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Auction: 177 - The Philatelic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 165

Canada
1852-7, 3d red bisected for use as 1&1/2d,

used in conjunction with 3d orange-red horizontal pair, tied to cover by target cancels, postmarked with Montreal double split-ring (FE 26), to Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England, endorsed ""Per Stmr Anglo Saxon"", handstamped BY-CANADIAN / PACKET and PKT. LETTER / PAID / LIVERPOOL tombstone (MR 13), double split-ring arrival backstamp (MR 14), minor edge faults and some light overall soiling, trivial given the rarity and desirability of this impressive franking; with 2021 Greene Foundation certificate. (Unitrade 4, 4ii)

THE LATEST KNOWN EXAMPLE OF THIS RARE FRANKING; A NEWLY-RECORDED COVER, ONE OF ONLY FOUR REPORTED.

AN IMPORTANT ADDITION TO A POSTAL HISTORY COLLECTION OF CANADIAN PENCE ISSUES.

In 1855, the Montreal Ocean Steam Ship Co. – known as the “Allan Line” - secured a ten-year mail contract for the Quebec to Liverpool route, and a rate of 7&1/2d (cy) (or 6d stg) for a 1/2oz letter was set. However, no exact manner of paying the rate was possible, with only Canadian stamps of 3d, 6d, and 12d being available; a 7&1/2d stamp was issued only in June, 1857.

According to “Canada’s Pence Era: The Pence Stamps and the Canadian Mail 1851-1859” by Arfken et. al, three covers are recorded paying the 7&1/2d rate using three 3d Beavers with one bisected. These were all carried from Montreal, and dated between JY 17 and SP 12 1856. The example offered here, which is newly-recorded, was postmarked FE 27, and is both the latest recorded example and the only example recorded from 1857.

This cover has resided in a long-time family collection from Nottinghamshire; it is believed to have originated from a family member who served as an agent for the Great Northern Railway at Newark.
R>Cover


Sold for
$14,500

Starting price
$14000