In 2014, the stamp immediately below was posted to this site. Frank Sente's unusual copy of a Scott R162 with what appears to be both horizontal and vertical printing by a firm or individual with the initials C. E. C. has remained a mystery. We speculated that its origins might come from the Charles E. Cornell company, which had a similar appearing initial and date cancel, that was otherwise known only on proprietary battleships, though that association has always seemed a bit dubious.
A few days ago I was examining stamps in my possession and found a second R162 with identical markings.
Frank's Stamp:
Horizontal cancel:
C. E. C.
AUG 6 1900
Vertical cancel:
partial fine print at top right
The new find:
The registration of the printing on the second stamp is a bit lower and shifted slightly left on the stamp, revealing a bit more of the original printing or cancel. The last word in the vertically printed letters ends in "nce", and is consistent with the word insurance, which would be a high probability on the 1/2 cent battleships since the 1/2 cent battleships were primarily used to pay taxes on insurance policies.
While there is still no clear answer for the firm cancelling this stamp, we do have more information, with more letters available to read and evidence that the firm was canceling or using these stamps on August 6, 1900, for more than just one transaction.
The chance that the C. E. C. might be printed remains, though the vertical portion was clearly added after the stamp was placed on a document.
If you have a half cent grey or other battleship stamp with similar markings, please let me know at 1898revenues@gmail.com.
