Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

I though it would be nice to have a Gallery of Bisects on Cover.

Here is my contribution: 2 pence George the VI bisect for use in Guernsey During WW2.

A nice idea for a thread.

By the way, why were bisects used? I mean, it seems somewhat pointless to rip a stamp in half and put it on the cover...

Bisect were used to pay postage when stamp of the proper value were not available. These 2 pence stamp cut in half to represent one pence postage stamps, the rate in effect in Guernsey for local delivery.

This was, of course, wartime and the stock of 1d stamps from England was exhausted.

_________________
Ian Billings - Norvic Philatelics GB stamps info: http://www.norphil.co.uk - also /catalog for our ecommerce site, blog.norphil.co.uk, shop.norphil.co.uk and Ian_norvic on twitter

I have read that Bisects were used earlier within Egypt , when a Stock of a certain stamp was running low .. or a Stock of another stamp is in abundance and they need to best utilize it

anyway, it was stated that to use Bisects ... a clear directive from the postmaster has to be issued to the Post offices.

Nasr

Samoa



A fire 1 April 1895, completely destroyed the Post Office in Samoa. Only a very few of the original 1-shilling stamps survived. John Davis, the post master, cut them in half and used them to indicate payment of postage. The new stamps arrived on 22 May 1895. So, for about 50 days, Samoa had a bisect.

Please see my Samoan 1-Shilling Bisect exhibit...

http://www.aape.org/exhibit_view_frame.asp?intExhibitNumber=86&intCurrentFrameNumber=1

_________________
Fellowship of Samoa Specialists is not just for specialists: http://www.samoaexpress.org/
Marty

Thanks for the link Marty, I really enjoyed the well done exhibit.

Jack

Jack,

Glad you enjoyed it. It was a labor of love over several years.

_________________
Fellowship of Samoa Specialists is not just for specialists: http://www.samoaexpress.org/
Marty

What would Guernsey do if all they had were £1 stamps?

To answer Jugoslavia_post's question.......Nothing. As a rule £1 stamps were not printed in over abundance since it was 240 times the local post rate and there were many more lower value stamps which could be used first,

_________________
Waroff49

The last chapter of the Never_Ending Story is being written.

Ughhh, forget about it.

[url][/url]

Postmarked Walcha NSW, 7th Aug 1930. The domestic rate increased to 2d on 4th Aug 1930 and it looks as if the small local PO ran out of 2d stamps and ½d stamps so he cut a 1d stamp in half (=½d) + 1½d stamp = 2d.

The surcharged 1½d (Two Pence) was officially issued 31st July and the 2d Scarlet on 2nd August but supplies of these were apparantly not available.

This is genuine postal use of a bisect, which are prohibited under Postal Regulations but it happened. No doubt there were other covers but is this the only survivor?

Davo

_________________
Davo from Oz

How about a DOUBLE bisect??!!

This cover has a deep blue 3d stamp on it - or at least half of one. In fact the diagonal bisect has been combined neatly with a bisect of a brownish-yellow 1d stamp, presumably to represent a 2d payment.

Despite a smudge over this philatelic chimera, the cover is unusually clean and fresh, with a neat postmark above the addressee's name (one Alfred Williams of Green Hill). The cover, sent from Prince Edward Island's capital Charlottetown, was estimated at $10,000

One of the most exciting pieces in the Warren S Wilkinson collection which was offered online for auction by Charles G Firby auctioneers on December 12.

It looks like the two stamps were place on top of each other and then cut. They appear to be one stamp. A dopble bisect is realy unusual.

I thought that this was a good idea for a topic. Many countries have allowed bisects, but I'm unclear just how many stamps have been legitimately used in this way. Glad I used the search facility and found the previous postings.

I've attached a couple of Tongan bisects that were legal, and used because of a stamp shortage, but could others add more? I know several South/Central American countries allowed them at some time, but are there many other countries that also permitted them? Please show any that you have.

In the 1890s, the postmaster in one town in Canada ran out of low-value stamps. His solution was to cut 3 cent stamps into 2 parts, yes, but not evenly...he cut the stamps so there was a skinny part, representing 1 cent, and a thicker part, for 2 cents.

Of course it was against regulations, so it was short-lived, and the postmaster brought felt the heavy hand of his superiors.


The Stamps of Canada, Bertram Poole, Chapter XVIII

_________________
Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

phrag99- can you make out the year of the cover to Samoa? Is there an arrival stamp on the reverse?

_________________
Fellowship of Samoa Specialists is not just for specialists: http://www.samoaexpress.org/
Marty

Sorry, no and no!

Found this one on eBay:



Obviously philatelic, but I like it. Shame the postmark appears to just miss extending beyond the oblique cut - which I like to see in a bisect, to confirm authenticity.

Here is my contribution. I have no idea why anyone would want a "Farthing" stamp to up-rate this card but it does seem genuine. The reason it ended up in my collection is that I have a collection of Penny Farthing GB Stationery cards and similar pre-UPU pre 1st April 1879 International postcard rates. This is a last page in the exhibit type item.

Great card Sark !

Here's mine - one from Uruguay. 1877 stamp bisected and used in 1883 in Montevideo. Not authorised for such use, and the Postal Authorities subsequently clamped down on this practise once it was recognised.

Not covers, but my being a revenue collector, they wouldn't be.

Shown below are two documents dated a day apart, one April 30, 1866 and the other May 1, 1866, each with a bisected U.S. Scott R82c paying the $1.00 rate. The two bisects are the opposite halves of the same stamp.

