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Postmarks are our most reliable and accessible clue to the date of use
for a postcard. Unfortunately, they are not always legible. In other cases,
only the last two years are included, and the date-number may be mistaken for
some other number, such as the day of the month. It is often helpful to look at
the postmark with a magnifying glass. Here are a few examples of
typical postmarks:
 | This English postmark is
mostly missing because the stamp has been removed, but we can still see it dates
from 1922. |
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This postcard has two postmarks, the first is mostly
illegible because it is too light, though we can see clearly the year 1913, and
below the month "Jan" -- the other postmark from Decatur Illinois gives us
specific info, 4 PM Jan 17, 1913. The inscription shows the card was written around
noon the preceding day. |
| This is the kind of postmark for which a magnifying glass comes in handy.
The portion printed on the stamp is very light, somewhat smudged at top, and very
hard to read, but close examination shows the 9 is from the time of day, and below
that the year is 1914. The day and month can not be made out, nor the town of mailing,
though we know it begins with "Cl" and the state is Nebraska. |  |
| Another English postmark, this is typical of
the format used there in the early 1900s. The name of the town was listed in a curve at
top, though in this sample only the last letters "DE" are visible. Below that is the time.
This appears to be 1:21 AM (did they work all night?) The month is given as a two letter
abbreviation, here "NO" for November, the day was the 12th, and only the last two digits
of the year are listed, "05" for 1905. |
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| This is the ideal postmark, clearly legible -- Park Rapids, Minn., Jul 20,
3:30 PM, 1931. | |
Postcards, especially used ones, often have a date written on them (along
with the message) by the sender. This date is usually accurate as the use date,
though being hand-written it is subject to counterfeiting (added or changed by
unscrupulous persons to enhance the value of the card) and error -- for example,
in January many people write the preceding year by mistake.
Some cards have a date written on them, but nothing else, the date from an
unknown source -- those dates must be considered suspect unless they can be
independently confirmed.
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