Barred Circle Postmarks of Canada on the 1898 Canadian 2¢ Imperial Penny Postage Issue (The ‘Map Stamp’):
A Cover Census (1.8 MB)
Rick Friesen

This is a census of Map Stamp covers with Barred Circle postmarks, often referred to as precursors of Squared Circle postmarks. The hammers, introduced in 1892, were issued to nine towns in Canada (Halifax, Hamilton, London, Montreal, Ottawa, St. John, Seaforth, Toronto, and Winnipeg) and St. John’s, Newfoundland. The census currently documents 72 covers with Montreal strikes and one with a St. John’s, Newfoundland, strike.

► NEW 2025-10-13 ◄
Census of Squared Circle Postmarks of Canada on the 1898 Canadian 2¢ Imperial Penny Postage Issue (The ‘Map Stamp’)
2nd edition, 2025
Rick Friesen

This publication provides a census of Squared Circle postmarks on the Canadian 2¢ Imperial Penny Postage Issue of 1898, the “Map stamp”, including strikes on off-cover Map stamps as well as covers franked with the Map stamp. This second edition of the census was published in 2025. The first edition consisted of separate publications for on-cover and off-cover Map stamps. The two publications were posted on the BNAPS website in 2020.

For off-cover Map stamps, the census lists strikes from 197 different hammers. For 88 of them, there are less than ten off-cover Map stamp strikes. For on-cover Map stamps, the census lists 1,272 covers (113 more than in the 2020 census) from 164 hammers.

Squared Circle Postmarks in the Admiral Period 1912-1927 (1.3 MB)
Gary Arnold

Discusses the squared circle postmarks found on Admiral stamps between 1912 and 1927. Lists all the post offices that used a squared circle canceller during this period, the hammer's period of use, and the rarity factor for each post office. Gives details about, and illustrates, postmarks from the scarcest towns.

This presentation is an update of a seminar given to the Squared Circle Study Group during BNAPS 2025 Virtual on 1 March. A video of the seminar is available on the Study Group's Videos web page.