posted 03-15-2025 07:07 AM               

Space Cover 797: More on Space Slogan Cancels

Ray Cartier, who precedes me every week and from whom I have learned a lot, inspired me to write this post after your last post (Space Cover of the Week 796).

Above a Spanish space cover postmarked with a generic slogan cancel (no space slogan cancel) for requesting the use of zip code in some Spanish cities (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao) dated Madrid July 27, 1971, which commemorates the launch of Apollo 15. In addition, the cover bears the official rubber stamp cachet (in red color) and is signed by five engineers and technicians working in Madrid Tracking Station of Fresnedillas (Apollo Prime).

Regarding the slogan cancel itself it seems all is ok in our eyes. However, please compare it with the cover below:

The cover refers to launch of Apollo 17 bears the official RSC (in black this time) and is dated Madrid December 7, 1972, for launch of final Apollo mission.

What difference is shown now? Yes, the position of circular date stamp (CDS onwards) is on the right of the legend meanwhile the first cover showed the CDS on the left side.

And what is the correct position? Is there a correct one?

For all those who collect space covers, we are accustomed to seeing the CDS on the left side. There, the CDS are applied on a blank place of the covers where it is possible to read the place and date clearly. Otherwise, if CDS are located on the right side, normally cancel the samps and sometimes dark background of the stamps make it difficult to read the place and date.

It seems an irrelevant issue, but it is a major issue for collectors of used stamps.

In all slogans cancel with CDS on the left side, the legend cancels the stamps. If the stamps are removed from the envelope, the used stamps cannot identify place and date as this does not appear over them. On the other hand, if stamps removed come from a CDS on the right side, probably a part of place and date of CDS may be read.

In Spain, and in other countries, the CDS should cancel the stamps. It is mandatory. And for this reason, this slogan cancel, first used with CDS on the left, was later changed to CDS on the right to fulfill this requirement.

Other examples of modified slogan cancel are provided below:

Space cover with CDS on the right and CDS on the left position.

Space cover with CDS on the left and CDS on the right position.

Please, if you have in your albums other slogan cancels like these be so kind to share here with others. Thanks.

posted 03-15-2025 09:39 AM               

Before I started collecting space covers, for over 40 years I collected items and covers regarding the pre-decimal postal history of Buxton Derbyshire (1665-1972). With such a narrow focus you find in general you also have to discover all manner of specific fascinating aspects of postal history.

And so, we have to add a little nuance to some of your bold statements...

There are lots of postal regulations that are regularly ignored. In Great Britain for example, the postage stamp should be placed in the top right corner of the envelope, but many philatelists regulary place the stamp lower down the envelope so that the cancellation only partly impacts the stamp and thus leaves a clear impression on the envelope.

Also, there is no postal regulation in either the UK or the US that mandates the postage stamp being cancelled by a circular date stamp, in fact far from it... killer bars were invented precisely to cancel stamps while leaving a clear time and date impression on the envelope (known as franking as opposed to cancelling). I don't know the situation in Spain and France, the regulations may well be different, but they all must adhere to basic UPU rules and those rules do not mandate a CDS strike on the postage stamp.

The vast majority of slogan cancels, and all meter markings are produced using single impression machines, with the majority of those having the CDS at the left and the slogan to the right.

Those that defy that convention (and it is only a convention and not a rule) are known as transposed slogan cancellations. Because of their rarity and desirability in some quarters, they tend to attract a premium for collectors.

I have included an extract from "Local Publicity Slogan Postmarks" by Parsons, Peachy and Pearson self published in GB by the authors in May 1970, which explores the matter of Transposed Slogans further.