Perfin

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Postal stationery envelope used from London to Düsseldorf in 1900, with additional postage stamp perfinned "C & S" identifying the user as "Churchill & Sim" per the seal on the reverse shown on inset
Postal stationery envelope used from London to Düsseldorf in 1900, with additional postage stamp perfinned "C & S" identifying the user as "Churchill & Sim" per the seal on the reverse shown on inset

A perfin (a contraction of 'PERForated INitials'), also called SPIFS (a contraction of 'Stamps Perforated by Initials of Firms and Societies'), is a pattern of tiny holes punched through a postage stamp. Organizations used perforating machines to make perforations forming letters or designs in postage stamps they purchased, often in bulk, with the purpose of discouraging pilferage. The size and number of perfin holes, and sometimes the design permitted, is usually regulated by law or postal regulation in the relevant country.

Great Britain was the first country to use perfins in 1868. They are still used there and in a few other countries, although their use has declined dramatically since the introduction of franking machines. In Britain unused postage stamps could be redeemed for cash at the post office but a perforated stamp had obviously been stolen so the use of perfins gave organisations better security over their postage before franking machines became popular.

Canadian 1955 definitive issue with CPR perfin (Canadian Pacific Railway).
Canadian 1955 definitive issue with CPR perfin (Canadian Pacific Railway).

Contents

[edit] Officially prepared perfins

A number of countries perforated stamps as a means to denote official mail. For example in 1906 the Cape of Good Hope Government Printing and Stationery Department adopted a system of perforating in connection with the stamps used by their Department for Foreign Mail matter. The stamps[1] were perforated by a machine, consisting of eleven round holes, in the form of two triangles, having their common apexes meeting in the hole at the centre of the stamp.

The following countries are known to have punctured stamps for general use by all government agencies and offices: Australia [2] [3] [4] [5] and each of the Australian States (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia)[3], Canada [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12], Luxembourg [13], Anglo-Egyptian Sudan [14], and Switzerland [15] [16].

[edit] Collecting perfins

Formerly considered damaged and not worth collecting, perforated postage stamps are now highly sought by specialist stamp collectors. It is often difficult to identify the originating uses of individual perfins because there are usually no identifying features, e.g., Kodak used a simple K as their perfin, but on its own a stamp perforated K could have been used by several other users. A K perfin still affixed to a cover that has some company identifying feature, like the company name, address, or even a postmark or cancellation of a known town where the company had offices, enhances such a perfin.

[edit] Perfinned postal orders

British postal orders were perfinned by special machines as part of paying out on bets in the football pools. These postal orders turn up from time to time, but they are very sought after by postal order collectors.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Cape Postal History
  2. ^ Sanabria’s Air Post Catalogue (1954-55 ed.). New York: Nicolas Sanabria Co., Inc., p. 23.
  3. ^ a b Meara, J. P., (n.d. (March 1981)). The Commonwealth Specialists’ Catalogue (41st ed.). Dubbo, N.S.W.: Seven Seas Stamps Pty. Ltd., p. 6. ISBN 0-7256-0234-1
  4. ^ Higgs, John, ed. (July 1996). The Australasian Stamp Catalogue (27th ed.). Brookvale, N.S.W.: Seven Seas Stamps Pty Ltd. ISSN 0155-8498
  5. ^ Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue. Part I. British Commonwealth 1997 (99th ed.), Vol. 1. Ringwood, Hants.: Stanley Gibbons Ltd., sect. Australia. ISBN 0-85259-409-7
  6. ^ Sanabria’s Air Post Catalogue (1954-55 ed.). New York: Nicolas Sanabria Co., Inc., p. 57.
  7. ^ Wrigley, Roy (1975). Wrigley’s Textbook & Guide to the Canadian Official Stamps. Brantford, ON: Canadian Wholesale Supply.
  8. ^ Wrigley, Roy and Brian Moir (n.d. (1982??)). The Catalogue & Guidebook of Canadian Official Stamps (10th ed.). Vancouver, BC: J & M Publishing Co. Ltd.
  9. ^ Jephcott, C. M., ed.-in-chief (1967, reprinted 1979). Canadian Stamps with Perforated Initials (3rd ed.). Handbook no. 8, The British North American Philatelic Society.
  10. ^ Bileski, K(asimir) (1969). The Canada Basic Catalogue (4th ed.). Winipeg: K. Bileski Ltd.
  11. ^ Beaudet, Leopold et al. (1999). UNITRADE Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps 2000. Toronto: The UNITRADE Press. ISBN 1-895909-79-1
  12. ^ Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue. Part I. British Commonwealth 1997 (99th ed.), Vol. 1. Ringwood, Hants.: Stanley Gibbons Ltd., sect. Canada. ISBN 0-85259-409-7
  13. ^ (1986). PRIFIX. catalogue spécialisé illustré des timbres-poste du Luxembourg avec les cotations des timbres Europa. No publication location (printed in Luxembourg): la banque du timbre.
  14. ^ Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue. Part I. British Commonwealth 1997 (99th ed.), Vol. 2. Ringwood, Hants.: Stanley Gibbons Ltd., sect. Sudan. ISBN 0-85259-411-9
  15. ^ Katalog Schweiz/Liechtenstein und Campione 1979. Bern: Zumstein & Cie.
  16. ^ Schweizer Briefmarken Katalog 2000 (69th ed.). Bern: Multipress Verlag AG. ISBN 3-9520837-7-1

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