Used

A used stamp is one that has done its job: it paid for postage and was then cancelled by the post office to prevent reuse. Used stamps normally show a postmark or other cancelling mark and have usually lost their gum when soaked off the envelope.

Kinds of Used Stamp

• Postally used — the stamp genuinely carried mail. This is the standard collectors prefer.
• Favour cancelled — cancelled at a post office counter at a collector’s request, without carrying mail.
• Cancelled to order (CTO) — cancelled in bulk by postal authorities for sale to collectors.
• Fiscally used — some stamps valid for both postal and revenue purposes were used to pay taxes or fees. Fiscal cancels (often pen marks or company handstamps) typically make such stamps worth less than postally used copies.

Quality of Cancellation

Used stamp value depends heavily on the cancellation:

• Light, clean cancels that leave the design readable are preferred. The British term fine used (FU) describes such stamps.
• Circular date stamps (CDS), especially when well struck and showing a clear date and town, are prized on classic stamps.
• Heavy or smudged cancels that obscure the design reduce value.
• Unusual or scarce cancels — rare town names, ship marks, colours — can add value.

Used on Cover or Off Paper

Used stamps can be collected off paper (soaked and cleaned), on piece (still attached to part of the envelope), or on cover (on the complete envelope). On-cover examples show how the stamp was used and are the most informative for postal history.

Used Versus Mint Value

Used and mint values are listed separately in catalogues. For modern stamps, high-value used copies can be scarce because few were needed for ordinary mail. Collectors of used stamps often find kiloware a rich and inexpensive source of material.