Canal Zone
Panama Canal Map Cancellation
on 6 Cent Map Airmail Stamp
Cover with Panama Canal Map Cancellation on 6 Cent Map Airmail Stamp
The ten mile wide strip of land around the Panama Canal was a U.S. Government reservation leased from Panama for $10 000 000 and a yearly rental from 1904 until 1979. From 1979 to 1999 it was under joint jurisdiction with Panama administering postal services. In 1999 it reverted to Panamanian control.
The cover above, postmarked March 8 (?), 1954 is franked with the six cent "Globe and Wing" air post definitive issued on July 16, 1951. The cancellation shows "The Panama Canal Shortens Sea Routes" from the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Close-up of Cancellation Showing the Map of the Route from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Bibliography
"Canal Zone." 
