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I stumbled upon some covers in a lot I bought which seems to be prepared to be issued as FDC's by the Australia Post, but without any form for cancellation.





So I was hoping someone could explain the lack of cancellation. Just a mistake from Australia Post, or perhaps something else?

I believe the covers could be bought from A.P. for the purchaser to add the stamps BUT they never presented them for cancelling/ excess stock.

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Waroff49

The last chapter of the Never_Ending Story is being written.

Sounds logical. Thanks.

Waroff49 is correct - you can buy blank FDCs from some post offices and affix your own stamps.

However, during the 1980s and early to mid-1990s (don't know about the 1970s), Australia Post produced FDCs with the stamps attached but not cancelled. I recently had some in a bulk lot I purchased, which from memory still included some still in their packinging. Will have to see if I can upload a photo of them tonight.

I'm not sure the exact reason for this. I know Western Australia had separate first day of issue cancels from the rest of Australia for many years, and many post offices used to have their own FDI canceller, but these have since disappeared.

Does anybody on Stampboards know the real reason?

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Chris de Haer
Author of 'A Closer Look at Modern Australian Stamps' in Stamp News Australia.
Latest news on my blog http://stamps.chrisdehaer.com.au Follow me on Facebook twitter.com/stampchris

In the 1980s near all (if not all) POs were "official" and MANY PO's had local pictorial cancels for the region.

I believe if they ordered 50 FDC they generally got them blank with stamps affixed, and applied their local illustrated cancel.

I often get them in collection uncancelled as per Orchids above, and gleefully use them to mail stamp out reg'd post to clients using my still large stock of R26 labels!

I used some for overseas postage too.

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Chris de Haer
Author of 'A Closer Look at Modern Australian Stamps' in Stamp News Australia.
Latest news on my blog http://stamps.chrisdehaer.com.au Follow me on Facebook twitter.com/stampchris

True, unfourtunately these days, AP print the cancel onto the stamps when the FDC is made, so just because a FDC has "Kingston Tas" (for example) as the CDS on it, does not mean it had the postmark applied at Kingston Tas.

Makes me wonder if modern FDC's will hold their value in the future, modern issues are becoming very expensive to collect.

Here's the uncancelled FDCs I picked up in an estate lot and all still package in their Australia Post packaging!

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Chris de Haer
Author of 'A Closer Look at Modern Australian Stamps' in Stamp News Australia.
Latest news on my blog http://stamps.chrisdehaer.com.au Follow me on Facebook twitter.com/stampchris

I bought a handful this week un-cancelled but with all stamps affixed, and they sold very quickly here at PO cost price -

http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=36521

They really are scarce thus in this 1990s era. Probably 1000 to 1 in relation to cancelled ones.

Even less often seen, are official Australia Post Office First Day covers, that have NO stamps affixed!

I listed a large lot of 132 of these today -

http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=43509

But if the post office is not selling FDCs without cancellation, do these envelopes have a value?
Can this be considered as an error?

All of these may be rare, but why would anyone want to collect them?

Having said that, even as a child, I thought FDCs were too artificial and gimmicky to be worth collecting, so I'm an FDC sceptic.

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29,000 stamped postcards & covers:http://www.delcampe.net/stores/edwardx
Collecting old passports:http://www.passportland.com/