18pm
Yes or no? And what would be the purpose of using perfins today? Thanks, Virgil
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michael78651
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11 Apr 2019
11:25:40pm
re: U

I can't answer the primary question, but perfins were used by companies to help thwart pilfering of postage stamps by its employees.

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angore
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Collector, Moderator

12 Apr 2019
06:07:37am
re: U

I have not seen a perfin seen or mentioned for years on US. I bet self-adhesives could impact the idea and there are other methods to control stamps in companies.

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"Stamp Collecting is a many splendored thing"
ikeyPikey
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12 Apr 2019
08:11:09am
re: U

'
Great question, Virgil !!!

I have not seen one arrive in the mail in decades, but that's hardly definitive ... though perfins are (?almost) always definitives (ouch!).

Finding the LKU (Last Known Use) of a perfin (or each perfin) would be a fun quest.

I would suggest, moreover, that the perfin needs to be on a corner (a cover with a pre-printed company name/address) that matches the stamp, as private / semi-private use of a company's stock might continue a bit.

Nice topic for an exhibit or, to be au courant, an online census.

http://www.perfins.org/ ... ask at The Perfins Club (US) ?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey (who thinks that PSA perfins are a non-starter, for obvious - if mechanical - reasons)




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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
michael78651
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12 Apr 2019
08:11:30am
re: U

Good point about the self-adhesives. Also, many of the larger companies contract out their mail services.

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smauggie
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12 Apr 2019
02:13:37pm
re: U

I have seen some from the 1990's but they were applied for philatelic reasons rather than commercial ones.

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canalzonepostalhistory.wordpress.com
rjan
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12 Apr 2019
05:07:16pm
re: U

I send out accumulated perfins to a collector who advertises in Lynn's. I recently exchanged some questions on current use and he indicated that the last usage (of which I had just sent him) are selected state agencies in the US. The items I had sent him were an agency for the state of NJ, I forget the exact initials and agency.

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virgilp

12 Apr 2019
07:50:47pm
re: U

Recently I got a small box of US used stamps. Examining the stamps I was surprised to find two Scott #2940 with perfin capital I and this was the reason I raised this question. This stamp was issued in 1995 not too far back in time.
What I do not understand is the work done by the company to perform the perfin on a sheet of 50 stamps. They needed a setup, probably not easy to be obtained. Why they did not use meter stamp?
Anyhow, I will go to perfin site to clarify this question.
Image Not Found

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michael78651
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12 Apr 2019
08:25:43pm
re: U

Employees have been known to run their personal mail through an employer's meter machine.

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virgilp

12 Apr 2019
10:25:04pm
re: U

The employees can steal the perfin stamps and use them privately from home, mailing letters to family members and friends who will not pay attention to what stamp is posted on envelope.

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michael78651
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12 Apr 2019
11:06:08pm
re: U

That's true. I'm just saying what the intent of the perfins is supposed to help thwart.

One place where I used to work, some employees would put their personal mail in the outgoing mail buckets (same sized envelopes as the business mail). initially, it wasn't alot to the point to where it was noticed. The mailroom would simply stack everything up and run the envelopes through the meter machine. As word got out, more and more started doing this. It didn't take long after that when it was discovered, and the practice was stopped.

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nigelc
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13 Apr 2019
04:17:34pm
re: U

For many years in the UK mint stamps could be cashed at a post office for their face value and they were also used widely to pay for small purchases.

Perfins were introduced in the UK to stop stamps being stolen for these purposes.

The post office would not cash stamps which had perfins.

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ikeyPikey
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13 Apr 2019
05:39:56pm
re: U

My youngest perfin defies all of the conventions: it was perf'd in 1986, on a commemorative, and for reasons that had nothing to do with shrinkage.

(For the uninitiated, "shrinkage" is a term-of-art in retailing, and refers to inventory that leaves without benefit of being sold.)

The "SM95" perforated initials refer to General Stanislaw Maczek turning 95 years-of-age.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Maczek

Image Not Found

Image Not Found

United Kingdom
60th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II
Catalog codes:
Michel GB 1065
AFA number GB 1181
Stamp Number GB 1138
Stanley Gibbons GB 1317
Unificato GB 1219
Yvert et Tellier GB 1219
Issued on: 1986-04-21
Perforation: 15 x 14
Printing: Photogravure
Size: 41 x 30 mm
Face value: 17 p - British penny
Print run: 38,501,600
Description: printed se-tenant with SG 1316.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey (who was a little surprised to see that a country that had fits over defacing stamps that bore a portrait of The Queen would, less than 150 years later, be punching holes into her birthday stamp)

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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Linus
Members Picture


14 Apr 2019
12:35:05am
re: U

ikeyPikey -
Nice cover, perfin stamp, and story about the General. Thanks for sharing it with the club.

