Q93 September, 2011   member 628   Suez Canal cancels I hope members might be able to help me with information about the attached Suez Canal cancellations. The single scan was cancelled with little blue lozenges ... not those of Ismailia (dots), nor those of Suez (circular and the lozenges were bigger). So where has it come from? The other two stamps are both cancelled “Direction Générale des Travaux” in a double-ring outer circle, with “Canal de Suez” in the centre. I have the usual references, including Boulad d’Humières, Ringstrom & Tester’s Ship Letters of the World, and no postal marking of this type is known, but may I ask a question: Could it be that the company created this canceller only for internal postage or another purpose?

Reply member 266 Page 247 of Ship Letters illustrates dozens of forged postmarks. “More are known, but not shown due to lack of complete strikes”. It seems that these stamps fall into that category, the one with diamond dots for sure. The stamps were used for less than six weeks. Those sold, but not used, were demonetised. The rest were given to VIPs or to the postmaster, who had lost his job, as part compensation. Many thousands left over he sold to Paris dealers which almost immediately went on to the philatelic market. Consequently used copies are infinitely more valuable than mint. None were retained for the Company's use. The cachet on the other two stamps is well made, but if not an outright forgery, it is at best a fabrication (i.e. never postally or fiscally used) and is quite similar to Forgery 22 (p.247). Even if it was a genuine company cachet, there is no date and no reason for such use, and it could have been applied 50 years later.