{ "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-10-21T19:11:20Z", "providers": [ "Claude" ], "breadth": "researched by Claude against the sources listed below", "pass": 2, "wave": 5, "engine": "claude", "gate": { "passed": true, "version": "1.0", "at": "2026-10-21T19:18:34+00:00", "evidence": [ "completeness 1.00", "sense: Wikidata description", "3 live sources", "review by codex: pass" ] } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q17098680", "registryId": "vr.tr.postal-marking", "name": "postal marking", "version": "0.2.0-wave.5", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "PHY.BLT" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q17098680/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.postal-marking", "name": "postal marking", "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.", "definition": "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.", "what_it_is_for": "Recording when and where mail was handled, cancelling postage so it cannot be reused, and instructing handling.", "affordances": [ "classify a marking by type", "read date and place from a postmark", "explain instructional markings", "describe markings of interest in postal history" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "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." ], "appearance": "Inked handstamps or machine impressions, often circular date stamps or wavy lines, plus printed codes and labels on modern mail.", "visual_identification": [ "Circular date stamp with place and date", "Wavy or slogan cancellation lines over the stamp", "Printed barcodes and labels on modern items" ], "physical_properties": [ { "quantity": "marking dimensions and ink", "typical_range": "item-specific", "unit": "mm; colour", "note": "record size, ink colour, medium and impression condition where relevant" } ], "families_and_kinds": [ "postmark", "cancellation", "arrival backstamp", "instructional marking (return to sender, insufficient postage)", "slogan cancellation", "manuscript postal annotation", "labels and barcodes applied by the postal service" ], "related_models": [ { "relation": "is applied to", "target": "mail item", "why": "letters and parcels" }, { "relation": "cancels", "target": "postage stamp", "why": "prevents reuse" }, { "relation": "is confused with", "target": "postage meter imprint", "why": "postage paid, applied by the sender" }, { "relation": "is studied by", "target": "postal history", "why": "philatelic field" } ], "identifiers": [ { "scheme": "UPU S10 item identifier carried by a label", "value_or_pattern": "2 letters service indicator + 8-digit serial + check digit + 2-letter country code", "note": "identifies the item, not the marking; the suffix names the issuing operator's country" } ], "standards_and_regulation": [ "Universal Postal Union Convention and Regulations", "UPU standard S10 identifiers for postal items" ], "failure_modes_and_hazards": [ "Illegible or missing date stamps", "Faked postmarks on philatelic items" ], "agent_conduct": { "may": [ "read and classify markings", "explain postal history" ], "must_not": [ "help forge postmarks or reuse postage", "track items without the sender's or recipient's details lawfully provided" ], "requires_human": [ "authentication of valuable philatelic items by an expert" ] }, "ethics": { "considerations": [ "privacy of correspondence", "honesty in philatelic trade" ], "affected_parties": [ "senders and recipients", "collectors" ] }, "owners": { "steward": "the postal operator that applies the marking", "master_systems": [ "postal operators' tracking systems" ] }, "facets_not_applicable": {}, "in_scope": [], "out_of_scope": [], "characteristics": [] }, "sources": [ { "id": "SRC-001", "title": "Q17098680", "publisher": "Wikidata", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17098680", "what_it_supports": "identity of the registry item, labels and sitelinks", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "SRC-002", "title": "Marking Devices", "publisher": "Smithsonian National Postal Museum", "url": "https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-postal-operations-mail-processing/marking-devices", "what_it_supports": "postal marking devices", "url_status": "blocked" }, { "id": "SRC-003", "title": "Collecting Postmarks", "publisher": "Smithsonian National Postal Museum", "url": "https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/hunting-for-wiesenthals/collecting-postmarks", "what_it_supports": "postmarks", "url_status": "blocked" }, { "id": "SRC-004", "title": "Identification of postal items - 13-character identifier (S10)", "publisher": "Universal Postal Union", "url": "https://www.upu.int/UPU/media/upu/files/postalSolutions/programmesAndServices/standards/S10-12.pdf", "what_it_supports": "S10 identifiers", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "SRC-005", "title": "Postmark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmark", "what_it_supports": "general description", "url_status": "live" } ], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "marking-type", "name": "Marking type", "description": "What the mark is.", "rationale": "Type decides what it tells.", "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.", "rationale": "Date and place are the key data.", "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.", "rationale": "Markings record the item's journey.", "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.", "rationale": "Collectors and historians study them.", "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" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "The registry places postal markings under built environment; information domain may fit better." ], "statistics": { "bundles": 4, "layers": 8, "findings": 8, "questions": 16 } }