POST OFFICE IN PARADISE - San Francisco 26MM Double Circle Postmarks and Their Associated Cancels

This page last updated: 30 July 2000

::: San Francisco 26MM Double Circle Postmarks and Their Associated Cancels - September, 1861 to June, 1868 :::

From September, 1861 to late 1867, the primary postmarks used at the San Francisco office were the 26mm double circle styles. Several distinct varieties exist and specialists of these marks are uncertain about how many devices were used to produce them. Some of the devices were duplexes with attached cancelers. Other cancels are also associated with these postmarks but were separate.

Mahoney lumps all of the double circle date stamp postmarks into one type, number 79. Williams is a little better, breaking them down into several types but he fails to tell us how he differentiates them. Friend's article gives us a breakdown and detailed explanations of how to distinguish them. I wonder whether he has broken them down too far, giving us multiple types for the same device as it deteriorated with wear. Nonetheless, Friend's types give us a better reference than the others and is adopted for this page.

Friend noted two major varieties. In one, his types A, B, C, D, E and F, the letters of "CAL" occupy 7mm. In the other, types G, K and M, the letters of "CAL" occupy 9mm. To dispel any notion about the certainty of the types used by Friend, he noted some date stamps are so messy they defy classification and some are "unidentified" types.

Cancels Associated With The Double Circle Postmarks:

Certain cancels are associated with the double circle date stamps. These cancels are

The eleven bar circular enclosed grid:

October 5, 1857

As the strike on a cover postmarked October 5, 1857 shows, use of this cancel preceded the double circle postmarks by nearly four years.

The cog:

Types I and II have 16 cogs and Type III has 14 cogs; I have trouble distinguishing Type I from Type II.


Type I (?) off cover	Type II July 30, 1863	Type II August 5, 1864	Type III January 3, 1867

The four ring target:

October 28, 1865

November 26, 1868

Some covers bear just a double circle postmark without a cancel mark. Stampless covers are most frequently in this category. However, most double circle date stamps are found with one of the three styles of cancel. At first, these cancels were stand-alone devices. To be more efficient, the San Francisco post office eventually attached the cancel stamp to the postmark device, creating a duplex device. Type F was a duplex device with the eleven bar enclosed grill attached. Type K was a duplex device with the type III cog attached. Type M was a duplex device with the four ring target attached. Sometimes a duplex device will appear otherwise because the mark was placed too close to the edge and the cancel failed to print.

26mm Black Double Circle Date Stamps:

October 10, 1861
Type A (var.), note the break in the outer circle above the "A" of "SAN," which is a variant of
Type A

Type A-1 image from Friend's tracing

Friend type A and type A-1
Usage: September 19, 1861 to October 10, 1861 for type A; and October 16, 1861 to December 5, 1861, for type A-1. Spacing of "CAL" is 7mm, no breaks in the outer circle but a spur in the outer circle above "SAN" distinguishes type A-1. In type A, the "O" points to the "A" of "SAN" and the "S" of "SAN" and "FRANCISCO" point to each other. The "I" points to the left of the "S" of "SAN" and the "F" points to the left of the "L." The letters are far from the outer circle.

November 28,
1861

April 10,
1862

July 30, 1863

Friend type B and B-1
Usage: November 2, 1861 to January 28, 1862 for type B and February 11, 1862 to October 13, 1864 for type B-1. 7mm spacing of "CAL." A wave in the outer circle above "CI" is seen in type B. A break in the outer circle above "NCI" distinguishes type B-1; a bend in the outer circle below the "O" is often seen on B-1 strikes. Type B-1 is the commonest of the double circle date stamps. In Type B and B-1, the "I" points to the middle of the space between the "S" and the "C" and the "F" points to the middle of the space between the "O" and "L." The letters are far from the rim

April 21, 1863

Friend type C
Usage: March 1, 1862 to August 29, 1863. "CAL" is 7mm. A bend is in the outer circle between the "O" and "L." My image is tough to work out and may be a variant of A. I wonder whether types C, D and E are all variants of type A, based on the orientation of the "I" and "F."

Friend type D
Usage: May 19, 1862 to October 28, 1863. "CAL" is 7mm. A bend is in the outer circle above the "S" and another is above the "CO." Image is taken from Friend's tracing.

March 13, 1863

Friend type E
Usage: July 5, 1862 to October 27, 1863.
"CAL" is 7mm. A small break is in the outer circle just below the "O."

Friend type F, and the sub-types of F, are always found with the 11 bar enclosed grill. Usage: November 1, 1862 to February 17, 1863. Attached grill is 7mm from outer circle. Image is taken from Friend's tracing. I have yet to see mail from Hawaii with this duplex. Thus, I have no examples of the Type F varieties.

Friend type F-1
Usage: June 13, 1863 to October 28, 1863. Break in outer circle just below "O." Image is taken from Friend's tracing.

Friend type F-2
Usage: May 10, 1864 to August 10, 1864. Break in outer circle below "CA" and just below "O." Image is taken from Friend's tracing.

Friend type F-3
Usage: August 16, 1864 to October 13, 1864. Breaks in outer circle below and to right of "CAL." Image is taken from Friend's tracing.

Friend type F-4
Usage: November 17, 1864 to February 5, 1866. Breaks in outer circle below and to right of "CAL" and above "SA." Image is taken from Friend's tracing.

July 9, 1864

August 5, 1864

Friend type G
Usage: January 4, 1864 to August 5, 1864. Spacing of "CAL" is 9mm; no breaks in outer circle.

Friend type G-1
Usage: December 8, 1864 to November 12, 1865. Break in outer circle below "CAL." Image is from Friend's tracing

Friend type K
Usage: November 17, 1863 to August 6, 1864. Type K and its sub-types always appear with the cog cancel style III, 7mm from outer circle. Spacing of "CAL" is 9mm. Letters seem closer to the outer rim. Image is taken from Friend's tracing.

Friend type K-1
Usage: May 19, 1864 to May 23, 1864. Like type K, but year date inverted. Image is taken from Friend's tracing.

December 8, 1864

Friend type K-2
Usage: August 24, 1864 to February 22, 1865. Break in outer circle below "CA".

December 5, 1866

January 3, 1867

Friend type K-3
Usage: March 23, 1865 to January 30, 1867. Bend in outer circle above "SAN" plus break below "CA".

May 6, 1867

Friend type K-4
Usage: March 13, 1867 to June 6, 1868. Break in outer circle above "SAN" plus bend above "F" and break below "CA".

September 18, 1866

Friend type M
Usage: November 16, 1863 to October 13, 1864. Type M and its sub-types always appear with a four ring target cancel, 5mm to right of outer circle. 9mm spacing of "CAL". Letters seem closer to the outer rim. There is a wave in the outer rim by the "S" of "SAN" and a bend above "CO."

Friend type M-1
Usage: October 27, 1864 to November 19, 1866. A break in the outer rim appears below the "S" of "SAN." Image is taken from Friend's tracing.

October 28, 1865

Friend type M-2
Usage: October 28, 1865 to October 10, 1867. In type M-2, the target is on the same imaginary plane line as the date stamp. Breaks appear in the outer rim below "CAL." In the other types of duplex devices, the cancel may be anywhere around the date stamp.

Please send me an E-mail (scott312@earthlink.net) with information about your views on the varieties of double circles, particularly those I have not yet identified on Hawaiian mail.

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