virgilp -
Your 55 cent Alice Hamilton stamp with a capital "I" perfin most likely came from the State of Iowa. I live in Iowa, and I have a bunch of perfins in my collection with the same, or similar perfin. They were still widely used in the 1990s here in Iowa. You are correct in saying a thief could steal a perfin stamp and use it on their personal mail, but an honest person would think twice about getting caught with using one illegally. I think it was more theft deterrent, than theft prevention, and rjan is correct in saying they were used by state government agencies, including state universities. State workers mailed all kinds of stuff with perfin stamps back in the 1990s, and each state worker did not have access to a meter machine everyday. It seems old-fashioned today, but many things are slow to change in state government, including the perfin stamp in Iowa.

angore -
The self-adhesive multi-layer stamp, in smaller sheets than panes of 50, were still made into perfins as shown by the two stamps below, from my collection, with State of Iowa capital "I" perfins dated 2002. The perfin machine had to struggle punching through the stamp layer, the gooey gum layer, and the backing paper layer. The self-adhesive gum most likely "gummed up" the perforator pins over time, or the gummy chad stuck to everything, but it was tried, as shown below. I think the self-adhesive stamp ended the perfin stamp.

Linus

Image Not Found
Image Not Found








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virgilp

21 Apr 2019
10:41:56pm
re: U

Look exactly like the perfins on my stamps! It seems to be of a very high quality. As I asked before, is it justified the expense to perform this process? Maybe it is done privately by somebody who like to keep perfins on the market!

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nigelc
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25 May 2019
12:10:15pm
re: U

I was reminded of this thread when I saw an article today in the British Perfin Society Bulletin.

This reports that the latest known British "commercial" perfin is one used in July 2015 on a red "1st Large" Machin stamp.

This perfin was used by the Camden & Islington NHS Trust, a public health authority in London.

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snowy12
Members Picture


26 May 2019
02:01:03am

Auctions
re: U

These two S/S from "Australia 99" Perfed "A99" were done at the show for a while you were able to do them yourself so you can imagine there are a few weird ones around.

Image Not Found


Brian













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snowy12
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26 May 2019
02:29:36am

Auctions
re: U

Here is another show perfin this time "Pacific Explorer 2005 World Stamp Expo" .
Image Not Found
Brian

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Author/Postings
virgilp

11 Apr 2019
11:11:18pm

Yes or no? And what would be the purpose of using perfins today? Thanks, Virgil

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
michael78651

11 Apr 2019
11:25:40pm

re: U

I can't answer the primary question, but perfins were used by companies to help thwart pilfering of postage stamps by its employees.

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.hipstamp.com/sto ...
Members Picture
angore

Collector, Moderator
12 Apr 2019
06:07:37am

re: U

I have not seen a perfin seen or mentioned for years on US. I bet self-adhesives could impact the idea and there are other methods to control stamps in companies.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Stamp Collecting is a many splendored thing"
Members Picture
ikeyPikey

12 Apr 2019
08:11:09am

re: U

'
Great question, Virgil !!!

I have not seen one arrive in the mail in decades, but that's hardly definitive ... though perfins are (?almost) always definitives (ouch!).

Finding the LKU (Last Known Use) of a perfin (or each perfin) would be a fun quest.

I would suggest, moreover, that the perfin needs to be on a corner (a cover with a pre-printed company name/address) that matches the stamp, as private / semi-private use of a company's stock might continue a bit.

Nice topic for an exhibit or, to be au courant, an online census.

http://www.perfins.org/ ... ask at The Perfins Club (US) ?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey (who thinks that PSA perfins are a non-starter, for obvious - if mechanical - reasons)




Like
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this post

"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Members Picture
michael78651

12 Apr 2019
08:11:30am

re: U

Good point about the self-adhesives. Also, many of the larger companies contract out their mail services.

Like
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this post

www.hipstamp.com/sto ...
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smauggie

12 Apr 2019
02:13:37pm

re: U

I have seen some from the 1990's but they were applied for philatelic reasons rather than commercial ones.

Like
Login to Like
this post

canalzonepostalhisto ...
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rjan

12 Apr 2019
05:07:16pm

re: U

I send out accumulated perfins to a collector who advertises in Lynn's. I recently exchanged some questions on current use and he indicated that the last usage (of which I had just sent him) are selected state agencies in the US. The items I had sent him were an agency for the state of NJ, I forget the exact initials and agency.

Like
Login to Like
this post
virgilp

12 Apr 2019
07:50:47pm

re: U

Recently I got a small box of US used stamps. Examining the stamps I was surprised to find two Scott #2940 with perfin capital I and this was the reason I raised this question. This stamp was issued in 1995 not too far back in time.
What I do not understand is the work done by the company to perform the perfin on a sheet of 50 stamps. They needed a setup, probably not easy to be obtained. Why they did not use meter stamp?
Anyhow, I will go to perfin site to clarify this question.
Image Not Found

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likes this post.
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michael78651

12 Apr 2019
08:25:43pm

re: U

Employees have been known to run their personal mail through an employer's meter machine.

