In philately a fiscal cancel – symbol Michel (2007) Übersee-Katalog. Band 1/1 Nordamerika 2007/2008. Unterschleissheim Schwaneberger, p. 18. – is a cancellation on a stamp that indicates that the stamp has been used for fiscal (taxation) purposes.
The stamp may either be a revenue stamp, intended purely for fiscal use, or it may be a dual-purpose stamp valid for either postal or fiscal use.
Varieties Fiscal cancels take a variety of forms: Pen cancels with a simple cross, initials or other markings. Perfin or punched hole cancels. Embossing. Damaging the surface of the stamp using a serrated or ridged roller. Multiple parallel cuts.From around 1900, United States revenue stamps were required to be mutilated by cutting, after being affixed to documents, and in addition to being cancelled in ink. A class of office equipment was created to achieve this which became known as "stamp mutilators". Revenue Stamp Mutilators. Early Office Museum, 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012. United States Patent for a "Stamp Mutilator", 1900. No. 653366. Handstamp cancels similar to the postmark on a stamp and which may be in purple or red ink rather than the black favoured for cancels of postage stamps. Tearing or other physical damage to the stamp. Examples:
Values Postage stamps valid for either fiscal or postal purposes are often worth less when fiscally used than when postally used. They are not, however, necessarily more common fiscally used than postally used.
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