Lot 194
1857 (Aug. 8) New Orleans La. to St. Julien, Sardinia, 3¢ red on buff envelope (U10) bearing 5¢ red brown (12) deep rich color, large margins on two sides with portion of adjacent stamp at left, touched or slightly cut in on other sides, 10¢ green, types I-III (13-15) vertical strip of three with enormous margins including left sheet margin and part of adjacent stamps at right, tied on cover by "New Orleans La. Aug 8 1857" circular datestamps, red "New-York Am. Pkt. Aug 15" exchange office backstamp and magenta "15" credit, red boxed "Aachen 29 8 Franco" handstamp and magenta "f 3¼" rating, red "Franca", "P.D.", and "Via Di Svizzera" handstamps, various backstamps including "S. Julien 4 Set 57" receiver, "f 3¼" crossed out in red crayon and rated "7"; trivial crease in bottom margin of strip, a Very Fine usage bearing a superb and remarkable 10¢ strip with three different types, the 38¢ Prussian Closed Mail rate per ½ ounce. Illustrated in Frajola and Mayer, p. 100, fig. 8-7.
Estimate 30,000 - 40,000
AN OUTSTANDING COVER, AND THE ONLY RECORDED 1856 5¢ USAGE TO SARDINIA THAT WAS PREPAID AND TRAVELED BY PRUSSIAN CLOSED MAIL.
The cover bears a New York exchange office datestamp of August 15 and was marked with a manuscript 15 cents credit to Prussia. The United States retained the 5-cent inland postage and the 18-cent sea postage, leaving Prussia with the 15 cents for Belgian transit, Prussian inland postage, postage beyond Prussia. It was carried by American packet on the Collins Line steamer Baltic, which departed August 16 and arrived in Liverpool on August 28. The closed bag was then exchanged at Aachen, receiving magenta "f 3¼" silbergroschen notation representing the equivalent of 8 cents paid (f = franco, or paid) for the postage beyond Prussia. The routing handstamp "Via Di Svizzera" as well "Franca" and "P.D." handstamps indicate the route was to be via Switzerland and that the cover was prepaid. The red crayon "7" likely represents a credit to Prussia.
It is not surprising that this is the only known Prussian closed mail rate 5¢ cover, given its high rate and postage as well as the distinct possibility of delay due to ongoing wars and unrest. Moreover, this cover is a fantastic use of a 3¢ Nesbitt.
St. Julien was located south of Geneva, Switzerland in the area of Sardinia that is now part of France.
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| Realized $75,000 |