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.hipstamp.com/sto ...
virgilp

12 Apr 2019
10:25:04pm

re: U

The employees can steal the perfin stamps and use them privately from home, mailing letters to family members and friends who will not pay attention to what stamp is posted on envelope.

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
michael78651

12 Apr 2019
11:06:08pm

re: U

That's true. I'm just saying what the intent of the perfins is supposed to help thwart.

One place where I used to work, some employees would put their personal mail in the outgoing mail buckets (same sized envelopes as the business mail). initially, it wasn't alot to the point to where it was noticed. The mailroom would simply stack everything up and run the envelopes through the meter machine. As word got out, more and more started doing this. It didn't take long after that when it was discovered, and the practice was stopped.

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.hipstamp.com/sto ...
Members Picture
nigelc

13 Apr 2019
04:17:34pm

re: U

For many years in the UK mint stamps could be cashed at a post office for their face value and they were also used widely to pay for small purchases.

Perfins were introduced in the UK to stop stamps being stolen for these purposes.

The post office would not cash stamps which had perfins.

Like 
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Members Picture
ikeyPikey

13 Apr 2019
05:39:56pm

re: U

My youngest perfin defies all of the conventions: it was perf'd in 1986, on a commemorative, and for reasons that had nothing to do with shrinkage.

(For the uninitiated, "shrinkage" is a term-of-art in retailing, and refers to inventory that leaves without benefit of being sold.)

The "SM95" perforated initials refer to General Stanislaw Maczek turning 95 years-of-age.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Maczek

Image Not Found

Image Not Found

United Kingdom
60th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II
Catalog codes:
Michel GB 1065
AFA number GB 1181
Stamp Number GB 1138
Stanley Gibbons GB 1317
Unificato GB 1219
Yvert et Tellier GB 1219
Issued on: 1986-04-21
Perforation: 15 x 14
Printing: Photogravure
Size: 41 x 30 mm
Face value: 17 p - British penny
Print run: 38,501,600
Description: printed se-tenant with SG 1316.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey (who was a little surprised to see that a country that had fits over defacing stamps that bore a portrait of The Queen would, less than 150 years later, be punching holes into her birthday stamp)

Like 
4 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Members Picture
Linus

14 Apr 2019
12:35:05am

re: U

ikeyPikey -
Nice cover, perfin stamp, and story about the General. Thanks for sharing it with the club.

virgilp -
Your 55 cent Alice Hamilton stamp with a capital "I" perfin most likely came from the State of Iowa. I live in Iowa, and I have a bunch of perfins in my collection with the same, or similar perfin. They were still widely used in the 1990s here in Iowa. You are correct in saying a thief could steal a perfin stamp and use it on their personal mail, but an honest person would think twice about getting caught with using one illegally. I think it was more theft deterrent, than theft prevention, and rjan is correct in saying they were used by state government agencies, including state universities. State workers mailed all kinds of stuff with perfin stamps back in the 1990s, and each state worker did not have access to a meter machine everyday. It seems old-fashioned today, but many things are slow to change in state government, including the perfin stamp in Iowa.

angore -
The self-adhesive multi-layer stamp, in smaller sheets than panes of 50, were still made into perfins as shown by the two stamps below, from my collection, with State of Iowa capital "I" perfins dated 2002. The perfin machine had to struggle punching through the stamp layer, the gooey gum layer, and the backing paper layer. The self-adhesive gum most likely "gummed up" the perforator pins over time, or the gummy chad stuck to everything, but it was tried, as shown below. I think the self-adhesive stamp ended the perfin stamp.

Linus

Image Not Found
Image Not Found








Like 
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
virgilp

21 Apr 2019
10:41:56pm

re: U

Look exactly like the perfins on my stamps! It seems to be of a very high quality. As I asked before, is it justified the expense to perform this process? Maybe it is done privately by somebody who like to keep perfins on the market!

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
nigelc

25 May 2019
12:10:15pm

re: U

I was reminded of this thread when I saw an article today in the British Perfin Society Bulletin.

This reports that the latest known British "commercial" perfin is one used in July 2015 on a red "1st Large" Machin stamp.

This perfin was used by the Camden & Islington NHS Trust, a public health authority in London.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Members Picture
snowy12

26 May 2019
02:01:03am

Auctions

re: U

These two S/S from "Australia 99" Perfed "A99" were done at the show for a while you were able to do them yourself so you can imagine there are a few weird ones around.

Image Not Found


Brian













Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Members Picture
snowy12

26 May 2019
02:29:36am

Auctions

re: U

Here is another show perfin this time "Pacific Explorer 2005 World Stamp Expo" .
Image Not Found
Brian

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
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