POST OFFICE IN PARADISE - Registration Postal Markings

This page last updated: 4 April 2012

::: Registration Postal Markings :::

HONOLULU POSTAL MARKINGS USED ON REGISTERED LETTERS

Usage dates on these marks must be considered tentative. Service marks used only (or primarily) on local or inter-island mail are addressed at Service Marks under Postal Markings. Please E-mail (scott312@earthlink.net) me with information about earlier or later usages.

Service Marks for Registered Letters

Straightline Marks

During the Convention Period and for the first few months of the UPU Period, Honolulu used a series of straightline REGISTERED marks. A boxed REGISTERED mark is known in the 1890's as a private mark. These straightline marks were missed in the Davey-Bash listing published in Meyer and Harris. All except the private Holdsworth mark are rare and probably their rarity will remain unchanged because the pool of registered letters recorded when these marks were used is small.

Reg. SL #1

July 31, 1876

Unlisted by MH, 47mm x 6mm
Usage period: June 25, 1872 to June 22, 1877; recorded on six covers
Rarity 1RRR

Reg. SL #2

February 25, 1875

Unlisted by MH, 41.5mm x 6mm
Usage period: February 25, 1875 to June 30, 1875; recorded on three covers.
Rarity 1RRRR

Reg. SL #3

December 2, 1879

Unlisted by MH, 51mm x 5mm
Usage period: March 4, 1879 to December 2, 1879; recorded on two covers.
Rarity 1RRRR

Reg. SL #4

March 29, 1881

Unlisted by MH, 42mm x 5mm
Usage period: October 22, 1881 to February 13, 1884; recorded on three covers.
Rarity 1RRRR

Reg. SL #5

September 8, 1893

Unlisted by MH; box: 55.5mm x 10.5mm; letters: 47.5mm x 5mm
believed to be a private mark used by E. W. Holdsworth on covers he prepared and sent to stamp dealers.
Usage period: 1893-1894

Koloa Registered Script Mark

The town of Koloa, Kauai, used a handstamp with the word “Registered” in script on one line and “No.” also in script, on the second line. The usage of this mark is recorded from 1897 to 1899.

May 10, 1899

Unlisted by MH
Registered/No.
Usage period: from Koloa, Kauai, 1897-1899
Color: magenta
Rarity 1RRR

Large "R" Marks

Soon after Henry Whitney became Postmaster General in 1883, he put into use the "R" marking. The last "R" marking, MH# 703, is quite scarce according to my record and may deserve a rarity rating instead of the scarcity rating I give it.

R #1

April 19, 1883

January 15, 1885

MH# 702, 19mm tall, red, With "No." beneath left foot of "R"
Usage period: November 22, 1882 to January 9, 1897. In later strikes, the "No." appears more as a square.
Scarcity 4

R #2

September 4, 1893

February 1, 1899

MH# 701, 19mm tall, red, purple Without "No." beneath left foot of "R"; the "R" shows significant wear toward the end of its use.
Usage period: March 14, 1891 to May 20, 1899.
Scarcity: 4

R #3

May 9, 1900

MH# 703, solid color, red
Usage period: October 5, 1899 to June 2, 1900.
Scarcity 2

"A. R." Marks

"A. R." (avis de réception - or advice of receipt) marks were first required by the UPU in 1892 to indicate the sender paid for a receipt showing delivery. Of these marks, the first "A.R." marking, MH# 704, may be extremely rare. I have seen only two examples.

A. R. #1

October 12, 1892

MH# 704, 8mm high, purple
Usage period: September 19, 1892 to October 12, 1892
Rarity 1RRRR, three covers recorded

A. R. #2

August 14, 1893

MH# 705, 10mm high, red, purple
Usage period: December 14, 1892 to October 31, 1897.
Scarcity: 4

Circle Date Stamps

In 1883, Honolulu put into use its first circle date stamp used exclusively for registered letters. This postmark and subsequent postmarks used either exclusively or primarily for registered letters did not use the word "registered" but nonetheless are associated with registered letters use, except as noted.

