Editing Pen cancel

{{Short description|Cancellation of a stamp by writing on it}}
[[File:Tolima 1871 1 peso stamps.jpg|right|thumb|Stamps of [[Tolima Department|Tolima]] with a pen cancel]]
[[image:Pen-cancellation.jpg|thumb|A pen cancel on a Russian [[postage stamp]]]]
[[File:British six pence customs revenue stamp.jpg|right|thumb|A pen cancel on a [[revenue stamp]]]]
In [[philately]], a '''pen cancel''' &ndash; symbol {{angbr|[[File:pen cancel symbol.svg|16px]]}}<ref>Michel (2007) Übersee-Katalog. Band 1/1 Nordamerika 2007/2008. Unterschleissheim Schwaneberger, p. 18.</ref> &ndash; is a [[Cancellation (mail)|cancellation]] of a [[postage stamp|postage]] or [[revenue stamp]] by the use of a pen, marker or crayon.

== Usage ==
In the early days of stamps, cancellation with a pen was common. Today stamps are almost always cancelled with an inked [[Postmark|handstamp]] or a machine cancel as this is quicker to apply. Pen cancels are still sometimes seen today when a postal official needs to cancel stamps missed by the automatic cancelling machine.

There are no fixed terms for the different types of pen cancels, but a cancel in the form of two crossed lines has been referred to as an ''X cancel''.<ref>[http://alphabetilately.org/X.html X is for X-cancel] alphabetilately.org</ref> Pen cancels may also take the form of notations by the canceller,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.postmarks.org/covers/akron.htm |title=Covers from the Postmark Collectors Club Website |publisher=Postmarks.org |date= |accessdate=2008-11-28}}</ref> the city in which the item was posted or the initials of the local [[postmaster]].

A pen cancel may indicate fiscal (revenue) use; however, in the early days of stamps a pen cancel was sometimes used because no handstamp was available, for instance in Nicaragua where pen cancels were used for seven years after their first stamps appeared in 1862.<ref>Sutton, R.J. & K.W. Anthony. ''The Stamp Collector's Encyclopaedia'', Stanley Paul, London, 1966, p.226.</ref>

== Values ==
A used postage stamp with a pen cancel is usually worth much less than a stamp cancelled using a handstamp or machine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psestamp.com/eyeappeal.chtml |title=Grading Guide - Eye Appeal  |publisher=Professional Stamp Experts |date= |accessdate=2008-11-28}}</ref> In particular, the additional information from the handstamp is lost and the pen cancel may indicate [[revenue|fiscal]] (revenue) rather than postal use. Pen cancelling is, however, a common method of cancelling stamps used fiscally. Stamps marked valid for both ''postage and revenue'' use are usually worth less when fiscally used.

== Tampering ==
Some people have attempted to remove pen cancels from used stamps in order to make them appear as more valuable [[mint stamp]]s.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/19990902203425/http://www.stamp-one.com/gallery/hopkins/1847pen.htm 1847 Issue with Pen Cancel.]
*[http://www.postmarks.org/covers/pen_canx.htm A Pen Cancel used by a postal employee to "kill" the stamps.]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Philatelic terminology]]