In the world of cancel collecting, frequently the stamp that the cancel is on doesn’t factor into the overall scarcity or value. Take the R22c below. On its face, nothing that exceptional about the stamp itself, other than being a nice green shade of the fugitive violet ink.

In this case, the cancel makes ALL the difference in the world. The stamp itself catalogs for $7.50. When the stamp appeared on eBay earlier this week with a $90.00 Buy-It-Now, I couldn’t hit the button fast enough.

This is another proprietary fancy cancel that is as scarce as hen’s teeth. I’ve been looking for one for over 3 years. Richard has been trying to sell me one for about 2 years now from the Morrisey collection… that is badly damaged on one side… at a firm price of $275. Now you see why this one is a comparative bargain.

It’s not only the price that made this an exceptional find, but also the condition. Believe it or not, this stamp is finer than any examples that I have ever seen pictures of. It absolutely blows away the example from the Morton Dean Joyce collection auction in 1991.

If this had shown up with a Buy-It-Now of $400, I probably would have paid it… although I would have thought long and hard about it.

The cancel is attributed to “Poland’s White Pine Compound” sold by Dr. G. W. Swett of Boston Mass. I’ve never seen or heard of one actually on bottle or document though in order to verify this.