Schermack Type III Perfins

One section of a chart of Schermack Type III perforations with private control marks, intended for use in Schermack mailing and vending machines. Sheets of stamps were cut into strips, pasted together in rolls, and perforated with the Schermack Type III “hyphen-hole” perforation. The control marks punched into the stamps denoted the company by which they were used. The use of perfins, as they are called, was intended to reduce postage theft in mailrooms. The machines and perforations were invented by my 2x great-uncle, Joseph J. Schermack, Jr.. #familyhistory #detroit #detroithistory #schermackcompanies #schermackgenealogy #stampvendingmachine #stampcollection #stampcollector #genealogy #falknerjarrell #vending #vendingmachines #schermack #josephjschermack #familyphotos #ancestry #history #knowyouroots #antiquephotograph #family #vintagephotography #oldphotos #patent #inventor #inventions #postalhistory #perfin #stampperforations #perfins #stamphistory