{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.postal-marking","code":"thing-q17098680","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q17098680/","name":"postal marking","alternateNames":["arrival stamp"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.5","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Any mark, stamp or annotation that a postal service applies to a mail item, such as a postmark with date and place, a cancellation of the stamp, an arrival backstamp or an instruction such as return to sender.","purpose":"Let an agent read and classify postal markings on mail and covers, for tracking questions and for postal history, and point to postal operators for current services.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Applied by the postal service, not by the sender.","A cancellation defaces postage; a postmark records date and place; one mark can do both.","Differs from a postage stamp, which pays for the service."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"marking-type","name":"Marking type","description":"What the mark is.","layers":[{"id":"classification","name":"Classification","description":"Postmark, cancellation, instruction.","findings":[{"id":"type","name":"Type","description":"Kind and function.","questions":[{"text":"What kind of marking is this?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What was it for?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"method","name":"Method","description":"Handstamp, machine, printed.","findings":[{"id":"application-method","name":"Application method","description":"Handstamp, machine, printer or manuscript.","questions":[{"text":"Was it applied by hand, machine or printer?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which machine type?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"content","name":"Content","description":"What it says.","layers":[{"id":"date-and-place","name":"Date and place","description":"Office and time.","findings":[{"id":"date-and-office","name":"Date and office","description":"Date, time and office, and which event the date records.","questions":[{"text":"Which date, time and office does it show?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Is any part illegible?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"codes","name":"Codes","description":"Barcodes and identifiers.","findings":[{"id":"item-codes","name":"Item codes","description":"Tracking and sorting codes.","questions":[{"text":"Which identifiers appear on the item?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which standard do they follow?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"handling","name":"Handling","description":"Route and instructions.","layers":[{"id":"route","name":"Route","description":"Transit and arrival marks.","findings":[{"id":"route-record","name":"Route record","description":"Sequence of offices.","questions":[{"text":"Which offices handled the item?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How long did it take?","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"instructions","name":"Instructions","description":"Returns and charges.","findings":[{"id":"instruction","name":"Instruction","description":"Return, redirect or charge.","questions":[{"text":"What instruction does the mark give?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Why was it applied?","kind":"definition"}]}]}]},{"id":"postal-history","name":"Postal history","description":"Markings as historical evidence.","layers":[{"id":"rarity-and-value","name":"Rarity and value","description":"Collectable markings.","findings":[{"id":"collectability","name":"Collectability","description":"Rarity and catalogues.","questions":[{"text":"Is the marking recorded in a specialised catalogue?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How rare is it?","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"authenticity","name":"Authenticity","description":"Genuine or faked.","findings":[{"id":"authenticity","name":"Authenticity","description":"Expert opinion.","questions":[{"text":"Has an expert certified it?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What signs of faking exist?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["read and classify markings","explain postal history"],"mustNot":["help forge postmarks or reuse postage","track items without the sender's or recipient's details lawfully provided"],"requiresHuman":["authentication of valuable philatelic items by an expert"]},"ethics":{"considerations":["privacy of correspondence","honesty in philatelic trade"],"affectedParties":["senders and recipients","collectors"]},"owners":{"steward":"the postal operator that applies the marking","roles":[],"masterSystems":["postal operators' tracking systems"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q13580385","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"mail item","type":"related","note":"letters and parcels"},{"target":"postage stamp","type":"related","note":"prevents reuse"},{"target":"postage meter imprint","type":"related","note":"postage paid, applied by the sender"},{"target":"postal history","type":"related","note":"philatelic field"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.postal-marking","Wikidata: Q17098680 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17098680)","UPU S10 item identifier carried by a label: 2 letters service indicator + 8-digit serial + check digit + 2-letter country code identifies the item, not the marking; the suffix names the issuing operator's country"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["marking dimensions and ink: item-specific mm; colour - record size, ink colour, medium and impression condition where relevant"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Circular date stamp with place and date","Wavy or slogan cancellation lines over the stamp","Printed barcodes and labels on modern items","Inked handstamps or machine impressions, often circular date stamps or wavy lines, plus printed codes and labels on modern mail."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["classify a marking by type","read date and place from a postmark","explain instructional markings","describe markings of interest in postal history"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Illegible or missing date stamps","Faked postmarks on philatelic items"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Universal Postal Union Convention and Regulations","UPU standard S10 identifiers for postal items"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Recording when and where mail was handled, cancelling postage so it cannot be reused, and instructing handling.","postmark","cancellation","arrival backstamp","instructional marking (return to sender, insufficient postage)","slogan cancellation","manuscript postal annotation","labels and barcodes applied by the postal service"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Q17098680","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17098680","note":"identity of the registry item, labels and sitelinks"},{"title":"Marking Devices","url":"https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-postal-operations-mail-processing/marking-devices","note":"postal marking devices"},{"title":"Collecting Postmarks","url":"https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/hunting-for-wiesenthals/collecting-postmarks","note":"postmarks"},{"title":"Identification of postal items - 13-character identifier (S10)","url":"https://www.upu.int/UPU/media/upu/files/postalSolutions/programmesAndServices/standards/S10-12.pdf","note":"S10 identifiers"},{"title":"Postmark","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmark","note":"general description"}],"openQuestions":["The registry places postal markings under built environment; information domain may fit better."],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q17098680/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q17098680/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-10-21T19:11:20Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-21T19:18:34+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 3 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}