April 19, 1883

MH# 273.01, 28mm, purple, red, blue
Usage period: April 19, 1883 to April 30, 1885 and August 30, 1893 to September 4, 1893, the late use on philatelic covers.
Scarcity 2

October 22, 1889

October 12, 1892

MH# 281.01, 30mm, red
Usage period: February 22, 1886 to July, 1894.
The letters are 3-4mm and the circles, starting from the innermost, measure 17, 28, and 30mm. Later strikes have clogged outer circles leaving the impression of a single outer line, sometimes mislabeled as 275.01.
Scarcity 5

May 20, 1885

From the manner of use I believe this postmark is a forgery; seen on a locally addressed 2¢ postal card, and a locally addressed 5¢ postal envelope. I have yet to see it on a registered cover or on any other standard usage.

Forgery #1 of MH# 281.01, 31mm, black, purple, red
Dates: May 20, 1885 to July 29, 1885.
The letters are 3mm and the circles, starting from the innermost, measure 18, 27 and 31mm. The words are oriented differently than in the genuine. For example, the first "N" of "HONOLULU points to the "A" of "HAWAII" in the forgery but points to the "II" in the genuine.

purple July 18, 1894	red __ 3. 1894
black July 18, 1894	black July 18, 1894

Forgery #2 of MH# 281.01, purple, black, red
Dates: July 12, 1894 to July 18, 1894.
Letters are narrower and shaped differently. Some stamps with this cancel still have original gum! Noted on overprinted high value stamps, as well as on low value overprinted stamps and stamps of the Republic Issue. No covers noted.

May 3, 1894

MH# 274.01, 29mm, red, black, purple
Usage period: August 16, 1893 to March, 1899.
This postmark is also noted in black as a receiving mark on inbound second class mail dated January 31, 1896.
Estimate 8

February 1, 1899

MH# 282.11, 33mm, red
Usage period: February 1, 1899 to March, 1900.
Scarcity 6

May 9, 1900

MH# 255.01, 29mm, red
Usage period: March, 1900 to June 13, 1900.
Scarcity 4
This postmark is also noted on parcel post package wrappers

MAINLAND REGISTRY MARKINGS

San Francisco used a variety of registered markings, many of which are found on Hawaiian mail. Tacoma, Washington also used registry marks on letters sent there. Examples of mainland marks are:

Mahoney 504	Mahoney 510

March 21, 1875	December 24, 1879

Mahoney 511	Mahoney 514

December 24, 1879	April 18, 1882

UL by Mahoney	Mahoney 517	Mahoney 517

April 28, 1883	January 22, 1885	May 8, 1885

Mahoney 527	Mahoney 523

June 8, 1889	November 1, 1889

Mahoney 530	Mahoney 534

October 19, 1892	August 22, 1893

Mahoney 539	Mahoney 542

October 9, 1895	February 8, 1899

UL by Mahoney	Tacoma, Washington

August 22, 1899	May 17, 1900

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Burt, Randall E., "Registered Mail From Hawaii, 1855-1900, Part I," Postal History Journal, Vol. 79, p. 30-52, June, 1988.

Graham, Richard B., " 'A.R.' handstamps request a return receipt," Linn's Stamp News, July 27, 1998, p. 18-19 and "Reader responses: A.R. markings on UPU mail," Linn's Stamp News, October 12, 1998, p. 60-61.

Mahoney, John M., San Francisco Postal Markings, 1847-1900, La Posta Monograph Series, Vol. 8, La Posta Publications, Lake Oswego, Oregon, 1992. San Francisco Post Office registry marks.

Meyer, Henry A., "The Registry Marks and Markings of Hawaii," Twenty-Sixth American Philatelic Congress, 1960, p. 29. Meyer's knowledge of this subject was good for his time, but information uncovered since his article was written shows some of his beliefs and assumptions were wrong, but it is still a useful source for the photographs and illustrations.

Richards, C.F., Additions to A Check List of the Stamps of Hawaii - And More, 1938, p. 6.

Searing, Richard, "The Beginning Of The 10¢ Fee Registration Period", The Chronicle, Vol. 36, No. 4, [124], p. 267-271, Nov., 1984. U.S. Registered Mail rates from 1855.

Back to Registered Letters.