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Auction: 21010 - The Philatelic Collectors' Series Sale - Conducted behind closed doors
Lot: 4357

Gibraltar
The Spanish Overland Mail
Regular arrangements were made, about 1749, for the English Mails to be carried through Spain although the service was suspended in times of war.
1759 (30 Oct.) entire letter to Edinburgh, indistinctly rated and showing a superb strike of the "Andalucia/Alta" h.s. applied at the San Roque Post Office, forwarded by land to La Coruna and then by ship to England, "de/5" Bishopmark on reverse. Very fine and the earliest known example sent through the San Roque Post Office

Note: The service of mail ships to La Coruna was re-established in 1759 due to the war between England and France, preventing transit through France. The "Andalucia/Alta" handstamp was originally attributed to Seville but it has now been proved that during the time that this handstamp was in use, 1759-80, Seville had five different handstamps, none of which had similar characteristics to this one. This handstamp can now be confirmed as being used at San Roque.

provenance:
Soler & Llach auction, February 1995
Spink auction, April 2010

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Estimate
£500 to £600

Starting price
£400