The third image below is a composite I created by superimposing the two halves, showing that they fit perfectly.

Since acquiring them, I've had the documents expertised by the Philatelic Foundation.

In all of U.S. revenue collecting, there are fewer than five known matched bisect pairs across ALL series, denominations, and types.

One of my finest acquisitions to date... I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

_________________
www.revenue-collector.com - Member APS, ARA
Click here to see my U.S. revenue wantlist.

Some great covers - this one looks kosher to me at least.

I found these at a small fair a couple of weeks ago, and am not sure if they even count as bisects. What do you think?

When I first saw them I thought they were the two halves of a single stamp but a closer look shows that they are from two different stamps. Still something a little different, and not surcharged by the PO.

Here is one of mine



This is the same cover illustrated in Robson Lowe's Encyclopaedia Volume VI.

I believe the cover to be a total forgery made before or about 1900. The stamp had been used previously.

Erik- To answer your question at the same (1883) the postmaster of Montserrat took 6d stamps and cut them up into as many as 6 pieces

Sorry- i do not have one to show

This one is available on ebay for 1400 USD. Anyone know if it's genuine?

That is quite an interesting piece. I must say that I have never seen a double bisect before.

_________________
Regards, Jay

Phrag- I am sure it's genuine enough- but

The St Kitts ½d bisect is from 1885 and the Leewards overprints from 1902- so with a postmark of 1907 it's not exactly in period

Such covers were usually cut up to provide 'postally used' stamps.

I just sent a similar cover to auction, and if I get £200.- I will be very satisfied

This stamp of Cochinchina is meant to be bisect:



It was unissued however.

A philatelic item of the stamp:

Just got this one from ebay, Yugoslavia SHS, Slovenia regional issue (Verigare), bisected regular stamp with porto overprint, nice piece )))

Dear all, I also have some bisected stamps in my drawers, just took them out and scanned for this occasion - to share with you.



This is a bisect from Italy (kingdom period end of 1800's / beginning of 1900's), #65 in Sassone. 1 centesimo stamp cut in half to form even 10 centesimi together with a 2 centesimo stamp and the post card of 7½ centesimi for foreign postage (which has been cut in two pieces and does not show the 7½ centesimi print). Postmarked Roma 2. Aug. 1900.



Three examples of Warsaw Municipal (local) post bisected to form the rate for printed matter (this has been also displayed in another thread here recently), so not so much about that anymore - for more info see: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=31405





Three examples of bisected 2 cent coiled dragon stamp of the Chinese Empire, from 1906. These are Changsa uses. Evidently the post office had run out of the 1 cent stamp and used bisected 2 cent stamps in the absence.



An Israeli bisected definitive issue from 1949. The address has almost faded, but it seems to have actually been delivered = postal usage. Don't know much about this.




There was a Bolivian bisect also earlier in this thread, however on that occasion it was suspected to be a favor cancel for philatelists, in these cases it is probable that here we have an actual use for posting documents by a bank and a mining company. Indeed in the mining company cover there is an arrival postmark of Santiago (in Chile). As a note: It's really sad to get these "identity" protectors to spoil the items...



Austrian bisected stamp, a rather obvious favor cancel of a 1 kreuzer stamp to reach the postal rate of 2½ kreuzer. OR then this is one of those post cards sold to tourists that were pre cancelled for tourist use outside or even inside a post office. This one was never sent. Postmark Rochlitz 3.1.1900.



Examples of unused bisected stamps from Portugese India - I think from the early 1900's. The bisection is done with a perforation. Hard to tell by just looking at them if they are "real". Don't know much about these.



A well known Finnish bisect by the stamp merchant Lauri Peltonen in the advent of the coming occupation of the Hanko area in the South of Finland in the middle of the WWII, after the winter war when Finland had to cede the area to the Soviet Union. Bisect of the 4 FIM model 1930 definitive issue stamp depicting the head post office in Helsinki. Post mark Hangö 20.III.1940. The "Sista posten från Hangö" (in Swedish) means translated "last post from Hanko" (before the occupation). This one actually went to Sweden, so some of these "fabrications" were actually used in posting letters. The "story" goes so that Lauri Peltonen bought all the stamps from the local post office to make this happen. These sell for 10-15 euro each, so don't pay more

Hope these are of interest!

Cheers,

Mikael

_________________
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I collect Finnish Model 1930 definitives (M30) on postal items and Finland until 1963. Also US Washington - Franklins and Japan until 1945.

A new bisect item I found last weekend at a London postcard fair.

Ahoj Mikael!



Is this another example like yours?

Are they really quite common?

Cheers,

Honza

Honza, they are not at all that common; actually rather hard to find on full covers. Prices for genuine objects are high.

Mikael

_________________
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I collect Finnish Model 1930 definitives (M30) on postal items and Finland until 1963. Also US Washington - Franklins and Japan until 1945.

Hi

Found these items in an old tin.

Not sure what the first one was used for.

Is this sort of thing of any value or are they just a curiousity?




Regards

John G

Just bought this Finnish model 1911 Bisect cover from an auction; never saw one of these before. This is a cover for which the right postage was 25 penni, and it has been made up from 12 whole 2 penni stamps and one bisected 2 penni stamp.



This cover is from 1914.

_________________
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I collect Finnish Model 1930 definitives (M30) on postal items and Finland until 1963. Also US Washington - Franklins and Japan until 1945.