Scott numbers have been used for the stamps unless otherwise indicated. Both single stamps and pieces bearing nice cancellations and complete covers / cards bearing nice cancellations (including transit and receiver postmarks when relevant) have been included in this "cancellation" listing. In the case of cancellations on individual stamps, the quality / centering of the stamp is stated separately from the quality / centering of the cancellation. In a postmark / cancellation context, the quality / centering of the cancellation is usually the dominant driver of the value. All of these items and many thousands more are available for viewing on approval. Please request approvals; due to lack of time, the vast majority of my Finnish cancellations and covers stock will never make it to the website or price lists.
Many cancellations will be listed (copied) by multiple methods of organization: By Town and/or By Type (for many, but not all types) and/or By Service (railway, ship, etc.). The By Type organization (web pages) has only been created for cancellation types that either older and/or typically exist for fewer towns and/or are particularly popular types. Thus some of bridge-style types and all the later single-ring types are usually only listed By Town. (I am willing to consider expanding the By Type organization if clients express serious interest in having such.) Finnish stamps used in Åland may be listed here in some cases, but the best places to look for those are in the completely separate listings of Åland covers and cancellations.
Cancellations starting with the letter "Å", "Ä" and "Ö" are at the end of the A-Z alphabet. Many Finnish cancellations, particularly on the western side of the country where Swedish is the dominant language, have both Finnish-language and Swedish-language spellings. When a cancellation includes both spellings, both will have been copied to their respective alphabetical order in this listing. However, Russian-language spellings have not been copied into this listing (look for those by the Finnish spelling). Additionally, some town name spellings have changed over time. For the purpose of this cancellation listing, the spelling actually in the cancellation has been used, thus if you are looking for a particular town, look in the appropriate multiple places each possible spelling might be located in the alphabet.
There is no single reference book for Finnish cancellations. In fact, for certain types of cancellations, there may be no published reference books at all. However, there is a book that lists all post office names, as well as several books that either list cancellations by type or, in certain cases, by region (Arctic, Lost Territories, Åland). Most of these books are long out of print, but I do sometimes have them available for sale. Please inquire regarding your specific interests. |
Finnish numeral postmarks starting around the 1890s and running into the 1970s or 1980s were used by rural mail carriers. Though a few other styles exist, the postmarks are typically circular, with a boxed numeral in the center, the box usually surrounded by a background of diagonal lines. While the numeral postmarks were sometimes struck on the stamps as a cancellation (usually when mailing and delivery were on the same rural route), the postmarks were more often struck to one side and the stamp then canceled by a dated postmark when the item reached an actual post office. While usually in black, some exist in colors. The numbers run from the single digits at least up into the high 3000s if not beyond. They are generally scarce -- often much scarcer than the prices would suggest. I am not aware of a complete catalog or even locations/routes listing for these cancellations (please let me know if there is one). However, those that were used in the Lost Territories (Karelia, Petsamo, and Salla) are listed in the book "Postal History of Finnish Areas Ceded to USSR (Lost Territories)" by Helkiö, 1980 ("Luovutetun Karjalan, Petsamon, Ja Sallan Postihistoriaa"). Though long out of print, I fairly often have this book available. Please inquire.
Though I may only show a few, or none, on the website, I usually have a large selection of such covers available for viewing on approval. Please inquire. |