Lot 24
12¢ Black, diagonal half used as 6¢ (17a), bottom right half, ample to large margins, well tied by bold "New-York 12 cts Ship Oct 10" c.d.s. on ca. 1853 cover to Boston, Mass., red "VIA NICARAGUA/AHEAD OF THE MAILS", treated as unpaid by the New York office, the rate was 10¢ postage + 2¢ Ship Fee, even though this was mailed during a period when the supply of 3¢ stamps had been exhausted in San Francisco and the use of bisected 12¢ accepted by the postmaster, and usually tolerated back east; perhaps the Vanderbilt boast in the handstamp rubbed a New York clerk the wrong way; Extremely Fine and rare, Illustrated in Letters of Gold, p. 112.
Estimate 5,000 - 7,500
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| Realized $7,500 |
